What Is Address Lookup? How to Validate Physical Locations

Imagine buying a house in Seattle while sitting in Kentucky.

You can’t fly to close the deal so you get on a call with the real estate agent. Everything she said made you want to move sooner. You can’t wait to experience the expansive outdoors, forests, and rugged islands. But how do you know the house exists? To see if the address is real, verify it with address verification software. 

Address lookup is what you do to find the address. 

Global e-commerce companies use address lookups to verify customer addresses and streamline checkout processes. Address lookup systems determine whether an address is correct or not using the web, application programming interfaces (APIs), or software solutions.

Importance of address lookup

Manual data maintenance results in businesses spending hours of human effort contacting customers and confirming addresses. Who knows if they will be able to reach all customers? Modern companies use address lookup tools to save time, labor, and resources. 

Address lookup is of the utmost importance to e-commerce platforms. Not having the correct address information means shipping errors, credit card frauds, and even lost packages. That’s why companies integrate address lookup technology into the checkout process. 

Address lookup services double-check address data against authoritative address databases like the United States Postal Service (USPS). This comparison helps companies optimize delivery routes, streamline product shipping, and verify customer addresses against official records.

What is reverse address lookup?

A reverse address lookup or reverse address search uses a specific street address to find information about current or previous residents or property owners of a home or business. 

To reverse lookup an address, you need to key in the house number, zip code, street name, house number, and city name. 

Standard reverse phone lookups or address searches provide access to the following information, depending on the address verification system you use. 

• Age
• First name
• Last name
• Phone numbers
• Criminal records
• Previous addresses
• ​​Contact information
• Property physical information, including local area code

A reverse address search may seem invasive, but people usually look up addresses to do one or more of the following:

• Run people search queries
• Verify phone book addresses
• Uncover neighborhood and property information
• Execute background check of previous owners

You can also use search engines or white pages to look up addresses. It's common for people moving to a new area to verify addresses against public information. For example, you’re starting a family, and you want to live in a kid-friendly neighborhood.

Types of address lookup methods

Address verification software solutions use different types of lookup methods to cross-check addresses. Look at these methods below to understand how they work.

• Real-time address lookup or point-of-entry validation checks addresses before they enter your database or mailing lists. This method also standardizes addresses and adds missing elements.
• Fuzzy matching captures correct addresses even when customers enter incorrect data. For example, fuzzy matching can fix elements such as spelling mistakes, missing spaces, swapped letters, typos, wrong abbreviations, extra words, incorrect entries, duplicate addresses, and phonetic variations. Fuzzy matching plays a crucial role in correcting minor errors.
• Batch address lookup verifies and updates thousands of addresses and other forms of contact info. Large-scale companies use this address lookup method to validate existing email lists and databases.
• Address standardization updates all address data using a standard format. USPS determines the official format for US addresses. Address lookup service providers usually standardize data to match the format of the ​​national postal authority.
• Post-entry validation requires customers to manually enter addresses from a list of alternatives. Customers must confirm the correct address in order to check out.
• Partial verification occurs when ordering systems populate city and state fields once customers enter their ZIP code. These address verification systems require you to fill out the rest manually.
• Type-ahead validation suggests all possible addresses once users start entering street names. Since customers only key in a few letters, this validation method saves time and ensures a faster checkout process.
• Drop-down verification offers a menu for customers to choose state, city, street address, and ZIP code. Separate fields for each item simplify the process of entering addresses.
• Geocoding converts physical addresses into geographic coordinates containing latitudes and longitudes. Companies use geocoding to pinpoint an address to a specific location on the map.
• Reverse geocoding translates geographic coordinates into human-readable addresses. This process is precisely the opposite of geocoding, hence the name. Companies combine geocoding and reverse geocoding to ensure the accuracy of mobile location-based or global positioning system (GPS) addresses.

Global companies use these methods to check the accuracy of mailing addresses across cities, states, and countries. They rely on address verification systems to adhere to international address formats, access geospatial data points and follow address standardization guidelines.

How does address lookup work?

