Why address verification is the necessary complement to autocomplete
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:
1. Gain up to 55 points of metadata per verified address
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:
- ZIP-9 level accuracy geocoordinates (rooftop accuracy also available)
- ZIP+4 Codes
- Residential Delivery Indicator (RDI) to identify residential vs. commercial properties
- County FIPS codes for geographic analysis
- SmartyKey® – a unique, persistent identifier that helps identify alias addresses, prevent duplicates, and unify disparate datasets
2. Clean the addresses already in your system
Autocomplete technology ensures accurate address entry on forms. As for addresses already in your database, address verification cleanses and standardizes entire address databases in bulk, improving long-term data quality.
3. Catch errors from manual entries
Even with autocomplete, users sometimes bypass suggestions and manually enter an address incorrectly. Running address verification regularly ensures these bad addresses are identified and corrected, maintaining a clean database.
4. Keep addresses up to date over time
Autocomplete validates addresses only at the point of entry. However, addresses frequently change due to new developments, renaming, or USPS updates. For example, street names change, ZIP Codes change (especially the +4 part), and city names change. Address verification ensures your database remains current by verifying and updating addresses regularly.
5. Unlock deeper address parsing for advanced use cases
Autocomplete parses addresses into street, city, state, and ZIP Codes. Address verification goes further, breaking down the street address into:
- Street name
- Street number
- Pre-directional and post-directional elements
- Secondary unit identifiers (e.g., apt. #, suite #)
This granular breakdown is essential for businesses that need precise address components for logistics, compliance, and analytics, or to construct a differently formatted address (for UPS and FedEx, for example).
Conclusion
While Smarty’s US and International Address Autocomplete makes form entry seamless and accurate in real time, US and International Address Verification ensure long-term data integrity, enhance metadata insights, and keep your address database accurate, complete, and up to date.
By using both tools together, you’re not just capturing valid addresses—you’re ensuring those addresses remain correct, enriched, and useful for all your business needs.
If you want to prevent bad addresses from sneaking into your system, maintain a clean database, and unlock deeper geographic intelligence, address verification tools are the perfect complement to autocomplete integrations. Don’t just collect addresses—verify them, enhance them, and future-proof your data.
Please reach out if you have any questions we can help with.
