Address Data Masterclass Webinar Recap

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.

Standardization and Validation

What exactly is a valid address? There are lots of different definitions depending on what your goal is with the address. For example, a parking lot address could be a valid address for a real estate developer, but not for package delivery.

The same goes for USPS valid addresses, parcel validation, or non-USPS valid addresses.

Ultimately you need to decide how you are going to standardize for your needs to ensure that addresses are written the way that is most useful to you. Keep in mind that improperly standardizing addresses can cause significant problems.

Address Anatomy

In the webinar, Adam outlined the following address components and how they inform address systems.

Primary Number
Pre Direction
Street Name
Street Suffix
Post Direction
Secondary Designator
Secondary Number
City
State
ZIP

ZIP Codes

Tending to lead to confusion, the secrets of ZIP Codes were unraveled. You can learn everything you need to know about ZIP Codes in this article and ZIP+4 Codes in this article if you’d rather not watch the video.

Did you know that ZIP Codes can overlap areas and cross state/county boundaries? Did you know that a ZIP Code often corresponds to a street segment, not just a block of a city or town?

Geocoding

Finally, Adam took us through the benefits and basic levels of Geocode accuracy. He did suggest that for those who are looking to learn more about Geocoding and perhaps interested in a deeper dive on the topic you should check out the recording of his Geocoding webinar.