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103 items tagged ”Address validation”
Healthcare provider compliance & data accuracy explained
By John Hickey, Brielle Paul on June 18, 2026
Improve healthcare provider data accuracy and compliance to reduce risk, ensure regulatory alignment, and streamline operations.
Puerto Rican urbanization codes: Meaning, USPS use, & lookups
By Ryan Muir, Bailey Hendrickson on June 1, 2026
Learn what a Puerto Rican urbanization code is, why USPS requires it, and how to find and format it correctly for accurate address delivery.
Preventing identity fraud with address verification
By Ben Roden, Brielle Paul on May 26, 2026
Address verification verifies that customers’ addresses are valid, helping financial institutions prevent identity fraud, improve address data accuracy, and enhance identity data quality.
Risk mitigation and location intelligence: The power duo behind smarter decisions
By Brielle Paul, Ryan Muir on May 1, 2026
<p>When businesses across industries base decisions on partial datasets, key decision-making signals become disconnected, fragmented, and inconsistent. That’s why risk mitigation is most effective when it’s based on comprehensive location intelligence. Using authoritative location and <a href="https://www. smarty. com/articles/property-data"><u>property data</u></a>, businesses can make data-driven decisions that reduce operational, financial, and compliance risk. </p><p>To ensure their location intelligence stays accurate and contextualized, businesses can:</p><ul><li data-list-item-id="eaeff5332b1ab0e205f5cb62aea95c03b">Validate, <a href="https://www.
Make international address data accuracy your business’s hidden superpower
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on April 20, 2026
<p>Invalid or typo-riddled addresses are the petty criminals sabotaging your business. They’re quiet, easy to miss, and even seem harmless at first. But before you know it, they’re sneaking in your checkout forms, settling into customer databases, and slowly wreaking havoc on your logistics, delivery rates, and customer satisfaction. </p><p>If you don’t catch these stinkers early, one tiny slip of the finger can spiral into failed deliveries, tedious manual corrections, and extra work for your already busy teams.
Location truth: The foundation of insurance risk assessment for weather and crime
By Bailey Hendrickson, Ryan Muir on April 17, 2026
Learn more about how location truths impact insurance risk assessments (and your bottom line and financial stability!) Hint: it all comes back to accurate data.
Predictive analytics in insurance are transforming P&C workflows
By Bailey Hendrickson, Ryan Muir on April 10, 2026
Predictive analytics use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and statistical modeling to analyze large volumes of internal and external data in insurance.
The future of P&C insurance underwriting
By Bailey Hendrickson, Ryan Muir on April 6, 2026
For P&C underwriters, the future of underwriting isn’t just moving from paper to predictive models—it’s moving from processing information to interpreting it.
Provider data accuracy: Provider location data and member experience
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson, Dave Medlock on April 2, 2026
<p><i>Part two of our </i><a href="https://www. smarty. com/content/tags/provider-data-accuracy-series"><i>provider data series</i></a><i> featuring thought leadership from Dave Medlock, Founder & CEO of Maven One Health</i></p><p>If you’ve ever searched your health plan’s provider directory only to find your “nearby” doctor is actually a residential home—or worse, a PO Box—you’ve experienced firsthand why clean provider data matters for more than just compliance. </p><p>Provider data accuracy is also one of the most important aspects contributing to member experience.
Verification update: Add provisional addresses to Smarty’s database
By John Hickey, Brielle Paul on February 16, 2026
<p>With the launch of our latest product feature, US Provisional Address Manual Process, <a href="https://www. smarty. com/products/us-address-verification"><u>US Address Verification</u></a> users can now submit new or missing addresses, and we’ll verify them against authoritative databases and add any approved records to our database. </p><p>Better yet, you won’t need to make any integration changes to see your addresses in your API results, it won’t take longer than 30–60 days, and it won’t cost you anything extra.
Ambiguous address matches: What they are and why compliance teams should care
By Jeffrey Duncan, Bailey Hendrickson on February 3, 2026
<p>If you’ve ever run into an address that seems to <i>exist</i> in more than one place, congratulations—you’ve discovered the world of ambiguous address matches. They’re the <a href="https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27scat"><u>Schrödinger’s cat</u></a> of location data: valid, yet potentially two distinct locations. </p><p>This blog will focus on a few key things: </p><ul><li><a href="#what-are-ambiguous-address-matches">What are ambiguous address matches?</a></li><li><a href="#why-ambiguous-address-matches-matter-for-compliance-and-customer-service">Why ambiguous address matches matter for compliance and customer service</a></li><li><a href="#how-to-handle-matches-with-address-ambiguity">How to handle matches with address ambiguity</a></li><li><a href="#why-you-should-inform-your-customers-of-ambiguous-address-matches">Why you should inform your customers of ambiguous address matches</a></li><li><a href="#our-final-thoughts-on-ambiguous-address-matches">Our final thoughts on ambiguous address matches</a></li></ul><h2 id="what-are-ambiguous-address-matches">What are ambiguous address matches?</h2><p>An <i>ambiguous address</i> match occurs when an entered address resolves to two or more valid locations with slight but meaningful differences.
Smarty's January 2026 release adds parcel boundaries, provisional addresses, and smarter international geocoding
By Trent Howell, Bailey Hendrickson on January 27, 2026
<p><strong>OREM, UT, Jan 27, 2026—</strong>Smarty®, an expert in address data intelligence, today announced a three-part release designed to help organizations turn messy, fast-changing location data into operational confidence. The January 2026 bundle introduces: 1) A brand-new parcel dataset, 2) Expands provisional address programs into core U. S. products, and 3) Upgrades Smarty’s International Geocoding engine—giving organizations more precision and more usable signals for automation at scale.
Smarty customers avoid USPS rate limiting
By Ben Roden, Andrew Townsend on January 20, 2026
<blockquote><p><i>TLDR: Smarty customers won’t feel a thing from the new USPS API restrictions because Smarty doesn’t depend on USPS’s real-time APIs to do address verification. We’ve always used our own, powerful, hyper-accurate data to back our tools and support client needs. </i></p></blockquote><p>While USPS is capping its address verification service at <strong>60 requests per hour</strong> and retiring the legacy Web Tools API on January 25, Smarty keeps verifying addresses at full speed on our own infrastructure.
Provider data accuracy: Regulatory compliance and hidden network risks
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson, Dave Medlock on January 15, 2026
<p>Welcome to part one of our <a href="https://www. smarty. com/content/tags/provider-data-accuracy-series" target="blank" rel="noopener">new blog series</a> on provider location data—an exploration into the messy, high-stakes world of healthcare compliance, address accuracy, and network adequacy. </p><p>To kick things off, we sat down with Dave Medlock, founder of<a href="https://mavenonehealth. com" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow"> <u>Maven One Health</u></a> and a contributing thought leader, to discuss why clean provider data is essential for achieving peak regulatory compliance and meeting requirements with ease, thereby avoiding serious consequences if it isn’t done correctly.
Christmas traditions around Smarty
By Dan Lambourne, Brielle Paul on December 22, 2025
<p>Around the world, people celebrate Christmas in all kinds of ways. In <a href="https://www. smarty. com/global-address-formatting/iceland-format-examples"><u>Iceland</u></a>, it’s tradition to read books by candlelight on Christmas Eve. Christmas firework shows are a staple in <a href="https://www. smarty. com/global-address-formatting/el-salvador-format-examples"><u>El Salvador</u></a>. Families in <a href="https://www. smarty. com/global-address-formatting/australia-address-format-examples"><u>Australia</u></a> often spend Christmas Day playing cricket.
