NAP Consistency: Why It Matters & How to Fix It

What Is NAP?

NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number — the three core pieces of identifying information for any local business. Sometimes expanded to NAP+W (including Website), consistent NAP data across every directory, website, and social media profile helps Google trust your business information.

Why NAP Consistency Matters for Rankings

According to the annual Local Search Ranking Factors study, citation signals (which include NAP consistency) account for approximately 7% of local pack ranking factors. Here's why:

• Trust signal: Consistent NAP tells Google your business information is reliable
• Entity validation: Google cross-references citations to validate that a business is real and legitimate
• Disambiguation: For businesses with similar names, NAP helps Google distinguish between them
• AI search visibility: ChatGPT and Gemini pull from multiple sources — inconsistency can exclude you from AI answers

Common NAP Inconsistencies

How to Audit Your NAP Consistency

Follow this step-by-step process to find and fix inconsistencies:

Step 1: Establish Your Master NAP

Choose exactly how your business name, address, and phone number should appear everywhere. Use whatever format is on your Google Business Profile as the master reference.

Step 2: Audit Major Platforms

Check and correct the following platforms first (highest impact):

Step 3: Search for All Mentions

• Google your business name in quotes — check every result
• Google your phone number — find all sites listing it
• Google your address — identify any old listings
• Use free citation audit tools to scan directories automatically

Step 4: Fix or Remove Incorrect Listings

• Claim and update each listing with your master NAP
• Request removal of duplicate or incorrect listings
• For directories that won't let you edit, contact their support
• Mark old/merged Google listings as duplicates

NAP on Your Website

Your website should feature NAP in structured locations:

• Footer: Include full NAP in the site footer on every page
• Contact page: Full NAP with embedded Google Map
• Schema markup: Use LocalBusiness schema with your exact NAP data
• Match exactly: Your website NAP must be character-for-character identical to your GBP

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "LocalBusiness",
  "name": "Smith Plumbing LLC",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main Street, Suite 4",
    "addressLocality": "Austin",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "postalCode": "78701"
  },
  "telephone": "(512) 555-0199",
  "url": "https://smithplumbing.com"
}

Moved or Changed Your Phone Number?

If you've recently moved or changed your phone number, fixing NAP becomes urgent:

1. Update your GBP first (this is the source of truth for Google)
2. Update your website immediately
3. Update the top 20 citation sources within the first week
4. Systematically work through remaining directories over the next month
5. Set up call forwarding from old number for at least 6 months
6. Run our GBP optimizer to verify your profile reflects the changes correctly