99 items tagged ”Address quality”

<p><strong>OREM, UT, May 29, 2026—</strong>Smarty, a leading address intelligence provider, today introduced <a href="https://www. smarty. com/products/us-business-data">US Business Data</a>, an API-based product that helps companies replace manual business research with automated business data enrichment. The product connects verified US addresses to firmographic details comprising business identity, industry, growth and performance, risk profile, and ownership, helping users understand who operates at a location and what they need to do next.

Learn what a Puerto Rican urbanization code is, why USPS requires it, and how to find and format it correctly for accurate address delivery.

<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.

<p>Geocoding can seem as simple as putting money in a vending machine and making a selection. You submit an address, get coordinates back. In many instances, geocoding could be <i>that</i> straightforward. </p><p>In business processes, coordinates influence fraud checks, delivery routing, compliance processes, customer experience, and risk decisions across industries like insurance, healthcare, logistics, fintech, and ecommerce. </p><p>However, location signals are often too broad or "plausible.

<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.

A property deed search by address is a lookup that uses a property's street address to find official ownership records. Learn all about it here!

Predictive analytics use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and statistical modeling to analyze large volumes of internal and external data in insurance.

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.

<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 &amp; 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.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<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>.

<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.

<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>.

<p>Selecting the right address data solution is only the beginning. Rolling it out successfully, resolving issues quickly, and keeping it performing at its best all depend on the quality of support behind it. </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>. </i> </p><p>Previously, we discussed what it means to be accurate, what questions to ask any address data provider before entering into a contract with them, and how to avoid the accuracy “validation gap.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<p>Let's be honest, when it comes to addresses, “'close enough” just isn't good enough. </p><p>At our recent panel discussion with Smarty’s product team members, we really dug deep into what makes address validation work and why it's so crucial for businesses. The themes spanned from Google Maps myths to international quirks, from “non-postal” mysteries to best practices for keeping databases clean. </p><h2>Why Google isn’t the benchmark</h2><p>One of the most common statements we hear from other business owners is the “but Google Maps says…” objection.

<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.

<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.

<p><i>Dateline: Tuesday, 8:04 a. m. </i></p><p>In what experts are calling “the biggest location intelligence crisis since the discovery of space,” rooftop-accurate geocodes have officially gone on strike. </p><p>The high-precision coordinates—normally pinpointing locations down to the exact rooftop for deliveries, telecom installs, insurance claims, and analytics—appeared on Smarty TV and issued a short but cutting statement this morning:</p><blockquote><p><i>“We’re tired of being taken for granted.

<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.

<p><strong>OREM, UT, August 18, 2025</strong>—Smarty®, the leader in address data intelligence, is inviting developers, data decision-makers, and certified address nerds to join our first-ever 2-day virtual user conference: <strong>Pinpoint</strong>. </p><p>This interactive online event will begin on November 11, 2025, and bring together a verifiably fun mix of industry experts, technical deep dives, and business-boosting insights. Participants will walk away with a better understanding of how address validation, geocoding, data enrichment, and autocomplete can solve their toughest data challenges—and maybe even score some sweet prizes while they’re at it.

<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.

<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>.

<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.

<p>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. <br><br>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:</p><ul><li>Accessing your dashboard</li><li>Setting up your account for success</li><li>Understanding your active subscriptions</li><li>Managing API keys effectively</li><li>Streamlining billing and financial management</li><li>Staying informed with smart notifications</li><li>Team management and access controls</li><li>Web tools</li><li>Making the most of free trials</li><li>Key takeaways</li></ul><p>Let’s get going!</p><h2>Accessing your dashboard</h2><p>Getting to your dashboard is straightforward.