2026 UPDATE: Revisiting USPS API rate limits after rollout
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on December 3, 2025
<p>At the time USPS rolled out its new APIs on January 25, 2026, its documentation stated that address verification was limited to 60 requests per hour. That stood in sharp contrast to the newly retired Web Tools API, which had previously supported <a href="https://www. usps. com/business/web-tools-apis/address-information-api. htm#:~:text=pattern%3D-,AddressValidateRequest%20/%20Address%20/,Up%20to%205%20address%20verifications%20can%20be%20included%20per%20transaction. ,-(group)" target="blank" rel="noopener"><u>approximately 5 address lookups per transaction</u></a>.
Pinpoint 2025: Day 1 recap
By Andrew Townsend, Brielle Paul on November 28, 2025
<p>For two days, Smarty users gathered together with other address data experts for Pinpoint, Smarty’s first virtual user conference, where developers, industry experts, and product specialists talked all things addresses and pulled back the curtain on address data solutions. </p><p>Attendees asked questions about cloud-based software, the impact of accurate address data on fintech and insurance companies, and the ROI of good address data across all industries. </p><p>Plus, attendees got to take a peek behind the scenes and see what makes Smarty’s address data solutions tick.
Pinpoint 2025: Day 2 recap
By Bailey Hendrickson, Andrew Townsend on November 28, 2025
<p>For two days, Smarty gathered address data experts for Pinpoint, our first-ever virtual user conference. There, developers, product specialists, and industry experts delved into the nitty-gritty details of address data that you need to understand in order to succeed in your industry. </p><p>Attendees learned how to process addresses faster (much faster) than the blink of an eye, with and without using code! </p><p>They also got to look under the hood on how insurance is evolving and becoming even more efficient than ever to create a “delightful user experience.
What to look for in an address data solution: Ease of implementation
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on November 19, 2025
<p>You’ve maybe chosen an address data provider (or maybe you’ve just recently <a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/falling-out-of-love-with-your-address-data-solution"><u>fallen out of love</u></a> with the one you’ve got). Now comes the time to really test what matters: implementation. Even the best solution falls short if it’s hard to integrate, confusing to use, or impossible to maintain. </p><p>This blog is part of our <a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/tags/what-to-look-for-in-an-address-data-solution">five-part series, <i>What to look for in an address data solution</i></a><i>.
What to look for in an address data solution: Data accuracy
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on November 14, 2025
<p>Once you know what capabilities you need, the next challenge is choosing a provider that actually delivers—pun intended. <br><br>This blog is part of our <a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/tags/what-to-look-for-in-an-address-data-solution">five-part series, <i>What to look for in an address data solution</i></a><i>. </i> </p><p>Previously, we discussed the need to find an address data solution that understands the importance of speed, scalability, and reliability, enabling you to maintain automated, efficient, and accurate workflows in any industry that deals with addresses.
What to look for in an address data solution: Speed, volume, and reliability
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on November 12, 2025
<p>Not all address tools are created equal. The right platform should do more than validate—it should verify, enrich, and future-proof your data. </p><p>This blog is part of our <a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/tags/what-to-look-for-in-an-address-data-solution">five-part series, <i>What to look for in an address data solution. </i></a> </p><p>Previously, we discussed the hidden costs of poor address data, including misdeliveries, lost revenue, billing errors, and operational inefficiencies.
What to look for in an address data solution: Address data needs
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on November 10, 2025
<p>If data is the lifeblood of your business, addresses are the veins that carry it. They connect every operation—from shipping to customer service to compliance. </p><p>Yet, address data is often overlooked until it breaks something expensive. </p><p>This post kicks off <a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/tags/what-to-look-for-in-an-address-data-solution">our five-part series, <i>What to look for in an address data solution</i></a>—a practical guide to building a smarter, cleaner, and more reliable address data strategy.
Tariffs are high. Your address accuracy should be higher.
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on October 15, 2025
<p>Tariffs are spiking. Shipping costs are climbing. Margins are shrinking. </p><p>You can’t control global trade policy, but you can control how efficient and accurate your operations are in response. </p><p>Most ecommerce teams, logistics planners, and data managers miss one of their best cost-saving opportunities: addressing accuracy. </p><p>Bad address data isn’t hidden. It sits in your systems, shows up in carrier returns, and quietly drains profits every day. </p><p>When tariffs rise to 15 to 50 percent in some product categories and import volumes are falling, every shipment becomes more expensive, every delay costs more, and every lost customer hurts more.
Pinpoint: The Smarty virtual user conference, because the world is better validated
By Andrew Townsend, Bailey Hendrickson on October 9, 2025
<p><strong>November 2025 | 100% online | 100% awesome</strong></p><p>Join us this November for the Smarty Virtual User Conference, a two-day event packed with insights, tools, laughs, and $1000 worth of prizes. </p><p>This event is for you, whether you’re optimizing delivery accuracy, improving compliance, or just trying to figure out if your neighbor <i>really</i> has a breakfast nook. </p><h3><strong>What to expect:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong>2 days, 12 hours of content, zero fluff</strong></li><li><strong>Live sessions</strong> from address data pros</li><li><strong>Hands-on demos</strong> of Smarty’s latest tools and plugins</li><li><strong>Giveaways galore, </strong>like gift cards, swag, and even a chance at a massive LEGO set</li><li><strong>Hidden Easter eggs</strong> throughout the event (no, seriously—find them and win)</li><li><strong>An after-party with games</strong> (shoutout to Brady Amundson)</li></ul><h3><strong>Tailored tracks for every role</strong></h3><p><img src="https://d3jlqkabnnke2x.
Welcome to the Address Zoo #1 | Override & underride city addresses
By Adam Charlton, Brielle Paul on October 7, 2025
<p><i>The benefits of reliable, easy-to-implement address data are straightforward. Actual addresses, on the other hand, aren’t always so cut and dry. </i></p><p><i>If you’re looking to become an expert in everything that begins or ends with an address, this series is for you. We’ll demystify the types of addresses that have developers scratching their heads and introduce you to the tools keeping your address data best-in-class. </i></p><p><i>Come one, come all, and enter the wonderful world of peculiar addresses! Let’s see what’s on exhibit.
Address component analysis: A smarter way to validate addresses
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on September 26, 2025
<p>Most address validation tools give you a simple thumbs up or down on an address because it either matches or it doesn’t, right? </p><p>But what if you need more than just “valid” or “invalid” as a response? What if you could know <i>exactly</i> what part of the address is off, like a misspelled street name or an unconfirmed vanity city (like Hollywood), and why it isn’t considered valid?</p><p>What if part of an address needed to change in order to make it a mailable, valid address? </p><p>We think you’d want to know that, too.
AI address validation: Can you really verify an address with AI?
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on September 22, 2025
AI address validation (also referred to as AI address verification) is the sometimes unpredictable and inaccurate process of checking that an address is valid or verified using Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Deepseek, and more.
Get the most out of US Address Verification: Are you using the 55 points of metadata?
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on September 10, 2025
<p>If you’re using Smarty’s US Address Verification, you're already sitting on a treasure trove of up to 55 points of metadata, already included in every response. Sure, it cleans and standardizes your addresses like a pro, but that’s just the beginning. Without any upcharges, you can use metadata to make your systems smarter, streamline your operations, and sharpen your marketing and business decisions. </p><p>Whether you're focused on fraud prevention, operational efficiency, compliance, logistics, or customer experience, Smarty’s metadata delivers powerful insights to your tech stack that will help you rise above your competitors.
