Keeping your contact database neat and tidy means that sometimes you need to handle duplicate records. Keela has a few tricks up our sleeve to help you manage duplicates in the database with just a few clicks!
Identifying Duplicates in Keela
Keela's Duplicate Management tool identifies duplicates in your database using the following matching criteria:
- Contact ID or Origin ID
- Primary Email Address
- Full Name or Organization Name
- Other Email Addresses
Note: The data in these fields must match exactly in order for Keela to identify the contacts as duplicates. This includes spaces, so check your data carefully for these.
Quick Tip: If your data does not match exactly (i.e. "John Smith" and "John Joseph Smith"), you can manually merge any contacts that haven't been identified by the Keela system.
How do I use the Duplicate Manager?
1. In the Contact Overview, click the merge button.
2. Keela will present all the duplicates it has identified for your action one at a time. When a potential duplicate is found, you can take three actions:
- Ignore - Keela will no longer flag this as a potential duplicate contact.
- Skip for Now - no action is taken - you will move to the next found duplicate.
- Merge - combine the duplicates together.
If you choose to Merge the duplicates, you'll need to confirm which information to retain from each record for the new contact (see below).
What Happens When I Merge Duplicate Contacts Together?
Great question! There are two types of data formatting in Keela, and both will result in a different result when a merge between Contacts occurs.
(1) Single Value Fields
Single value fields are those fields on your Contacts' Profiles that can only store one value. These are things like Name, Primary Email Address, Address Data, Multiple Choice (Single Select) Custom Fields, and Birth Dates. When you merge Contacts together, these fields will retain whatever information already exists on the profile of the crowned Contact.
(2) Multiple Value Fields
Multiple value fields are those fields that can store more than one data value. These are fields like Tags, Other Emails, Other Websites, Other Companies, and Multiple Choice (Multi-Select) Custom Fields. Because more than one value is accepted, when two Contacts are merged these values will be combined from both profiles.
Hint: Look out for the blue "All Fields Will be Kept" label to see which fields allow Multiple Values
Subscription Status
Manually Merging Duplicates in Keela
Since we have very specific criteria to identify duplicates in Keela, not all your duplicates may be caught by the system. That's why you can also manually merge any duplicates in Keela as you find them!
(1) Select the Duplicate Contacts
In the contact overview page, select the duplicate contacts to merge. Using the search, sort, or filtering functionalities on this page will help find the duplicates.
(2) Select Merge Contacts
When you select contacts, the Action button will appear at the top left of the contact summary. Click this and then select Merge Contacts
(3) You will then be taken to the screen to choose the fields you would like to retain (outlined above).
FAQ
Can I choose more than 2 contacts to merge?
Most definitely! You will be able to scroll left to right to review all the information for each contact and choose which contact's information to retain for each field.
Can I unmerge contacts?
Sorry but it's not possible to unmerge contacts. Please ensure you take extra care when merging contacts in the Keela system.
How do I merge Company Contacts and Individual Contacts?
To merge Contacts they must be the same type. You will first need to change the Contact Types so the types match and you will then be able to merge them.
What happens to the other data on a Contact Profile when I merge?
Don't worry! All other data (ex. Interactions, Transactions, etc.) will be brought over the to the Primary/Crowned Contact.
Can I "Ignore" contacts that Keela flags as possible duplicates?
Yes! If you click "Ignore" on the duplicate manager, these contacts will be permanently ignored for automatic duplicate matching. These contacts will be permanently unmatched unless a new contact comes into the system which matches any of the duplicate criteria.
How do I know how many possible duplicates I'm working with?
If you open the duplicate manager, Keela will tell you how many possible duplicates are found on your account in the upper right-hand corner.