<p>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. </p><p>That’s why Smarty created usage by key (included in all annual plans), limit by key, and rate limit by key (included in some plans; you can add them by contacting sales) for its APIs. </p><h2>Why key management matters</h2><p>Common API usage challenges (problems to solve):</p><ul><li data-list-item-id="e1f93338cebbf942c30f470743b45090b">Unexpected spikes in lookups</li><li data-list-item-id="e399e9bad571df9f41cca7db42451e951">Difficulty tracking specific key usage</li><li data-list-item-id="e6944c9618c7305816fb0a80ce5ba713f">Which keys are calling which Smarty license</li><li data-list-item-id="edad2219e3c0019bd7a34068ff1ac1765">Need for better control over API consumption</li><li data-list-item-id="e8ed7e2f1b5261d3bfaba23b55d1bb27b">Difficulty allocating Smarty lookups across an organization</li></ul><p>With Smarty's key management features, you <a href="/blog/usage-notifications-and-lookup-limits">gain more control by having better visibility of your usage</a>, eliminating the element of surprise (you know, the bad kind, like when you’re suddenly out of lookups).

<p>If you’re an insurtech company, here’s something you might not have high on your roadmap, but should: application pre-fills. </p><p>Most insurtechs are focused on the big-ticket items—policy management, quoting engines, claims systems, or risk modeling. And those are excellent, worthwhile ventures. </p><p>But if you want <a href="/solutions/p-and-c-insurance"><u>your insurance carrier clients</u></a> to really win (and keep renewing with you), you need to help them solve one of their biggest CX + compliance pain points: the insurance application process.

<p>Insurance is drowning in data. <br><br>Some of it’s a goldmine, but much of it’s misleading or incomplete. The sheer volume of information available today—third-party databases, public records, customer input—means that insurers are often using data they can’t fully trust. </p><p>That’s a big deal. Faulty data leads to underpriced policies. It also leads to overpriced premiums, which turn away potential customers and damage NPS, as well as allows your teams to build faulty risk models. This ultimately leads to destabilized portfolios and paying out more than your fair share in claims, potentially leading to a bankrupt program rather than a profitable one.

<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.

<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.

<p>OREM, UT, May 2025—The Stevie Awards announced that Smarty won the bronze medal for “<a href="https://stevieawards. com/aba/achievement-awards" target="blank" rel="noopener"><u>Achievement in Customer Satisfaction. </u></a>”</p><p>We’re thrilled to have received this award, as winning a Stevie signals that our customers trust and love Smarty products. </p><h2>What are Stevie Awards?</h2><p>Winning a “Stevie” is a prestigious honor for businesses, often referred to as the “Oscars of the business world.

<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.

<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.

<p>Ever feel like your address data is cursed?</p><p>Customers claim their packages never showed up. </p><p>Your CRM swears by an address that doesn’t exist. </p><p>Meanwhile, your checkout form mysteriously rejects a perfectly valid street name like it's possessed. </p><p>Healthcare claim denials, failed insurance verifications, suspicious fintech delays—something strange is definitely going on. </p><p>Instead of avoiding or running away terrified, we’re investigating the eerie and mysterious on Paranormal Day, May 3.

<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.

<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.

<p>Bigfoot. </p><p>Sasquatch. </p><p>Ol’ Filthy Albert. </p><p>No matter what you call him, you know who we’re talking about: the hairy giant cryptid who haunts our collective imagination and, <a href="https://civicscience. com/u-s-belief-in-sasquatch-has-risen-since-2020/#:~:text=In%20a%20CivicScience%20survey%20in,over%20the%20past%20two%20years. " target="_blank" rel="noopener"><u>according to about 13% of the US population</u></a>, wanders the American wilderness. </p><p>The traditional perception of Sasquatch is that of a solitary creature whose run-ins with people are the unavoidable consequence of human development and exploration.

<p>Let's start with a number that should make every hospital administrator do a double take: $17. 4 million. That’s how much the average hospital loses annually—just from denied claims due to patient misidentification. This isn’t from equipment costs, not from staffing shortages, and not even from insurance negotiations—just from keeping bad patient data. </p><p><i>Surely, our forms aren’t that bad. (Yes, they are, and stop calling me Shirley. )</i></p><p>But here’s the reality: According to the <a href="https://security.

<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.

<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.

<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>.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<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).