How address data became Fabletics's (and others') secret sauce
By Andrew Townsend, Bailey Hendrickson on August 20, 2025
<p>Address data accuracy isn't just about getting mail delivered. Having quality address data will directly impact revenue, compliance, and customer experience. In a <a href="https://www. youtube. com/embed/d3L-U559Wz0?si=HcUvvbv-PueUVI2H" target="blank" rel="noopener">recent webinar</a>, we explored real-world case studies showing how companies across industries leverage address verification and geocoding to solve expensive problems and unlock new opportunities. </p><h2><strong>Healthcare data: Compliance and accuracy at scale</strong></h2><p><a href="/company/case-studies/geocoding-healthcare-compliance-curatus"><strong><u>Curatus</u></strong></a>, a healthcare data provider, faced a critical challenge with provider directory accuracy.
Build address data into your health insurance platform to stay HIPAA and ACA compliant
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on July 29, 2025
<p>Your product might be HIPAA and ACA-compliant in theory, but a mistyped ZIP Code or invalid apartment number can still trigger privacy violations, eligibility errors, and failed mailings. Misdirected mail is explicitly named in HIPAA breach cases. </p><p>For example, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has publicly cited misrouted or misaddressed mail as a cause of HIPAA breaches in their <a href="https://ocrportal. hhs. gov/ocr/breach/breachreport. jsf" target="blank" rel="noopener"><u>breach portal</u></a>.
Improving user/customer experience in every industry with clean address data
By Brent Francom, Bailey Hendrickson on July 21, 2025
<p>You finally track down an essential addition to your collector’s set of [insert item of your choice], and you're hyped to buy it until the chaos begins. </p><p>The cart is hidden in a fly-out on the side, cluttered with blocky, overwhelming text. You spend way too long just trying to find the "Proceed to Checkout" button. </p><p>👎 That’s bad UI (user interface): messy, confusing design that makes navigation a chore. </p><p>You make it to the checkout and start entering your info, but the site keeps rejecting your address.
New cards, new challenges | How Klarna & PayPal’s card launch highlights the need for reliable card issuance
By Ben Roden, Brielle Paul on June 16, 2025
<p>This June, Klarna and PayPal made some big moves into the physical card space. Klarna teamed up with Visa to launch a BNPL (buy-now-pay-later) debit card, while PayPal’s partnership with Mastercard aims to help the brand make the jump from phone to wallet. </p><p>Coupled with other wave-making announcements like <a href="https://stripe. com/newsroom/news/sessions-2025#:~:text=Reinventing%20global%20money%20management%20with,acquisition%20of%20stablecoin%20platform%20Bridge. " target="blank" rel="noopener"><u>Stripe’s all-in moves on AI and stablecoins</u></a>, PayPal and Klarna’s announcements emphasize a broader industry shift as fintechs transform from niche digital players to comprehensive financial services platforms.
Theme parks need address validation
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on June 10, 2025
<p>When you think about theme parks, you probably think of roller coasters, long lines, and $18 turkey legs. But behind all the fun is a surprising need for something a little less flashy yet still gorgeous as all get out—rock-solid address validation (or <a href="/products/single-address"><u>address verification</u></a>, we use them interchangeably). Yes, we’re talking about making sure that the addresses entered by guests are real, valid, and standardized. </p><p>Why? Because today’s theme parks operate like data-rich, customer-first ecosystems.
How address verification and rooftop geocoding enhance risk analysis
By Ryan Muir, Brielle Paul on June 9, 2025
<p>Address verification is an essential tool that property insurance companies should use when analyzing risk. Perils are often associated with potential hazards located on or near a property, but they can also be tied to the general area a property is in. </p><p>Verifying addresses ensures that a policy falls within a covered area, which is vital for both an insurance company and their customers. </p><p>To start, the insurance policy premium needs to be priced for the property's actual location.
Solving the global healthcare address verification problem
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on June 4, 2025
<p>International healthcare is complex. Inaccurate or unverifiable international addresses make it worse by delaying claims, increasing compliance risk, opening the door to fraud, and frustrating members. </p><p>Healthcare companies need global healthcare address verification that’s scalable. Here's how to get there. </p><h2>Why global address verification is especially complex for healthcare companies</h2><p>Healthcare depends on addresses. While just one datapoint, addresses are foundational to so many critical healthcare management processes and vital to get correct.
Why you want "no-matches" in your address verification API results
By Jeffrey Duncan, Bailey Hendrickson on May 28, 2025
<p>When it comes to address verification, getting a match every time might <i>seem</i> like the goal. After all, a system that always returns a validated address must be working perfectly, right?</p><p>Wrong. </p><p>If your address verification API <i>always</i> forces a match, no matter what, it’s not being helpful. It’s actually introducing risk. In fact, getting a “no match” result can frequently be the smarter, safer outcome. </p><p>Let’s talk about why. </p><h2>What is a "no match" telling you?</h2><p>A “no match” means the input address doesn’t align with any known, valid address in the reference database.
Horseshoes and hand grenades: What's the real cost of “good enough” address data?
By Ben Roden, Bailey Hendrickson on May 20, 2025
<p>Ask most product owners about their address data, and they’ll probably tell you that “it’s good enough. ” But when it comes to address data integrity, the word “enough” should give you serious pause. </p><p>When it comes to address data, “close enough” is how businesses end up with wasted marketing spend, compliance headaches, failed deliveries, and policies that don’t hold up. It doesn’t matter if you're underwriting insurance on a home, scheduling a broadband install, or mailing a benefits enrollment kit—accuracy isn’t a nice-to-have.
Is your address verification tool going off-script?
By Ben Roden, Bailey Hendrickson on May 15, 2025
<p>In the world of address validation, not all providers stick to the script. </p><p>Some go rogue. And while that might work for improv geniuses like Robin Williams or even our own Brady Amundson, when your verification tools start improvising results, creating fictional addresses, and hoping you don’t notice… well, it's like watching a movie adaptation of your favorite book and thinking, <i>“Wait… they burned down the Burrow?!?”</i> (Harry Potter fans, I’m still mad. )</p><p>If your address verification tool is delivering results that feel more like fan fiction than factual data, and geolocating “validated” addresses in the middle of lakes, it might be time to reconsider the cast.
Address autocomplete, verification, and customer satisfaction: The unseen connection
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on May 12, 2025
<p>“Remote shopping, while entirely feasible, will flop. ” <a href="https://www. inc. com/geoffrey-james/31-hilariously-bad-high-tech-predictions. html" target="blank" rel="noopener"><u>Time Magazine (1966)</u></a>. This statement is laughable in today’s society. In the last 60 years, online purchasing has become a daily event, and more online purchases are being made every year. </p><p>In fact, In 2024, total ecommerce sales in the United States reached approximately <a href="https://www. census.
How address verification helps solve medical billing address fraud
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on April 21, 2025
<p>Healthcare fraud isn’t just an occasional headache—it’s a <a href="https://www. pymnts. com/identity-theft/2022/synthetic-identity-fraud-costs-businesses-billions-each-year-data-shows" target="blank" rel="noopener"><u>$20 billion-a-year black hole</u></a> draining financial institutions. </p><p>And that’s just the fraud we know about. </p><p>As healthcare systems become more complex, fraudsters are also getting smarter, faster, and more creative at exploiting vulnerabilities, especially in address verification.
Why address verification is the necessary complement to autocomplete
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on April 14, 2025
<p>Address autocomplete is a powerful tool for improving form completions and ensuring users select real, deliverable addresses at entry. However, to maintain long-term data integrity and enhance address-related insights, address verification is a necessary complement. Here’s why:</p><p><strong>1. Gain up to 55 points of metadata per verified address</strong><br>Autocomplete provides real-time address suggestions, while address verification appends additional metadata. Address verification enhances each address with up to 55 points of data, such as:</p><ul><li>ZIP-9 level accuracy geocoordinates (rooftop accuracy also available)</li><li>ZIP+4 Codes</li><li>Residential Delivery Indicator (RDI) to identify residential vs.