Global address lookup solutions curate region-specific databases to help businesses access complete, accurate, and validated addresses. They centralize multiple data sources and address formats to cross-check address data. Let’s understand what goes behind this address data collection and retrieval.

An address lookup system makes two kinds of  API requests to verify data.

1. Find request shows a potential list after narrowing down addresses.
2. Retrieve request retrieves standardized addresses formatted using postal requirements.

Any address search using an address lookup system shows final results after a round of find and retrieve requests. Once you submit an address with street name, city, state, and ZIP code, the system submits the request to API and returns an address ID. This address ID requests retrieval of a fully formatted address.

Following the retrieve request, the system displays a list of matching addresses for you to choose from.

Any address lookup process follows three main steps.

1. Address parsing involves breaking down, labeling, and checking the authenticity of address elements such as street names, states, provinces, and postal codes against public data.

2. Address standardization arranges an address according to a country's postal address format. For example, an address lookup system standardizes an address according to the Canada Post format for Canada, Royal Mail for the UK, and the USPS format for the US.

3. Address verification confirms the accuracy of a standardized mailing address. At this stage, an address lookup system looks for missing postal codes, misspellings, or other errors.

Address lookup deployment options

You can deploy an address lookup solution using any of these two options.

1.  On-premise address lookup API offers point-of-entry validation in real-time. Once you integrate this API with your CRM, you can  verify every address before saving them to your system. You can also integrate representational state transfer (REST) API to your website to verify addresses during checkout. 

2. Address lookup software validates addresses in batches. Most address lookup solutions can standardize address batches in minutes. Businesses use these systems to filter target audience lists and boost conversion rates. 

Benefits of address lookup

Bad data can be catastrophic for business performance if left unchecked. That’s why businesses regularly invest in filtering duplicate and irrelevant data. Address lookup solutions help companies minimize bad data and streamline operations. Check out the following advantages to determine if your organization needs an address lookup tool.

Move checkout line faster

Various reasons contribute to customers abandoning their carts, from a poor user experience (UX) to a lengthy checkout process. You can speed up the checkout process with an address lookup solution that verifies billing and shipping addresses with minimal lift.

Keep an up-to-date database

Database marketing fails when you have an outdated sales database. For example, you’ll never be able to reach customers with wrong addresses or address misspellings. Address lookup software solutions help you maintain an up-to-date database and succeed in your marketing campaigns.

Fulfill orders on time 

You can’t fulfill your orders with wrong addresses. Incorrect addresses are one of the common reasons for order fulfillment challenges. That’s why you need to use a paid or free address lookup tool to ensure address accuracy and deliverability. You can also use these standardized addresses to send free samples and win future business. 

Spot fake orders and frauds

Fake orders add to your shipping costs. Some users key in fake mailing addresses while placing orders. Save your business time, effort, and money by identifying fake orders and credit card frauds with address lookup systems. 

Businesses also use address verification systems to mail marketing items to prospects, prevent bad data from entering their system, and improve customer satisfaction.

Industries using address lookup tools

Different industries leverage address lookup tools to verify user addresses and keep their database current. Below are some of the most popular sectors using address lookup solutions.

• Third-party logistics: Third-Party logistics providers use address lookup systems to verify address lists and streamline shipping operations. They can deliver parcels on time, thanks to reliable location data that provides premise-level accuracy.
• Real estate: Real estate agents and businesses use address lookup services to share accurate listings with customers.
• Healthcare: Healthcare facilities, including pharmacies, dental clinics, hospitals, and diagnostic centers, use address lookup solutions to curate lists of patient addresses and share marketing materials.
• E-commerce: Online retailers and wholesalers employ street address lookup systems to confirm customer address inputs and cross-check address validity.

Other businesses that use mailing address lookup systems for marketing include local restaurants, travel agencies, and financial institutions.

Streamline operations with geographical data

If your business relies on location intelligence, you’ll be better off with geographic information systems (GIS). 

Analyze geographical data, identify real-world problems, and manage business operations with GIS software.