<p>We're happy to announce a recent partnership with Cytora, an insurance technology firm. Below, you will find the <a href="https://ffnews. com/newsarticle/insurtech/cytora-collaborates-with-smarty-to-lay-foundations-for-smarter-underwriting/">announcement they published</a>:</p><p><strong>London, UK; January 21:</strong> Cytora, the leading digital risk processing platform, today announced a partnership with Smarty, a cutting-edge provider of property data solutions, to transform property risk evaluation for insurers.

<p><i>The following is based on a true story. Some of the names and relationships have been changed to protect the anonymity of individuals and companies. However, the numbers are 100% accurate. </i></p><p>In 2023, I wanted to mail some really fancy cards to 165 businesses. I collected their addresses by asking for them or finding them in their online listing and collected them all in a neat little row. Then, I went a step further and ran these addresses through Smarty's bulk address validation tool.

<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.

<p>Just as wearing an “I voted” sticker has a time and a place, so too does the ugliest sweater you own. That’s right. It’s that time magical time when otherwise sensible adults deliberately dress like their grandmother's couch had a love child with a craft store explosion. </p><p>The beauty of Ugly Sweater Day lies in its delicious irony – the more you fail at fashion, the more you succeed at the holiday. It's the only day of the year when "Where did you get that hideous thing?" is a genuine compliment.

<p>We love ninjas!</p><p>Yes, we do!</p><p>We love ninjas!</p><p>How about you? </p><p> </p><p><i>crickets </i></p><p> </p><p>We know they’re out there. <br><br>BUT TODAY IS THEIR DAY, so even though these sneaky, highly-trained martial artists aren’t going to join our cheering throngs, we’ll celebrate them on National Day of the Ninja. <br><br>Why?</p><p>Because we’re ninja masters (sort of). </p><p>We’re really good at solving every address issue just like we believe our fellow shadow warriors would—silently running in the background, solving challenges with unparalleled speed and accuracy.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<p>May 7, 2024 - PROVO, UTAH - <a href="/">Smarty</a>, a preeminent provider of address data solutions, announced today its service partnership with Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: UBER), providing accurate, real-time address data for the ride-sharing leader. Smarty's comprehensive address intelligence services will bolster Uber’s extensive address data capabilities across its global operations, encompassing ride-sharing, meal delivery and local courier services. </p><blockquote><p>Jonathan Oliver, CEO of Smarty, said, "It’s evident Uber has the highest commitment to delivering delightful customer experiences and operational excellence.

<p>March 18 marks a bit of an awkward holiday: Awkward Moments Day. It's a day that celebrates those times that make you cringe, moments that make you face-palm, and stories that wake you up at 4 in the morning thinking, "Ugh! Why did I do that?" Although these moments can be uncomfortable, it's helpful to remember that everyone has them, and if they say they don't … We know they’re lying. </p><p>It's also helpful to remember that these embarrassing stories can help us learn and do better the next time around.

<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.

<p>On October 21, we celebrate Marty McFly Day, dedicated to honoring the time-traveling teen's contribution to the world of time travel in the "Back to the Future" universe. In the spirit of this iconic day, we embark on a journey to learn from Marty's adventures and apply those lessons to address data quality in the business world. </p><p>Just as Marty's actions set off ripples through time, we'll explore how address data accuracy—or the lack thereof—can create a ripple effect with profound consequences.

<p>Handling address data is such a routine occurrence for health insurance providers that it’s not the first thing that would come to mind as being a liability. However, the reality is that discrepancies and inaccuracies in address data can have far-reaching consequences, posing serious privacy and compliance risks. Healthcare fraud, reputational damage, and financial penalties are just a few examples of the potential hazards. </p><p>In this blog, we’ll delve into three common types of privacy and compliance risks resulting from incorrect or incomplete address data.

<p>When it comes to physical health, sometimes the smallest things can have a big impact. A microscopic virus or a small injury can develop into a life-threatening infection before you even know it’s there — and conversely, a tiny pill or ointment can save a life. </p><p>The little things matter when it comes to health data, too. In particular, address data is a small part of a patient profile that can have far-reaching effects if it is incorrect or incomplete. Address data is a key information point at the center of billing and communication with patients, and even a slight mistake in an address—a missing unit number or a misspelled street name—can make mail undeliverable.