Ecommerce shipping efficiency tools you need: Address autocomplete and verification
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on March 18, 2025
<p>We know it’s not New Year's anymore, but we can still push for improvement and efficiency in our lives. </p><p>Maybe you’ve lapsed on that goal to be healthier or slightly slipped on your new reading and writing regimen. No worries. </p><p>Not only are we here to remind you to KEEP GOING on whatever goals you have, but we’re also here to give you an easy-to-implement solution that will create <a href="/blog/shipping-optimization"><u>shipping efficiency</u></a> and stop sending packages into the void.
The GPS adventures of a distracted developer
By Jeffrey Duncan, Bailey Hendrickson on March 11, 2025
<p>My name is Jeffrey Duncan, and at the pestering of Smarty’s editor, I’m writing a blog about the many adventures I’ve had in life and how address data has played a big part in them. </p><p>I met my wife about eight years ago on a dating website. At the time, I lived in Provo, Utah, while she lived in Palmwoods, Australia, on the east coast of Queensland. </p><p>On this dating app, I entered the area where I was interested in finding someone, about a 25-mile radius of Provo, Utah. I had no intention of leaving the valley, definitely not the state, and certainly not the country.
Improving address data quality in healthcare
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on February 27, 2025
<p>Healthcare is experiencing a dramatic shift in how patient information is stored and managed. Electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) have become the new standard, driven by two powerful forces: everyone has mobile devices and the increase in the human population. </p><h2>A growing problem with clean address data in EMRs and EHRs</h2><p>While EMRs and EHRs offer amazing accessibility and storage capabilities (way better than a filing cabinet), they've also exposed a critical weakness in many healthcare organizations: address data quality.
Discover built-in address verification: Popular platforms with Smarty integrations
By Andrew Townsend, Bailey Hendrickson on February 26, 2025
<p>Address verification isn't just <a href="/docs/why-smarty"><u>a nice-to-have feature</u></a>—it's a critical business function that directly impacts your bottom line and customer satisfaction. </p><p>The impact of reliable address verification extends throughout your entire operation. Every returned package or piece of mail represents wasted shipping costs, lost time, and potential damage to customer relationships. Most importantly, <a href="/blog/how-i-reduced-my-returned-mail-using-address-autocomplete"><u>it's an entirely preventable problem</u></a>.
Mastering healthcare compliance: HIPAA mailing guidelines, ACA, and health equity
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on February 18, 2025
<p>In any industry that’s regulated and works with PII (personally identifiable information), a simple address error can cost more than just a returned letter. With HIPAA violations ranging from $100 to $50,000 per incident and the possibility of criminal charges, getting patient addresses wrong is more than an administrative headache—it's a serious compliance risk under HIPAA, ACA, and other mailing regulations. </p><p><a href="/ebooks"><u>Our new ebook</u></a> explores how address data quality directly impacts regulatory compliance, patient privacy, and health equity requirements, among 12 other hot topics.
Falling out of love with your address data solution?
By Brent Francom, Bailey Hendrickson on February 14, 2025
<p>There are plenty of address data solutions in the sea. You might need to let them off the hook if:</p><ul><li>Their data accuracy is suffering<ul><li>Too many <a href="https://www. smarty. com/articles/address-false-positives"><u>false positives</u></a></li><li>Spotty data availability (lack of international support? Beuller?)</li><li>Off-the-mark geocoding (not truly <a href="/blog/us-rooftop-geocoding-reverse-geocoding-announcement"><u>rooftop-level accurate</u></a>)</li><li>Missing data enrichment (<a href="/articles/what-is-rdi"><u>RDI</u></a>, <a href="/articles/county-fips-codes"><u>FIPS</u></a>, <a href="/products/features/smartykey"><u>unique ID</u></a>, <a href="/articles/secondary-address"><u>secondary addresses</u></a>, etc.
Global game-changer: Level up your customer retention in 2025
By Andrew Townsend, Bailey Hendrickson on February 6, 2025
<p>In 2024, it’s estimated that online purchases, or ecommerce, made up more than <a href="https://www. statista. com/statistics/534123/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/"><u>20% of global retail</u></a>, with <a href="https://www. sellerscommerce. com/blog/ecommerce-statistics/"><u>2. 77 billion people shopping online</u></a>, and those numbers will only get bigger in the following years. With so much online shopping, more goods and services are being shipped than ever before—including during the height of the Sears catalog in 1970.
Shipping optimization: Boosting your bottom line
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on January 29, 2025
<p>Shipping optimization is rapidly evolving the retail landscape with advancements in shipping technology. From using robotics to increase efficiency and protect workers from dangerous jobs to autonomous vehicles<strong> </strong>and drones taking items to hard-to-reach areas, shipping has drastically evolved from the infancy of ecommerce in the 1990s. </p><p>Sure, the 90s are currently having a pop culture resurgence, but your customers don’t want their shipping experience to go retro. One of the most impactful ways to ship effectively is to use a Shipping Execution System (SES).
The ROI of accurate healthcare address validation: Stop hemorrhaging red on your financial statements
By John Hickey, Bailey Hendrickson on January 8, 2025
<p><a href="/solutions/healthcare">In healthcare,</a> the havoc an inaccurate address can wreak on your financial results is significant in more ways than one, and the boost in overall profitability from maintaining a clean address database is equally worth noting. </p><p>Accurate <a href="/products/us-address-verification">healthcare address validation</a> improves operational efficiency, patient engagement, and compliance and builds revenue to heights that couldn’t be met without it. </p><p>Here’s what we’ll be covering:</p><ul><li>Healthcare address validation pros and cons<ul><li>Con: Increased claim denials and organizational costs</li><li>Pro: Reduced claim denials and reprocessing costs</li><li>Con: Increasing patient match error rates</li><li>Pro: Improved patient matching and data quality</li><li>Con: Complicated billing and collections processes</li><li>Pro: Streamlined billing and collections capabilities</li><li>Con: Exposure to legal liabilities</li><li>Pro: Enhanced regulatory compliance and risk aversion</li><li>Con: Misplaced market strategy</li><li>Pro: Data-driven decision-making and market insights</li></ul></li><li>Epilogue: Avoiding the pain (see our summarized financial savings)</li></ul><h2>Healthcare address validation pros and cons</h2><p>There’s a pro and a con associated with having (or not having 🫣) accurate address data in your healthcare systems.
From cart to commitment: Ultimate ecommerce checkout guide
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on January 3, 2025
<p>Cart abandonment is the nemesis of ecommerce. With <a href="https://www. hotjar. com/blog/cart-abandonment-stats/">70% of carts left stranded</a>, every tweak to your checkout process can lead to significant revenue recovery. </p><p>Here's how to create a seamless experience, win over customers, and boost conversions. </p><p>PSST! If you like what you see but don’t want to have to read it, <a href="https://get. smarty. com/hubfs/Downloadables/Smarty-Ecommerce-cart-abandonment-prevention-checklist.
The API whisperer: How to analyze Smarty's API output like a pro
By Andrew Townsend on December 18, 2024
<p>Smarty's US Street Address API and International Street Address API provide a lot of output. Things like <a href="/docs/append-carrier-routes">Carrier Route</a>, Congressional District, <a href="/articles/geocoding">geocode</a>, <a href="/articles/usps-elot-enhanced-line-of-travel">eLOT sequence</a>, timezone, and much much more are available with every address check. </p><p>But there may be points of data that you’re not entirely sure what it means or how to use it. </p><p>In a recent webinar, we brought <a href="/company/team/lyle-durland">Lyle Durland</a>, Head of Support, and <a href="/company/team/jeffrey-duncan">Jeffrey Duncan</a>, Technical Product Manager, together to outline some of the more useful points of data, and how to interpret it.
