NAP consistency is one of the most overlooked local SEO factors — and one of the easiest to fix once you know what to look for.

What Is NAP?

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone. It refers to how your business is listed across every online directory, website, and social profile on the internet. Google cross-references these mentions to verify your business is legitimate and determine your prominence score.

Why NAP Consistency Matters

When Google finds your business listed as "Mike's Plumbing" in one place and "Mike's Plumbing Co." in another, with the phone number listed as "(555) 123-4567" in one directory and "555.123.4567" in another — it loses confidence in your data.

A Moz study found that NAP inconsistencies are the second most common reason businesses fail to rank in the local pack, affecting an estimated 68% of small business listings.

The Most Common NAP Mistakes

  1. Abbreviating "Street" to "St" in some places but not others — pick one and use it everywhere
  2. Using a different phone number on your website vs. GBP — Google reconciles these and penalizes inconsistency
  3. Old address after a business move — directories don't auto-update when you move
  4. Multiple listings for the same location — happens when the same business is listed twice on Yelp or YellowPages

How to Audit and Fix Your NAP

  1. Decide on your canonical NAP — exactly how your name, address, and phone should appear
  2. Check Google, Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, Apple Maps, BBB, YellowPages, and Foursquare
  3. Update any listing that doesn't match your canonical exactly
  4. Check your own website — your footer, contact page, and About page must all match

Bottom line: NAP consistency is tedious to fix but permanently valuable once done. A single afternoon of auditing and updating your 10 most important directories can move your local ranking within 30 days.

GravyBlock's citation audit identifies every inconsistency automatically →