Address Verification

What is Address Validation?

Address verification (also known as address validation) is a method of capturing or cleansing address data. An address can be verified in one of two ways: by capturing an address at the point of entry by the end user or by cleansing, parsing, matching formatting, transliterating and enhancing data in a database against reference data.

Why is Address Validation Important? Key Benefits

One of the biggest challenges that organizations are navigating is the speed at which transactions take place.

Address verification brings numerous efficiency-boosting use cases to organizations. Examples include the following:

• Making it easier for customers to check out by auto-completing form fields
• Verifying an address for accuracy, in real-time, during a checkout process
• Geocoding and reverse-geocoding addresses with latitude and longitude data
• Ensuring compliance with identity verification practices
• Mapping the distance between two points
• Establishing a line of communication with shipping carriers, to anticipate potential shipping delays
• Enhancing customer records with accurate information

Address verification is important for organizations that transact with customers globally. That’s because information often gets stored within different databases or systems of record. For instance, the United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, FedEx, Canada Post, and a range of national postal carriers maintain their own developer tools and address verification APIs.

Organizations that reach customers globally will need a simplified way to communicate with, potentially, shipping carriers in hundreds of countries.

What are the most common types of address verification?

The most common types of address verification include drop-down verification, partial verification, post-entry verification and type-ahead verification. There are some important differences between these four types of address verification that are useful to know when deciding what type is right for your website.

Drop-down verification is where the state, county and country fields can be found using a drop-down:

With partial verification, a postal code entry populates the city and state or county, while manual entry of the rest of the address is required.

Post-entry verification is where users manually enter an address, then a pop-up shows possible alternatives, with the user required to choose the correct one.

Type-ahead verification (the kind Loqate specialize in!) is where the user starts typing their address into a single field, and as they type, increasingly accurate suggestions are offered. Clicking on a suggestion returns the full address.

What is inline validation?

Inline validation is a way of checking the validity of data input and providing feedback before submission. It significantly enhances the usability and UX of forms, and reduces form abandonment rates by providing a quicker way to enter address details. Loqate’s address verification technology can reduce address entry time by up to 78% and cuts back data entry errors at point of capture by more than 20%, all improving the end user experience.

What is single line address finding?

The single line address lookup layout simplifies address forms down to just one field. Typing any part of the address on a single line is quick and simple, and results in address forms occupying less space. Single line address lookup is a more efficient and user-friendly approach to implementing an address look-up, and our UX research shows that users are 2x as likely to find an address and complete using single line versus multi-line.

How does type-ahead address verification differ from traditional postal code lookup?

Guide to Address Verification Methods

Behind the scenes of an address verification program, various technical processes are taking place. Understanding them will help you identify use cases for address verification in your business.

Fuzzy Matching

Even if you have a typo in your address query, you can still get relevant results. An address verification API can detect misspelled or missing information such as spaces and letters to create more accurate results. 

This technology is particularly useful for mobile digital environments that are prone to typos due to small screen sizes. Fuzzy matching is valuable for increasing data quality.

Learn more: What is fuzzy matching? 

Geocoding & Reverse Geocoding

Geocoding is the practice of assigning latitude and longitude coordinates to a geographic location. Reverse geocoding is the opposite process of assigning a location to a geographic coordinate system. 

This method is used for visualizing data, augmenting location datasets, and identifying store networks, warehouse locations, events, and other relevant information. Geocoding helps with optimizing deliveries, anticipating real-world risks, and providing insight about locations.

Address Standardization

The process of standardizing addresses is important for ensuring that different systems communicate with each other. Every postal system requires its own official format. An API can break unstructured address data into its component parts and automatically reformat addresses into the correct output structure.

Address Verification in North America

There are a number of address verification services and API solutions available to meet different business requirements and needs. Here are some criteria to consider when selecting address verification technology for your business:

• Frequency of data updates
• Processes for safeguarding company data
• Uptime standards
• Ability to address typos
• Data sources and their integrity
• Integration and deployment time
• Back-end address verification to cleanse, parse, and standardize data in integrated software
• Additional services
• Additional datasets
• Customer support options

As organizations evolve, especially when they scale globally, address verification needs may become more complex. In these situations, paid services are available for APIs that support the following use cases:

• Integrations with multiple postal carriers
• Third-party application development
• Correcting customer-generated errors
• Building a rich database
• Maintaining CRM hygiene

Successful address verification strategies support higher level business goals such as error reduction, database enrichment, and delivery speed. 

Loqate helps businesses around the world verify customer addresses by combining our global datasets with best in class technology. Our easy to integrate API helps our customers verify customer data at the point of capture. Find out more about how Loqate address verification solutions can help your business.

 

Address Verification, also known as Address Validation, is the process of confirming the accuracy and existence of an address.

 

Why Address Validation is important:

• Reduces delivery failures: Ensures packages and mail reach the intended recipient, minimizing lost or returned items.
• Improves data quality: Maintains accurate and standardized address information in databases for better organization and analysis.
• Enhances customer experience: Ensures smooth deliveries and communication, leading to customer satisfaction.
• Reduces costs: Saves expenses associated with failed deliveries, returned shipments, and data corrections.
• Complies with regulations: Certain industries, like e-commerce, may have regulations requiring address verification for fraud prevention or tax purposes.
  
  

It can be used for a variety of purposes, including:

• Fraud prevention: Proper address validation prevents fraudulent transactions by checking that the billing address provided by a customer matches the address on file for their credit card.
• Marketing: Businesses can use address verification to improve the accuracy of their marketing lists and ensure that they are sending mail to the correct addresses.
• Shipping: Businesses can use address verification to ensure that packages are delivered to the correct address and avoid lost or returned shipments.
• Government services: Government agencies can use address verification to verify the identity of individuals and ensure that they are eligible for benefits or services.
  
  

There are a number of different ways to verify an address, including:

• Comparing the address to a database of known addresses: This is the most common method of address verification. Businesses can purchase access to databases of addresses from a variety of vendors.
• Using a geocoding service: A geocoding service can be used to convert an address into a latitude and longitude. This can be helpful for verifying that an address is located in a valid area.
• Contacting the postal service: The postal service can be used to verify that an address is deliverable.

The best method of address verification will vary depending on the specific needs of the business or organization.

Overall, address validation is a crucial tool for businesses and organizations dealing with physical deliveries, data management, and customer interactions. Loqate's Verify solution is the perfect way to get started with incorporating address validation in your business, accurately verifying addresses at the point of entry.