2025 and beyond: The future of CX
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on November 18, 2024
<p>The customer experience (CX) landscape is changing faster than a squirrel on espresso 🐿️☕, driven by technological advancements, consumer expectation evolution, and the need for all things to become digital. Maybe you wanna keep up with the change. That’s great. Or even better, you want to get ahead of all the other guys. That’s where Smarty comes in. </p><p>Looking at what the future of customer experience will be like in 2025 and beyond (supported by relevant statistics and insights from various studies we’ve collected), address autocomplete and verification play a bigger role than you might suspect.
A spicy take on address autocomplete and verification
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on November 1, 2024
<p>Do you know what's more satisfying than watching address autocomplete perfectly fill out online forms? Absolutely nothing—except maybe biting into a warm cinnamon roll on National Cinnamon Day. </p><p>Mmmmmmm. </p><p><img src="https://d3jlqkabnnke2x. cloudfront. net/cinnamonroll4483360432f5fb9c. webp" alt="Warm cinnamon roll" width="448" height="336"></p><p>Speaking of warm and sweet experiences, today we're exploring how address autocomplete (when configured <i><strong>without</strong></i> best practices in mind) can turn from a delightful treat into a bitter disappointment and how address verification can save the day.
Boo! Scary street names in horror movies
By Kajsia McCoy, Bailey Hendrickson on October 16, 2024
<p>If you’re here, you appreciate a good horror movie, especially around Halloween time. </p><p>There are many different subgenres of scary movies: slasher, found footage, psychological horror, supernatural horror, monster, folklore, zombie, gothic fiction, paranormal fiction, and the list goes on and on for a frighteningly long time. </p><p>One thing all horror movies have in common is a scary setting. Maybe the trees are creepy and dead. Perhaps the house is rotting from the inside out. Sometimes, the location has historical significance with real and traumatic events.
National Smarties® Day
By Ben Roden, Bailey Hendrickson on October 2, 2024
<p>Well, whaddya know, it’s that time again: National Smarties® Day! You’re probably thinking, “I honestly can’t believe Smarty®, my favorite address verification company, has its own day celebrated on a national scale. ” And if you’re thinking that, let me congratulate you on your finely tuned instincts—the existence of such a day strains belief. <br><br>We’re talking about Smarties, the candy, people. You know, those tart, powdery discs that resoundingly answer the question, “What if chalk, but delicious?” Care to learn more about National Smarties Day? You’re in luck—there's plenty to unwrap.
“Is water wet?” and other questions to ask today
By Dan Lambourne, Bailey Hendrickson on September 28, 2024
<p>Happy National Ask a Stupid Question Day! Today’s the day you get a free pass on asking dumb questions like, “Do fish get thirsty?” or “Why isn’t 11 pronounced ‘onety-one’?” We can’t stop people from teasing you until the cows come home (what time is that again?), but we <i>can</i> tell you it’s allowed on this day. In the US, Ask a Stupid Question Day’s default day is today, September 28, but it’s usually observed on the last school day in September. </p><h2>But why?!? Who started this nonsense?</h2><p>Teachers.
Programmers don't fully understand addresses
By Andrew Townsend, Bailey Hendrickson on September 20, 2024
<p>Nerds. </p><p>While programmers/coders/engineers are extremely clever, we've found they may not fully understand addresses. <br><br>Sure, they're ready to talk about variables, loops, arrays, the scope of stuff, callbacks, hosting, events, overloading, pattern matching, packets, elements, and more. But if you point out that most house numbering starts at "1" and not "0," their heads may explode. </p><p>We've worked with quite a few developers and helped them understand the facts around address data, beginning with our <i>own</i> engineers.
An interview with Smarty’s experts on the new Excel plugin
By Andrew Townsend on September 3, 2024
<p>We had a sit-down with Smarty crew members, Caroline Roweton, Associate Product Manager, and Landon Fackrell, Software Engineer, and delved into Smarty's innovative new <a href="/articles/batch-address-validation-geocoding-excel">Excel plugin</a>. </p><p>This powerful tool makes address validation easier than ever, allowing users to clean and verify their address data directly within Excel. With a focus on simplicity and efficiency, Caroline and Landon talked about the features and benefits of the plugin, demonstrating how it can save time and enhance data accuracy without any need for coding.
Pluto Demoted Day
By Andrew Townsend on August 23, 2024
<p>Astronomers and astronauts are obsessed with accuracy. (We’re not hating. So are Smarty® pantses. )</p><p>And for good reason, too. If you're sending a rocket to some point in space when you're moving, your target is moving, and the rocket is going to be affected by gravity and solar dust, the math and accuracy could be the difference between millions of dollars wasted and, quite literally, life or death. </p><p>For accuracy reasons, Pluto was reclassified from planet to dwarf planet. And that's OK.
Effortless address validation in Excel: No coding needed
By Andrew Townsend on August 2, 2024
<p><strong>Webinar recap:</strong> We recently hosted a webinar that featured a detailed demonstration of our <a href="/articles/batch-address-validation-geocoding-excel">Excel plugin for address validation</a>, showcasing its powerful capabilities. If you use Excel and need to validate addresses, this is for you. </p><h4>Introducing the Excel plugin</h4><p>Our Excel plugin is designed for simplicity and ease of use, allowing users to validate addresses without any coding skills. By highlighting a range of addresses, the plugin batches them, sends them to Smarty, and returns formatted data directly in the spreadsheet.
When to use strict vs enhanced matching in your address API
By Andrew Townsend on May 20, 2024
<p>In our recent webinar, we invited <a href="/company/team/easton-gibson">Easton Gibson</a>, one of our <a href="/products/apis/us-street-api">US Street API</a> software engineers, to discuss key features of address validation and give insights into the functionalities of both strict and enhanced modes. </p><p>In this blog, we'll cover:</p><ul><li><a href="#understanding-strict-mode">Understanding strict mode</a></li><li><a href="#introduction-to-enhanced-mode">Introduction to enhanced mode</a></li><li><a href="#faq-for-enhanced-mode">FAQ for enhanced mode</a></li><li><a href="#webinar-about-enhanced-mode">Webinar about "enhanced mode</a>"</li></ul><h3 id="understanding-strict-mode">Understanding strict mode</h3><p>Strict mode is precisely what it sounds like—it rigorously validates addresses against the official USPS database, ensuring that only fully accurate, postal-verified addresses are accepted.
Star Wars Day
By Andrew Townsend on May 3, 2024
<p>One of the most popular and successful movie franchises—by far—is George Lucas' Star Wars. The impact Star Wars has had on the culture of the United States and the rest of the world is incredible. <br><br>From 1977 on, Hollywood has been producing large, fantastical blockbusters packed with practical and computer-generated special effects. Movies have started being considered based wholly on the merchandise they could sell. Toy laser swords have been selling like hotcakes, and every child finds themselves secretly trying to turn off the light from their bed using the Force.
Navigating the future: Geocoding & address data trends in the cloud
By Andrew Townsend on March 27, 2024
<p>In a recent webinar, Berk Charlton, Chief Product Officer at Smarty™, provided an in-depth look at our industry-leading address intelligence suite designed to provide highly accurate geocoding and address validation. </p><p>Here are the main points Berk covered during the session:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Comprehensive product suite</strong>: Smarty offers a wide range of products, including <a href="/products/us-address-verification">address validation</a>, <a href="/products/us-rooftop-geocoding">rooftop geocoding</a>, <a href="/products/international-address-autocomplete">global address auto-complete</a>, and <a href="/products/us-property-data">address data enrichment</a>.
