By optimizing your route, we sort the order that your addresses are plotted on the map in order to minimize the distance between one point and the next. When you uncheck the "Optimize my route" checkbox, your route will be plotted in the order that the addresses are entered.

Optimization can be useful when you really don't care what order you go to your addresses (like if your going to garage sales or just running errands).

Text entered into address fields can either be an address (like 123 Main St), or the name of a place (like Post Office, or Taco Bell). Starting addresses cannot be local search terms.

Plan My Route uses the Google Local Search API, so it is able to find Taco Bells closest to the place you specify. So lets say you enter your home address as the starting address, then 'Taco Bell', and then 'Big Lots'. If you optimize your route, we will find which one of those places is closest to you (lets say Big Lots), and then try to find closest Taco Bell to that Big Lots. If you instead must go to Taco Bell first and choose to not optimize your route, we will find the closest Taco Bell to your home address, and then find the closest Big Lots to that Taco Bell. Pretty sweet!