<p>Ever since the <a href="https://www. healthmarkets. com/resources/health-insurance/american-healthcare-history/"><u>first Blue Cross health insurance plan</u></a> was provided to Texas schoolteachers in 1929 for a monthly fee of $6, health insurance providers have formed the backbone of the American healthcare system. </p><p>Today, as that system faces ongoing scrutiny, health insurance providers are still at the heart of the action, striving to connect patients to the highest possible quality of care while navigating significant changes including rising costs, digital transformation, medical advances, customer expectations, and ever-present regulations.

<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.

<p>You've got more website traffic than ever, but your conversion rate and sales are plummeting. What's worse is that this is the information you've got to deliver to the executive team for the monthly report. They're going to want to know the reasons why and the proposed solutions. </p><p>Of course, you'll make it your top priority to figure out what's going on. You decide to map out the flow of the user's journey on your website. You identify key points where there could be problems for the customer.

<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.

<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.

<p>Your business generates data with every digital ad you run, every purchase order, every promotional mailing, and every customer survey you do. And every time one campaign wraps up, another starts. Developing a solid database cleansing and consolidation strategy can help prevent a database full of holes and information gaps. </p><p>Why does database cleansing matter? Your revenue will diminish if you rely on bad data to make strategic business decisions. In our ebook, 5 Ways Companies Use Address Verification to Improve Business Results, we discuss how to use address verification software to cleanse databases and merge datasets.

<p><a href="https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=WqOvgqT-Kys">Earth Day</a> is celebrated every year on April 22, raising awareness about environmental issues and encouraging people to take action to protect our planet. </p><p>But have you ever considered the connection between <a href="https://youtube. com/shorts/2kH6PDFFZ9I?feature=share">Earth Day</a> and clean address data?</p><p>You probably haven't. But don't worry, because we have. </p><p>Let's take a look at the importance of maintaining clean and accurate address data and how it can contribute to a healthier environment.

<p>Successful data governance requires more than just rules and policies. It requires a dedicated team of professionals with clear roles and responsibilities to effectively manage and protect the data. </p><p>We recently published <strong>“Data Governance: An Executive’s Survival Guide”</strong>, an ebook that you can download right now. In it you’ll find information on data governance and other important factors in the address data game. </p><p>The following is an excerpt on the section about the different roles and responsibilities involved in data governance.

<p>In today's data-driven world, data security is more important than ever. Data is always at risk for attacks and misuse, and lack of security is an increasing threat. With the rise of phishing attacks and other cyber threats, organizations must be vigilant to protect their data from unauthorized access, theft, and misuse. </p><p>The following is an excerpt from our newest ebook, “Data Governance: An Executive’s Survival Guide”. You can download the entire guide <a href="https://www. smarty.

<p>We recently published an ebook titled <strong>“Data Governance: An Executive’s Survival Guide”</strong>. The following is a sampling of the chapter on data quality. </p><h2>The value of data quality</h2><p><strong>Data is the lifeblood of modern organizations</strong>, providing crucial insights that can drive decision-making and innovation. However, the value of data is only as good as its quality. Poor quality data can lead to costly mistakes, misinformed decisions, and reputational damage.

<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.

<p>We're thrilled to share a sneak peek of one of the sections in our latest ebook, "Data Governance: An Executive's Survival Guide. " This guide is a must-have for anyone with a database, and we have packed it with an abundance of critical points and examples that will enlighten and entertain you. </p><p>One of the most valuable assets businesses have is the digital data we work with every day. As more and more data is collected and used, it's important to have a system to manage it effectively.

<p><a href="https://www. smarty. com/blog/international-address-masterclass#international-masterclass">In this webinar</a>, 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.

<p>Let's get straight to the point. If your company isn't converting clicks to sales, you're losing money. </p><p>But this you already know. </p><p>What you may not know is you can solve this quickly with <a href="/articles/autocomplete">address autocomplete</a> on your web forms. </p><p>With major corporations everywhere holding mass layoffs, generating revenue has never been more urgent. Appealing discounts, deals, offers, etc. will attract visits, but if your web form is difficult to fill out, those clicks won't convert.