Smarty's 2023 address data deep dive: Trends, challenges, and breakthroughs
By Andrew Townsend on January 23, 2024
<p>We recently hosted a webinar where Brent Francom and Jeffrey Duncan, two of our Product Managers, talked about the lessons we learned and the improvements we've made in 2023. </p><p>Here are the highlights. </p><h3>When you process so many addresses, you see things</h3><p>We processed 327 billion+ addresses in 2023, equating to nearly 900 million per day or over 10,000 per second. </p><p>When you process that many addresses, you find many funny and interesting ones. We keep a "Wall of Shame" with funny and malformed addresses that somehow validate.
Optimizing telecom with geocoding & address verification
By John Hickey on January 15, 2024
<p>In the fast-paced and competitive world of telecommunications, where high customer expectations and intense rivalry prevail, the strategic use of address data intelligence, including geocoding and address verification, is increasingly essential. For professionals in the telecom sector, understanding and utilizing these tools can significantly streamline operations, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive business growth. </p><p>This article delves into how <a href="/"><u>Smarty's</u></a> address data solutions address common pain points in the telecom industry.
Mastering international address verification and autocomplete with Smarty™
By Andrew Townsend on December 12, 2023
<p>With 240 countries supported, each with unique <a href="/articles/postal-address-examples-formats">address formats</a>, language variations, and data complexities, <a href="/articles/what-is-international-address-validation">verifying international addresses</a> is no simple task. </p><p>We recently hosted a webinar about the slippery mess of standards and exceptions that make up international address data. </p><p>We brought in experts <a href="/company/team/caroline-roweton">Caroline Roweton</a>, product manager, and <a href="/company/team/acacia-warner">Acacia Warner</a>, a backend software engineer, to guide attendees through the maze of mastering international address verification.
Spider-Man: Where is my home?
By Kiana Lewis on November 30, 2023
<p>At Avengers headquarters, Tony Stark is busily creating gadgets for Spider-Man as a thank-you for his dedication to superheroism. Stark places the final touches and debates how to deliver the package. He could suit up and deliver it himself, convince Doctor Strange to teleport it, or use the boring, everyday mail system. </p><p>Stark runs all these scenarios through his head— Doctor Strange's focus has been a little divided lately, so he'll probably mess up the location and drop it on some poor lady’s head.
Address affairs causing healthcare hiccups: Part 3
By Wes Arnold on November 16, 2023
<p>In our previous post, we prescribed solutions to the problems associated with having bad address data in the software side of healthcare. If you would like to go over those again, or if you stumbled upon Post 3 before the previous blogs, you can read <a href="/blog/address-affairs-causing-healthcare-hiccups">Post 1</a> or <a href="/blog/healthcare-hiccups-and-address-solutions">Post 2</a> now. </p><p>In this third and final installment, we hope to provide even more solutions to healthcare hiccups on the SaaS side.
Address affairs causing healthcare hiccups: Part 2
By Brent Francom on November 9, 2023
<h3>Software in the healthcare industry</h3><p>In our <a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/address-affairs-causing-healthcare-hiccups">previous post</a>, we diagnosed the problems associated with having bad address data in the world of healthcare. If you would like to go over those again, or if you stumbled upon Post 2 before Post 1, you can read about those problems here. </p><p>In this second installment, you'll learn about the solutions to those problems from a software development standpoint.
Address affairs causing healthcare hiccups: Part 1
By Benson Ehlert on November 7, 2023
<h3>Why accurate addresses matter to healthcare professionals</h3><p>The healthcare system typically relies on human entry for its data entry. Whether the information is added by the customer, a receptionist, a nurse, or even a doctor, there are a lot of areas for the information to be misentered. Not only that, but hospital staff members frequently edit or enter additional information following the patient's first visit. The constant editing and entering of data by a human results in more than just a tiny typo now and again.
Tips for setting up a geocoding API recap
By Andrew Townsend on November 2, 2023
<p>Geocoding is converting a physical address into geographic coordinates with latitude and longitude. Accurate geocodes are critical for many applications—routing deliveries, analyzing insurance risk, mapping utilities, and more. </p><p>In a recent webinar, Smarty's customer service specialist, Ben Rivera, outlined best practices for maximizing geocode accuracy using our APIs and tools. Here are some of the key takeaways:</p><h4>The problem of inaccurate geocodes </h4><p>Many common geocoding services provide ZIP Code or centroid-level accuracy at best.
Smarty's Excel & Google Sheets plugins for geocoding & address validation
By Landon Fackrell on September 26, 2023
<p>Did you miss our recent webinar on how to use our new Google Sheets and Excel plugins for address validation? Don't worry; we've got you covered. This blog post provides an in-depth summary, highlighting essential functionalities, setup processes, and answers to some pertinent questions raised during the webinar. </p><p>Here's what you can expect to read about in this blog:</p><ul><li data-list-item-id="eeba68e8ae33d6311d4cf00ac320a2515"><a href="#the-basics">The basics</a></li><li data-list-item-id="e6fa9ca647882036737dba2e7c5bcc079"><a href="#functionality">Functionality</a></li><li data-list-item-id="e75d7f6ffd6b1fda761adfea4fef275fb"><a href="#getting-started">Getting started</a></li><li data-list-item-id="e2ac9ccebd5db1af7f6807e3e6105ccf6"><a href="#q-and-a">Q&A</a></li></ul><h3 id="the-basics">The basics</h3><p>We want to make it easier for businesses to validate addresses and retrieve necessary data efficiently.
Smarty™ named a finalist at the SaaS Awards for Excellence in Shipping, Inventory, and Vehicle Logistics category
By Trent Howell on August 22, 2023
<p>August 22, 2023 - PROVO, Utah - <a href="https://cts. businesswire. com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww. smarty. com&esheet=53543525&newsitemid=20230822060689&lan=en-US&anchor=Smarty&index=1&md5=5e336486b3a86c1949b152817769707c">Smarty</a>, the location data intelligence leader, has secured its place as a finalist in the prestigious 2023 SaaS Awards program, competing in the category of Best SaaS Product for Shipping, Inventory or Vehicle Logistics. </p><p>Now celebrating its 8th year, the SaaS Awards continues to recognize and honor outstanding SaaS innovations from all corners of the world.
Celebrate World Wide Web Day
By Andrew Townsend on August 1, 2023
<p>World Wide Web Day on August 1 celebrates the birth of the World Wide Web and its significant impact on modern society. </p><p>While the Internet and the World Wide Web are not the same (the Web refers to a web of linked pages via hypertext links while the Internet refers to the exchange of information by people on their own computers), the World Wide Web played a crucial role in making the internet accessible and user-friendly to the general public. </p><p>Let's explore how the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web have improved address validation and geocoding.
Celebrating Laser Day and the precision of modern technology
By Andrew Townsend on July 6, 2023
<p>Every July 11, technology enthusiasts, scientists, and curious minds come together to celebrate a milestone in the annals of scientific achievement - Laser Day. On this day in 1960, Theodore Maiman first operated the laser, introducing the world to a tool that would significantly shape industries, from manufacturing to healthcare. </p><p>At first glance, lasers and processes like address validation, geocoding, address enrichment, and address autocomplete may appear worlds apart, relegated to vastly different domains.
Captain Picard Day: Validation insights from Jean-Luc himself
By Andrew Townsend on June 16, 2023
<p>As a distinguished leader, diplomat, and explorer in the Star Trek universe, Captain Picard's legacy extends far beyond the realm of science fiction enthusiasts. In 2007, fans decided to bring a piece of Star Trek lore into reality: Captain Picard Day. </p><p>This 'holiday,' first introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Pegasus," is an annual celebration observed on the Enterprise by its youngest crew members. </p><p>The date mentioned in the episode is <a href="https://www.
