A Comprehensive Guide to Address Lookup

In today’s world, accurate and up-to-date addresses are essential for many things — especially mailing packages and marketing to potential customers.

Enter: address lookup. This process searches for and verifies detailed information about a specific address, such as the property owner’s name, contact information, street address, demographic data, and mailing lists. 

There are many use cases for an address lookup tool. Businesses may use address lookup to create targeted marketing campaigns, while individuals may use it to learn more about their own or a potential real estate property. 

In this guide, we’ll explain how address lookup works, why you might want to use an address lookup tool, and some tips for a successful address search. 

What Exactly Is Address Lookup?

Overall, address lookup is a valuable tool for anyone who wants to learn more about a particular address, whether for personal or business purposes. It provides access to detailed information, from the name of a property owner to demographic information and mailing lists. 

Address lookups provide accurate and up-to-date information about a specific address, which can be crucial for various purposes, such as mailing, marketing, or property research.

An address lookup is usually either: 

• Customer-facing, meaning the customer enters a zip code into a form, and the website suggests an address match. 
• Hidden, such as when a company validates someone’s contact info, public information, or criminal record. Hidden address lookups help companies validate customers’ addresses, meet compliance regulations, and flag suspicious locations.

Customer-facing address lookups are sometimes carried out through address validator tools during the checkout process to ensure the item is delivered correctly and on time. 

What Information Can Be Obtained Through An Address Lookup?

The information that can be obtained through an address lookup varies depending on the service you use. At a minimum, most address lookup tools and services can verify that an address exists and is accurate. 

Before you start an address lookup, you’ll need a few minimum pieces of information: including the house number, street name, and city name. Sometimes it helps to have an area code, too. 

Information that you might be able to attain during the address lookup process includes the following. 

1. Property ownership: the name and contact information of the current property owner, as well as previous owners.
2. Property value: an estimate of the property’s value based on recent real estate sales data and other factors.
3. Property characteristics: a property’s lot size, age, construction materials, and other physical characteristics.
4. Property tax information: the property’s tax assessment value and the amount of taxes paid.
5. Neighborhood information: demographic data including information about the population in the area, such as age, income, and education level, as well as crime statistics, school information, and other details about the surrounding area.
6. Sales history: how many times the property has been sold, when it was last sold, and for how much.
7. Zoning information: the property’s zoning classification and any restrictions on its use.
8. Mailing lists: mailing lists of residents or businesses located at a specific address.

The information you can get from an address search depends on how you perform the address lookup. There are both paid and free resources you can use.

Methods For Performing An Address Lookup

There are both free and paid address lookup tools that you can use to search for an address. Businesses interested in customer-facing address lookup tools can explore address lookup APIs, which allow for the integration of address lookup functionality into software applications — such as a Shopify transaction page. 

First, let’s break down some common free ways to look up property information. 

1. Public records: city directories, voter registration rolls, and land titles are all readily available sources of information. Go to your local town hall or municipality to learn what property records are publicly available. 
2. Government websites: state and federal government websites often offer free address search services. For instance, the Department of Transportation supports the National Address Database (NAD). 
3. GPS and other map applications: programs like Google Maps can be used to search for addresses by entering partial information, such as a street name or city.
4. Real estate websites: real estate-focused websites like Zillow can provide details about a property’s location and current owner.
5. Direct contact: consider using social media or the Whitepages to reach out to a contact directly, or to the person’s friends, relatives, or colleagues who may be able to provide information.
6. Social media: public profiles on social networking sites like Facebook or LinkedIn may include an individual’s address.
7. Online directories: websites such as Spokeo and People Finder offer both free and paid people and address search services.

If you want more accurate or detailed results, consider using a paid address lookup tool. These services charge users because they offer access to a more extensive database and updated information. As a result, these paid address lookup tools may provide more extensive and reliable results. 

Here are a few paid databases to try if you’re still looking for more information about a specific address. 

• BeenVerified: This service includes various options, including reverse phone lookup, unclaimed money, and address lookup. 
• Address Validator: A great customer-facing tool, this platform reduces the cost of invalid addresses for online merchants. 

• TruthFinder: This platform’s powerful search engine looks through police records, photos, and reverse address lookups.
• Spokeo: The paid version of this tool gives you access to 130 million property records. 

There are dozens of options available; online address lookup tools are a popular choice for their ease of use and accessibility. 

Another option to perform an address lookup is to integrate address lookup APIs. Adding this functionality directly into your website architecture enables customers to validate their own addresses or to enrich address data behind the scenes. These integrations provide a seamless experience for both the customer and the business. 

[Read more: How does Address Validator work?] 

Tips For A Successful Address Lookup

In order to ensure a successful address lookup, it’s essential to understand the data sources and their limitations. There are many different address lookup services available. It’s up to the business owner or individual user to choose a reputable one. 

Look for a service that has a good reputation, and that uses a comprehensive database.

Likewise, it’s best to double-check data obtained through an address lookup to ensure the information is up-to-date. Consider using a variety of sources to gather information, such as public records, government websites, or online directories. This will help you cross-reference the information you find and ensure its accuracy.

Remember, the more information you provide about an address or contact, the more likely you are to find an accurate match. Before you run a search — especially before a paid search — get details such as the full address, name of the property owner, or the property’s age. Fill out as many search fields as you can to get the most utility out of your search tool. 

Finding people can also be invasive. If you’re using address lookup for business purposes, such as to verify someone’s shipping address, be careful about asking for too much information. It’s important to respect the privacy of the property owner and only use the information for legitimate purposes. 

Avoid sharing any personal information you find with others who don’t need that data for their work. You may also want to put a disclaimer on your website to protect your business. 

Final Thoughts

Address lookup tools help provide individuals and businesses with accurate and up-to-date information about addresses, properties, demographics, and more. 

An address lookup service can help you keep customer information up to date, allowing you to send targeted marketing campaigns, improve the customer experience, and reduce shipping costs. 

Address lookup tools can also help build customer trust. Companies that integrate an address validator API into their checkout experience can indicate to customers that their business is legitimate and credible. 

Learn more about Address Validator and sign up to try it for free.