New 42-day free trial
Smarty

International address masterclass webinar recap

Andrew Townsend
Andrew Townsend
 | 
March 3, 2023
Tags
International address masterclass webinar recap

In this webinar, our international address expert Bryan Amundson went over the ins and outs of international address data. He gave details about country designators, transliteration, and other localized things to consider when working with international addresses. He also dove into how to tell how accurate your international data is and other international address hacks you didn't learn in primary school.

What is an international address?

An international address is any address outside the country relative to your geographic location or the location of a specific business or entity. Many address data tools are available, and many list "US Addresses" separate from "International Addresses" since they’re based in the US.

When is it useful to have this sort of database? Really any time you’re dealing with addresses in more than one country.

One benefit to international address datasets is that you'll often include the entire planet in your tool. If you’re mailing anything 'internationally,' you'll want an international address validation tool.

Country designators

There are more country designations than just the country's name.

For example:

Name:ISO-2ISO-3ISO-N
Great Britain:GBGBR826

Every request against an international address validation tool will require the Country field to be provided. Most tools require that you use their specific country designator of choice, which can be difficult if you’re not sure what that designation is.

In the example above for Great Britain, an address tool may require the ISO-3 for all requests, but you might only know the name or the ISO-2.

Smarty is flexible with this field (unlike the address validation API provided by a company that rhymes with Schmoogle, which only allows ISO-2). We accept all four positive country designators. So what you have will work.

What is address transliteration?

Simply put, address transliteration is the conversion between non-Latin and Latin characters. Some carriers require addresses to be in Latin characters.

You'll have a hard time understanding a foreign address's meaning, especially if the language uses different characters from the ones you’re familiar with. Doing a lookup against Smarty’s international address database can get you all sorted out in no time flat.

If a query is given in the native language, the API can give back the native result or the Latin result.

The same goes if you give an address in a Latin language; it’ll return a Latin result.

It's important to note also that the API can be programmed to deliver whatever result you specify, "native" or "Latin."

Looking to start standardizing and validating international addresses?

Get a free trial of the world's best address validation tools and start improving the quality of your address database today!

View the Full Webinar Recording Here

This is but a taste of what Bryan covered in the webinar. You can view the full recording here.

Subscribe to our blog!
Learn more about RSS feeds here.
rss feed icon
Subscribe Now
Read our recent posts
Improving user/customer experience in every industry with clean address data
Arrow Icon
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. 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. 👎 That’s bad UI (user interface): messy, confusing design that makes navigation a chore. You make it to the checkout and start entering your info, but the site keeps rejecting your address.
Dashboard essentials for Smarty users
Arrow Icon
The Smarty dashboard is your central hub for managing address verification, geocoding, and property data services. Whether you're just starting or looking to optimize your current setup, understanding the dashboard's full capabilities can significantly streamline your address data operations. We recently held a webinar in which we reviewed all of the Smarty dashboard's items and features. Missed it? That's OK; we've got all the information right here. You can expect to read about:Accessing your dashboardSetting up your account for successUnderstanding your active subscriptionsManaging API keys effectivelyStreamlining billing and financial managementStaying informed with smart notificationsTeam management and access controlsWeb toolsMaking the most of free trialsKey takeawaysLet’s get going!Accessing your dashboardGetting to your dashboard is straightforward.
Take charge of your API usage with Smarty’s key management features
Arrow Icon
Ever wondered, “Where did all my lookups go?!” Without proper API management, you may burn through your lookups quicker, experience runaway code, and encounter unexpected usage. That’s why Smarty created usage by key (included in all annual plans) and limit by key (included in some plans; you can add them by contacting sales) for its APIs. Why key management mattersCommon API usage challenges (problems to solve):Unexpected spikes in lookupsDifficulty tracking specific key usageWhich keys are calling which Smarty licenseNeed for better control over API consumptionDifficulty allocating Smarty lookups across an organizationWith Smarty's key management features, you gain more control by having better visibility of your usage, eliminating the element of surprise (you know, the bad kind, like when you’re suddenly out of lookups).

Ready to get started?