Address verification reduces overall cost of shipping & routing
By John Hickey on June 14, 2023
<p>Lost packages equal lost revenue. </p><p>It’s a simple equation—if USPS or another delivery service can't deliver your products to the listed address, you’re likely out the cost of the item and the shipping, and you might even have to pay a return fee. </p><p>However, one simple addition to your workflow can get your balance sheet back to black—address verification. </p><p>Use a full address validation service that includes secondary address data like apartment unit numbers to cleanse your delivery list.
Reduce fraud and reputation damage with address verification
By John Hickey on June 7, 2023
<p>Did you know that something as simple as a mistyped address could open you and your customers up to potential fraud?</p><p>Fraud can take a huge bite out of your profits, as well as lead to reputation damage and other risks. It takes most companies an average of 14 months to catch on to fraud happening, resulting in average losses of $8,300 a month. </p><p>However, you can take steps to reduce fraud, risk, and reputation damage by implementing address verification. </p><h2>4 common types of address-related fraud</h2><ol><li>Commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) scams</li></ol><p>Criminals use <a href="/docs/cmra">Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies</a> (CMRA) to bilk customers for purchases of misrepresented or nonexistent products and services.
Smarty named as "Data Intelligence Leader" across address verification and e-commerce categories
By Trent Howell on May 23, 2023
<p><strong>PROVO, Utah</strong>--Smarty, a leader in address data intelligence, today announced that it has been named an industry leader, receiving 22 awards and top honors across address verification and e-commerce tools categories in G2's Spring Report. Awards and rankings originate from customer feedback and reviews, highlighting the best software products for businesses. </p><p>Smarty ranked first amongst over 50 address verification services, honored with recognition in the following areas:</p><ul><li>Leader</li><li>Easiest To Use</li><li>Most Implementable</li><li>Easiest Admin</li><li>Best Results</li><li>Best Relationship</li><li>Best Usability</li><li>Highest User Adoption</li><li>Best Meets Requirements</li><li>Momentum Leader</li></ul><p>G2's address verification category awards are based on customer feedback and verified reviews from nearly 1,000 customers.
Address verification for fun and profit: Using Go SDK
By Andrew Townsend on April 26, 2023
<p>In our recent webinar, Ryan Cox, one of our highly skilled API developers, walked through setting up and using the Smarty Go SDK. The webinar covered various essential topics, from obtaining the SDK to understanding the ins and outs of implementation. </p><p>Ryan explained that the Smarty Go SDK is easily accessible on GitHub. He then moved on to discuss the key differences between embedded keys and secret keys. Embedded keys are ideal for client-side applications because they provide limited access and don’t reveal sensitive information.
Master data management explained: Understanding the basics
By Andrew Townsend on March 12, 2023
<p>Master data management is but one section of our recent ebook “Data Governance: An Executive’s Survival Guide”. You can download the full ebook for free <a href="https://www. smarty. com/ebooks/data-governance-an-executive-survival-guide">here</a>. </p><h2>What is master data?</h2><p><strong>Master data</strong> is all the data critical to your business's operation. It's the data that multiple departments depend on to make decisions and drive success. From customer data to product data, financial data to inventory data, master data is the backbone of many organizations.
Lessons learned from validating over 440 billion addresses in 2022
By Andrew Townsend on February 1, 2023
<p>On average, customers of Smarty process 3. 3 billion addresses collectively a day. If you were to count a single <a href="https://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cheetos" target="blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Cheeto</a> for each address, that’s enough Cheetos to fill up 1,930 vans per day. If you were to start walking along the equator of the Earth and you took one step for each address, you’d make 38 trips around the planet. That’s a ton of address lookups. </p><p>So with that much address data flying through our systems, we decided to host a webinar sharing some of the insights we’ve gained from the over 440 billion addresses that were validated in 2022.
Full address validation leads to better business data
By John Hickey on January 31, 2023
<p><strong>Certain surprises are fun. Finding out the person in front of you at Starbucks paid for your coffee? Java-tastic! Finding out you've been shipping products to addresses that don't exist? That's a postal catastrophe. </strong></p><p>Luckily, many shipping snafus can be prevented by using address validation software. </p><p><strong>Address validation (or verification) is the process of checking a mailing address against an authoritative address database. If the address matches an address in the known database, it is marked “valid”—meaning it's real.
Revenue-driving benefits of clean address data
By John Hickey on January 31, 2023
<p>Every business executive knows that good data is critical. When you’re developing your sales strategy and talking about how to increase revenue, you probably turn to data to answer questions like these:</p><ul><li>What areas of growth can we exploit?</li><li>Which products are performing well?</li><li>Is mobile or desktop driving more sales? Where is traffic increasing?</li><li>How do we identify the “low-hanging fruit” customers?</li><li>Where can we reduce costs?</li></ul><p>But how do you know if your data is accurate? What steps do you need to take to ensure your data is actionable and driving revenue?</p><p>In our free ebook, <a href="https://www.
Pros and cons of the fuzzy address matching algorithm
By John Hickey on January 17, 2023
<p>Typos, typoes or typo's?</p><p><strong>No matter how you spell the word, typos are a problem. Even the most accurate typist occasionally misspells a word, leaves off a letter at the end, or just types a different word than intended. </strong></p><p>Typos in a text to your friend aren't a big deal. They'll figure out what you mean using context clues. But in a business data scenario, if you're following the logic of traditional address matching, where an address is either an exact match or not a match, you can't account for different formats or misspellings.
3 ways address normalization can benefit your business
By John Hickey on January 11, 2023
<p><strong>We recently released a free ebook, </strong><a href="https://www. smarty. com/ebooks/4-keys-to-unlocking-latent-revenue"><strong>4 Steps to Unlocking Latent Revenue and Driving ROI with Your Address Data</strong></a><strong>, in which we show you how to use your company’s address data to unlock latent revenue and drive ROI. </strong></p><p>In our last article, we reviewed address parsing. Today, we’ll explain address normalization and why it matters for data cleansing and analytics.
What is address parsing and how can it help your bottom line?
By John Hickey on January 6, 2023
<p><strong>Our global economy comprises many industries—healthcare, financial services, insurance, commercial development, and more. But one thing all companies have in common, no matter the industry? They’re all chasing a bigger and better return on investment (ROI). </strong></p><p>While there are many drivers of ROI, have you ever considered the role that address validation plays?</p><p><strong>Clean address data is essential for many business functions. Consider eCommerce, one rapidly growing example.
Common problems when working with address data
By Andrew Townsend on November 29, 2022
<p>There are many problems you may run into if you're working with address data. In our recent webinar, our own Adam Charlton went over some of the challenges he's encountered the most, and how to deal with them. </p><p><strong>Here’s some of what he talked about. You can view the full recording at the link below. </strong></p><h2>Standardization</h2><p>Standardizing addresses helps solve many of the problems inherent in data blending (combining two or more address databases together). To properly blend different address databases together, you need to either have an external ID correlate the two sources or have identically formatted address fields.
Rising parcel shipping costs 2022: How to cut your shipping expenses
By Wes Arnold on November 21, 2022
<p>Parcel shipping costs have been rising since 2020. We’ve all seen inflation on the consumer end, whether we’re checking out online or paying at the gas pump. And skyrocketing freight rates have made headlines. Today, we’re going to focus on the impact of the increasing cost of shipping on your business and what you can do about it. </p><p>But don’t lose hope—while we’re going to explore climbing shipment costs in this article, we’ll also chat about what your business can do to make shipping more efficient.
How to clean address data for the holiday rush
By Trent Howell on November 14, 2022
<p>It’s November, and online shopping is ramping up to its climactic end-of-year blitz. www. blackfriday. com estimates that between Thanksgiving and Black Friday of this year, consumers will spend approximately $13 billion (<a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/how-to-clean-address-data-for-the-holiday-rush#black-friday-predictions">1</a>). </p><p>That’s great news for your business. But if you don’t have the right tools in place to help you meet that demand, you might be left wishing you had better prepare.
