NAP consistency

NAP. Name, Address, Phone, must be identical across every online mention of your business. Inconsistencies signal Google you might be multiple businesses (or an illegitimate one). Getting this right is boring, technical, and absolutely necessary.

Why NAP matters

Google's local algorithm uses NAP consistency as a trust signal. If "Joe's Plumbing" appears as "Joe's Plumbing," "Joe's Plumbing LLC," "Joe Plumbing," and "Joe's Plumbing Inc." across different sites, Google isn't sure these are all the same business. Trust drops. Rankings drop.

What counts as "NAP"

• Name: exact legal or DBA name
• Address: street, city, state, zip, formatted identically
• Phone: primary business number

Some tools include website URL as "NAP+W." The principle is the same: consistency.

Common inconsistencies

• "Inc." vs "Incorporated" vs nothing
• "St" vs "Street," "Ave" vs "Avenue"
• Suite numbers present in some, absent in others
• Phone format: "(516) 780-1385" vs "516-780-1385" vs "516.780.1385"
• Old phone numbers still listed on outdated directories
• Office moved; old address still on third-party sites

The audit workflow

Step 1: Define your canonical NAP

Write it down once:

Joe's Plumbing
1234 Main Street, Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 555-0123

This is the version you'll enforce everywhere.

Step 2: Find every mention

Search Google for your business name + address + phone. Look at every result. List them.

Or use a tool (Moz Local, Yext, BrightLocal) that automatically scans 30-100 directories and reports inconsistencies.

Step 3: Fix each instance

Log into each directory. Update to match canonical. For sites you can't edit, submit correction via contact form or support.

Step 4: Prevent future inconsistencies

• Maintain a NAP document
• Every time you add a new listing, reference the document
• When something changes (move, new phone), update all at once

Top citation sources to audit first

• Google Business Profile (most important)
• Bing Places
• Apple Maps
• Yelp
• Facebook Business page
• BBB
• Yellow Pages
• Industry-specific (Avvo for lawyers, Healthgrades for doctors, etc.)
• Your own website (header, footer, contact page, schema)

Structured data

Add LocalBusiness schema on your contact or homepage. Machine-readable NAP:

{
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Joe's Plumbing",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "1234 Main Street, Suite 200",
    "addressLocality": "Dallas",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "postalCode": "75201"
  },
  "telephone": "+1-214-555-0123"
}

Moving locations

If you move:

1. Update GBP first
2. Update your website (footer, contact, schema)
3. Update major directories (Yelp, BBB, Facebook, Apple Maps)
4. Use a citation management tool (Moz Local, Yext) to batch-update minor directories
5. Add a blog post/press release announcing the move (backlinks confirming)
6. Expect a temporary ranking dip; recovery in 2-4 weeks usually

Multi-location businesses

Each location has its own NAP. Each needs its own GBP. Each needs its own landing page with unique NAP schema. Consistency per-location; not identical across locations.