Your business exists across dozens of websites you’ve never visited. Directory listings, data aggregators, social profiles, and industry sites all display information about your business. When that information conflicts, Google struggles to understand which version is correct.
NAP consistency, the practice of maintaining identical business information across all online mentions, serves as a foundational element of local SEO that many businesses overlook until inconsistencies cause ranking problems.
What NAP Actually Means
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. These three data points identify your business entity across the web. When they match exactly everywhere, Google gains confidence that it understands your business correctly. When they conflict, that confidence erodes.
Name means your exact business name as it appears on your storefront, legal documents, or primary branding. “Nashville Dental Care” and “Nashville Dental Care, PLLC” are different names in Google’s eyes. So are “Bob’s Auto Repair” and “Bob’s Automotive Repair.”
Address includes every element: street number, street name, suite or unit number, city, state, and zip code. “123 Main Street, Suite 200” differs from “123 Main St. #200” even though humans recognize them as identical.
Phone typically means your primary local business phone number. Using different numbers across listings (tracking numbers, cell phones, old landlines) creates the same consistency problems as address variations.
Why Consistency Matters for Local Rankings
Google builds its understanding of your business by aggregating information from hundreds of sources. It compares your Google Business Profile against your website, directory listings, social profiles, and any other structured data it can find about your business.
When information matches across sources, Google trusts that information more strongly. When information conflicts, Google must guess which version is correct or may even question whether different listings represent the same business at all.
Consider a Nashville plumbing company with these listings:
| Source | Business Name | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website | Nashville Pro Plumbers | 456 Commerce St, Nashville, TN 37201 | (615) 555-0123 |
| Google Business Profile | Nashville Pro Plumbers LLC | 456 Commerce Street, Nashville, TN 37201 | (615) 555-0123 |
| Yelp | Nashville Pro Plumber | 456 Commerce St., Nashville, TN | 615-555-0124 |
| Yellow Pages | Nashville Professional Plumbers | 456 Commerce, Nashville, Tennessee | (615) 555-0123 |
Four listings, four different business names, four address variations, and two phone numbers. Google sees inconsistency suggesting either poor data quality or possibly multiple businesses. Neither interpretation helps rankings.
Common Inconsistency Sources
Understanding where inconsistencies originate helps prevent them and guides cleanup efforts.
Business name variations arise from:
- Using LLC, Inc., or other legal suffixes inconsistently
- Abbreviating or expanding parts of the name
- Employees submitting listings with slightly different names
- Outdated listings from before a rebranding
Address variations stem from:
- Abbreviation differences (Street vs. St., Suite vs. Ste.)
- Including or omitting suite numbers
- Old addresses from before a move
- Inconsistent city, state, or zip formatting
Phone number issues include:
- Using call tracking numbers on some listings
- Employee personal numbers on old listings
- Outdated numbers from switched providers
- Format differences (parentheses, dashes, periods)
Data aggregators compound these problems. Companies like Infogroup, Acxiom, Localeze, and Factual collect business data and distribute it to hundreds of directories. One incorrect entry at an aggregator level spreads inconsistency across dozens of listings automatically.
Establishing Your Canonical NAP
Before correcting inconsistencies, establish exactly how your NAP should appear everywhere. This canonical version becomes your reference point for all corrections.
Business name rules:
- Use the name on your storefront or primary branding
- Include legal suffixes (LLC, Inc.) only if you consistently use them in branding
- Choose one format and document it precisely
Address formatting standards:
- Decide on abbreviations: either “Street” everywhere or “St.” everywhere
- Standardize suite/unit notation: “Suite 100” or “Ste 100” or “#100”
- Use consistent city and state formatting
- Always include zip code, optionally with +4 extension
Phone number format:
- Choose one format: (615) 555-0123 or 615-555-0123 or 615.555.0123
- Use your primary business line, not tracking numbers or personal phones
- Document this exact format for anyone submitting listings
Create a reference document containing your canonical NAP that anyone managing listings can access. This prevents future inconsistencies from well-meaning employees submitting listings with variations.
Auditing Current NAP Presence
Finding all your existing listings requires combining automated tools with manual searches.
Citation tools like Moz Local, BrightLocal, Yext, and Whitespark scan directories and data aggregators to find your business listings. These tools identify existing citations and flag inconsistencies against your reference information.
Manual search techniques:
Search Google for your business name in quotes to find indexed mentions. Search for your phone number to find listings you might have forgotten. Search for your address to find any business associated with your location.