<p><strong>PROVO, Utah</strong>--Smarty, a leader in location data intelligence, announced a significant upgrade to its <a href="/products/us-address-verification#demo">US Address Verification - Enhanced Matching</a> product by adding 5 million addresses to its list of U. S. non-postal addresses, increasing total non-USPS addresses from 15 million to 20 million. With the additional addresses, Smarty’s total list of U. S. valid addresses reaches over 210 million—the most complete,</p><p>US Address Verification - Enhanced Matching validates and standardizes the messiest of addresses, and easily integrates into most systems.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<p>You bet he does. </p><p>He kinda has to, there’s no other way he can get rooftop-accurate geocoding fast enough. The man travels the entire world in 14 hours and needs to know exactly where to land his reindeer. </p><p>Look, for a lot of people’s needs you could say that "parcel centroid" is good enough when it comes to address geocoding. Many houses are in fact in the center of the parcel. However, there are also many homes that are not in the center of the parcel. </p><p><strong>Parcel centroid (other guys):</strong></p><p><img src="https://d3jlqkabnnke2x.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<p>Did you know that every address has loads of hidden data buried in its metadata? In this webinar, we briefly considered the value of breaking an address into its component parts. Then we looked at the different metadata available and provided definitions for each one. And finally, we went over use cases and ideas on how to leverage metadata for improved operations, business intelligence, and financial performance. </p><h2>There’s gold in your address metadata!</h2><p>Every address contains basic components that are standardized by country.

<p><strong>Are you looking to use an API to verify addresses and convert them to latitude and longitude coordinates?</strong></p><p>Maybe you also need to standardize addresses in order to de-duplicate records across millions of addresses in your database too. That's right, we're talking about validating, standardizing, and bulk-processing geocodes with a geocoding API. </p><p><strong>There are </strong><a href="/articles/geocoding-api-comparison"><strong>several options out there</strong></a><strong>, so let us tell you how </strong><i><strong>speed</strong></i><strong> sets Smarty apart from the rest.

<p>Improving address form completion rates—whether in a shopping cart, request for quote, or other form—can be a sinch if you’re using an address autocomplete tool. Not sure what that is? When you see an address line on a form and think “oh shoot this is going to take a minute” and then it fills it in after only a few keystrokes, that’s address autocomplete. </p><p>And no, not all address autocomplete tools are created equal. </p><p>Some check against their own address database only that is not frequently maintained.

<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>.

<p><strong>JUNE 7, 2022 - PROVO, UTAH</strong> - Smarty, a leader in location data intelligence, announces the release of its new US Master Address List, a comprehensive dataset of 193 million standardized and verified primary and secondary addresses that are all deliverable by the USPS. With new construction, the list will soon top 200 million. </p><p>The Smarty US Master Address List is the most complete and accurate list of mailable US addresses available. Additional data points like whether the delivery point is residential or commercial, parent addresses and associated apartments or suites, shared delivery points, ZIP+4 Codes, and FIPS Codes all provide valuable business insights.

<p>The right geocoding API can help your business reduce costs and increase profits through accurate location data. But how do you know if a service can handle your data needs? Capacity and speed are two key topics to consider when comparing geocoding services. </p><p><strong>You can find out more about all the questions you need to ask in our ebook, 8 Questions to Ask When Selecting a Geocoding API by clicking the link here:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www. smarty. com/documents/ebooks/8-questions-to-ask-when-selecting-a-geocoding-api.

<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.

<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.

<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.

<p><strong>May 28, 2020</strong> - PROVO, UTAH - <a href="/">SmartyStreets</a>, a leader in location data intelligence, announces the release of the new <a href="/products/apis/us-autocomplete-pro-api">US Autocomplete Pro API</a>, a service that improves data governance at the source and simplifies address data entry in real-time. </p><p>The US Autocomplete Pro API starts suggesting valid addresses as soon as the user first starts typing an address. All addresses suggested are 100% validated and standardized, and are returned to the user in a fraction of a second.

<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.