Helpful hints to authenticating your APIs
By Andrew Townsend on November 2, 2022
<p>We brought out the big guns in the way of our Development Team Lead, <a href="https://www. linkedin. com/in/kent-gividen-8a037136/">Kent Gividen</a>, in a webinar all about authenticating your APIs. He went over some of his most useful tips and tricks that he uses to ensure APIs are authenticated. Was it helpful? You betcha. You wanna get the SparkNotes? Read on. </p><h2>Common and not-so-common APIs to know about</h2><p>Kent began by outlining the APIs that he has run into the most in his years as a developer.
Why do I need international address validation?
By Andrew Townsend on August 30, 2022
<p>With innumerable formats and unfamiliar spellings, standardizing and validating global address datasets can be a real pain. But it doesn't have to be. </p><p>International address validation is an essential part of virtually every business that works with international address data. But how can you keep your address data in multiple countries accurate while not wasting your time and money?</p><p>In our recent webinar, Jeffrey Duncan went over the details of international address validation.
Smarty unveils high-accuracy QGIS geocoding plugin
By Trent Howell on June 22, 2022
<h2>Smarty unveils unmatched QGIS geocoding accuracy with release of geocoding plugin - US address</h2><p><strong>PROVO, UT - June 21, 2022</strong> - Smarty, a leader in location data intelligence, announces today the release of their QGIS Geocoding Plugin for US Addresses to provide an easy way for users of the popular GIS software platform to validate, standardize, and convert addresses to their <a href="/articles/what-are-geocodes">latitude and longitude coordinates (geocodes)</a>. The plugin allows manual address entry as well as <a href="/articles/batch-geocode">batch geocoding via CSV</a>.
Address data masterclass webinar recap
By Andrew Townsend on May 23, 2022
<p>In this webinar, our geocoding and address expert Adam Charlton went over the ins and outs of address data. He gave details about address components and how they influence the way an address is composed. He also dove into the difference between ZIP9 and ZIP11, what a non-postal is, and other address hacks you didn’t learn in primary school. </p><h2>Standardization and validation</h2><p><a href="/articles/what-is-address-validation">What exactly is a valid address?</a> There are lots of different definitions depending on what your goal is with the address.
Why validation & accuracy matter for geocoding APIs
By Davin Perkins on May 10, 2022
<p>Choosing the right geocoding service is the first step toward unlocking better location intelligence and helping your organization make more strategic decisions. </p><p>From our ebook, we’ll cover two key questions to ask when choosing a geocoding API:</p><ol><li><strong>Does the API include address validation</strong></li><li><strong>How accurate are the geocodes?</strong></li></ol><h2>Question 1: Does the geocoding API include address validation?</h2><p>Fitness advocates are fond of saying things like “Abs are made in the kitchen” and “Fuel your body for success.
Cass vs. NCOALink certification article now live
By Davin Perkins on September 29, 2021
<p>We get a lot of questions about USPS CASS certification and how it differs from NCOALink certification. They are both methods of address validation that originate with the USPS. While they look the same and smell the same (probably), they are in fact, very different. Even still, these methods are frequently confused, conflated and equated. So, we decided to cut the confusion and answer all your burning questions about CASS and NCOALink. </p><p>Here is some of stuff that future you (who has read the article) already knows:</p><ul><li>When you notify the USPS that your address has changed, NCOALink only hangs onto those updates for 4 years.
Mailing address vs physical address: What’s the difference
By Jeffrey Duncan on August 11, 2021
<p>The difference between a physical address and a mailing address is that a physical address is where you are geographically located and a mailing address is where you get your mail. Often a physical address and a mailing address are the same—but not always! Whether you're trying to mail important account paperwork to thousands of customers or a single high-dollar customer appreciation gift to a key account, having the right address is important. </p><p>Before you send off that precious cargo, ask yourself if you're sending it to a physical address or a mailing address.
SmartyStreets adds 15 million US addresses and better match rates
By Trent Howell on July 20, 2021
<p><strong>July 20, 2021 - PROVO, UTAH</strong> - SmartyStreets, a leader in location data intelligence, announces the release of the new <a href="/products/us-address-verification">US Address Verification - Enhanced Matching</a>. Enhanced matching successfully verifies the messiest of addresses and includes 15 million additional valid addresses not found in the USPS address database. </p><p>The new enhanced matching engine successfully validates and corrects more ill-formatted addresses than ever before.
America's sex offender registries
May 26, 2015
<h2>A deceitfully comforting illusion</h2><p>In the US today, there are nearly <a href="https://www. parentsformeganslaw. org/number-of-registrants-reported-by-state-territory/">800,000</a> registered sex offenders. As part of the registration process, each sex offender is required to report their physical address to a local police department (the exact process varies from state to state). This is intended to empower the public to be able to identify where these offenders live and if one of them lives near you.
Appendix: America's sex offender registries
May 26, 2015
<p>This post contains additional data referenced from the <a href="/blog/sex-offender-registry-illusions">original sex offender registry post</a>. </p><p> </p><h3>Records containing the following were excluded from our statistical analysis:</h3><p><a href="/blog/sex-offender-registry-illusions#our-list-return">[Click to return to article]</a></p><pre><code class="language-plaintext">state=?? and zip=00000 or 11111 street contains "not available" street contains "incarcerated" or "incac" or "incrc" or "incarc" street contains "prison" street contains "absconded" or "absconced" or "absc" street contains "detention" or "det" or "det ctr" or "det center" or "detain" or "dt ctr" street contains "deported" street contains "incarc" street contains "unknown" or "unk" street contains "deceas" or "deseas" street contains "jail" street contains "custody" street contains "immigration" street contains "transien" or "transnt" or "trnsnt" street contains "homeles" or "homles" street contains "inmate" street contains "out of state" street contains "xxx" street contains "failure" or "fail" street contains "fail" street contains "register" street contains "verif" street contains "behav" street contains "institut" or "inst" street is blank street contains "vicinity" street contains "fugit" street contains "no longer" street contains "correctio" or "corr" or "correct" street contains "complia" street contains "reform" street contains "block of" or "blk of" or "blk" state is blank and city contains "unk" street contains "&" street contains "underpass" street contains "offend" street contains "resident" street contains "between" city contains "unknown" AND zip contains "00000" street contains "moved" street contains "nonresident" street contains "unconfirmed" state and zip are same AND city is blank zip contains "jail" city contains "Not available" and zip is unintelligible as a zip street = city street contains " street + city + state has more than two entries street contains "complex" street contains "reincarc" city contains "convict" street contains "usp" street contains "penit" street contains "hosp" street contains "louis" and city is "St.
Using USPS address verification to prevent fraud
November 10, 2014
<p>While it's an unfortunate truth of of today's e-commerce world, it is one that cannot be ignored: Fraud is ever-present in online transactions. The expense of unnecessary shipping costs and human resources, disgruntled customers, and the time it takes to investigate disputes adds up. And the damage to a company's brand may result in untold amounts of lost sales. </p><p>Using an address verification service (or AVS) as one of the tools in your fraud management toolbox is a smart and cost-effective move.
Google retracts physical address requirement for Play Store developers
By Rob Green on September 23, 2014
<h3>Must have address to play</h3><p>Every month, tens of billions of apps are downloaded from the <a href="https://play. google. com/">Google Play store</a>. Users of those apps have historically had limited contact with the app developers for asking questions or lodging a complaint. And getting a response from some developers has proved to be a very difficult experience. </p><p>Google briefly considered requiring app developers to provide their physical address or have their app removed from Google's play store.