Common places to check manually:
- Google Business Profile
- Apple Maps
- Bing Places
- Facebook Business Page
- Yelp, TripAdvisor, industry-specific review sites
- Better Business Bureau
- Chamber of Commerce directory
- Industry associations
- Local business directories
- Data aggregators (Infogroup, Acxiom, Localeze, Factual)
Document every listing you find in a spreadsheet with current NAP information, login credentials if available, and inconsistency notes.
Fixing Inconsistencies
Correction approaches depend on the listing type and your access level.
Direct corrections work for listings you control. Log in to each platform and update information to match your canonical NAP exactly. Change one element at a time and allow a few days between changes if platforms flag rapid edits as suspicious.
Claim and correct applies to listings that exist but you haven’t claimed. Most directories allow business owners to claim listings through verification processes similar to Google Business Profile. Claim the listing, then correct the information.
Aggregator corrections address the source of distributed data. Submitting correct information to data aggregators like Infogroup, Acxiom, Localeze, and Factual propagates corrections to the directories they feed. This takes months but prevents recurring issues.
Removal requests may be necessary for duplicate listings or completely incorrect entries. Most directories have processes for flagging and removing bad data, though response times vary dramatically.
| Fix Type | Timeframe | Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Direct correction | Immediate to days | Log in, update fields |
| Claim and correct | Days to weeks | Verification then update |
| Aggregator submission | Weeks to months | Submit to data sources |
| Removal requests | Weeks to months | Platform-specific process |
Prioritize corrections by listing importance. Google Business Profile, Yelp, and Facebook matter more than obscure industry directories. Fix high-visibility listings first while aggregator corrections propagate.
Multi-Location NAP Challenges
Businesses with multiple locations face amplified consistency challenges. Each location needs its own consistent NAP across all platforms.
Naming conventions must balance brand consistency with location distinction. “Nashville Dental Care” with a location modifier (“Nashville Dental Care – Downtown” and “Nashville Dental Care – Franklin”) keeps names similar while differentiating locations.
Address precision becomes critical when locations are geographically close. Two offices in the same building or shopping center need clear address distinctions including suite numbers.
Phone number strategy for multi-location businesses typically assigns each location its own local number. Sharing a central number across locations creates confusion for both customers and search engines.
Create a master spreadsheet documenting canonical NAP for every location. Assign responsibility for maintaining each location’s listings, whether to location managers or a central marketing team.
Maintaining Consistency Over Time
NAP consistency isn’t a one-time project. New listings appear, data aggregators refresh, and business information changes.
Regular audits catch new inconsistencies before they accumulate. Quarterly scans using citation tools identify new listings and changed information.
Process for changes prevents problems when your business information actually changes. Before changing your phone number or address, plan the update process:
- Update Google Business Profile
- Update your website
- Update data aggregators
- Create a list of all listings requiring manual updates
- Systematically update each listing
- Set calendar reminder to verify changes propagated
New listing submission should follow a documented process ensuring canonical NAP from the start. Anyone submitting listings should reference your NAP document rather than typing from memory.
Monitor for auto-generated listings that appear without your involvement. Google and other platforms sometimes create business listings based on website data or user submissions. These may use non-canonical information and need correction.
Schema Markup and NAP
Structured data on your website reinforces NAP signals to search engines. LocalBusiness schema markup explicitly tells search engines your business name, address, and phone number in a format they can parse unambiguously.
The NAP in your schema markup must match your canonical NAP exactly. Mismatches between schema data and other online mentions create the same trust problems as directory inconsistencies.
Include schema markup on your homepage and any location-specific pages. Multi-location businesses need separate LocalBusiness markup for each location, typically on dedicated location pages.
Call Tracking Number Considerations
Marketing teams often want unique tracking numbers on different listings to measure which sources generate calls. This creates direct conflict with NAP consistency goals.
Options for balancing tracking and consistency:
Use your primary business number on the most important SEO-relevant platforms (GBP, main directories, website) and tracking numbers only on paid advertising or lower-priority listings.
Implement dynamic number insertion on your website that shows tracking numbers to visitors from specific sources while displaying your primary number in the page’s code and to search engine crawlers.
Accept that some channels won’t have call attribution in exchange for maintaining consistency on SEO-critical platforms.
Avoid using different tracking numbers across major directories. The SEO cost of inconsistency typically exceeds the attribution value for most local businesses.
Sources
- Moz Local SEO Learning Center: https://moz.com/learn/seo/local
- Google Business Profile Help on Business Information: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177
- BrightLocal Local Citation Trust Report: https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-citation-trust-report/