Match options

Match options in Dedupely are the core settings that define how duplicate records are identified within your CRM.

Dedupely offers Exact, Similar, Fuzzy, Similar Words and Domain Root — the last one built for email addresses and company websites — plus None, to leave a field out of the match.

This guide will walk you through each match option, explain when to use them, and provide examples to help you choose the best match options to use depending on your needs.

Exact

• Description: Compares records for identical values in the selected fields.
• Best for: Detecting duplicates where fields must match exactly, such as Names, Emails and Address. Ensures high confidence in duplicate detection with minimal false positives.
• Example: "John Smith, johnsmith@example.com" matches only with "John Smith, johnsmith@example.com."( Proper case is not mandatory)

Similar

• Description: Finds records with closely related values, accounting for minor differences ( mixed letters, missing letters, additional letter).
• Best for: Identifying duplicates with small variations, such as abbreviated names or slight misspellings. Balances precision with flexibility to catch more duplicates without overmatching.
• Example: "Jon Smith, jon.smith@example.com" matches with "John Smith, johnsmith@example.com."

Extra tips for Similar

• Using similar on phone number fields: When applying this match option to a phone number field, Dedupely focuses only on the digits of the phone number, specifically the last 7 digits. What it ignores: Hyphens, parentheses, and other formatting symbols. Country codes or general prefixes (e.g., "+1"). Example: "(123) 456-7890" will match with "123-456-7890" or "+1 123 456 7890" because the focus is solely on the last 7 digits: 456-7890.

Fuzzy

• Description: Matches records using a phonetic algorithm that detects duplicates even when names or values sound the same but are spelled differently. This makes it ideal for identifying entries with alternate spellings or common phonetic variations.
• Best for: Handling scenarios where data inconsistencies include spelling variations but phonetic similarity exists, such as contact names or addresses.
• Example: "Sean" matches with "Shawn" because they sound the same, even though they are spelled differently.

Domain Root

• Description: Matches records based on the root domain of email addresses or URLs.
• Best for: Detecting duplicates at the organization level rather than individual contacts. Useful for consolidating records from the same company or website.
• Example: "support@example.com" matches with "sales@example.com" because both share the root domain "example."

None

• Description: Excludes certain fields or criteria from being considered in the matching process.
• Best for: Avoiding overmatching or false positives when specific fields are not reliable for duplicate detection.

Similar Words

• Description: Similar Words matches on a number of shared words, and can ignore the order they appear in. It ensures that records sharing the same words, regardless of their arrangement, are identified as potential duplicates.
• Best for: Managing inconsistencies in how names, company names, or addresses are entered, especially when word order varies. This is particularly helpful for businesses, organizations, or locations with abbreviations or partial entries.
• Example: "Fire Company LLC" will match with "Company LLC Fire" because both fields share the same words, albeit in a different order.

More ways to use Similar Words

• You can also search by the first or last parts or words: This feature allows you to identify matches based on the beginning or ending parts of words, making it easier to handle partial entries or abbreviations. Best use cases: Abbreviated addresses (e.g., "123 Main St" matches with "123 Main Street"). Partial company names (e.g., "Tech Corp LLC" matches with "Tech Corp").

How to configure match options

• Access your duplicate search: Open the relevant Duplicate Search where you want to apply match options.
• Select fields to match: Choose the fields (e.g., First Name, Last Name, Email) you want Dedupely to compare.
• Choose match types: Apply the appropriate match option (Exact, Similar, etc.) for each field.
• Run a scan: Start the scan to see results based on your configured match options.

Best practices for using match options

• Combine match types: Use a combination of Exact and Similares for optimal results when working with varied datasets.
• Test your criteria: Run scans with different match options to evaluate the quality of results and adjust as needed.
• Use filters with match options: Pair match options with Filters to refine results and focus on specific segments of your data.

Now that you understand match options, you’re ready to configure your duplicate searches effectively. If you have questions, our Customer Success Team is here to help!