Name, address and phone: why they must match everywhere

NAP stands for name, address and phone number, and NAP consistency simply means those three details are written the same way everywhere your business appears: your website, your Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook, the Better Business Bureau and any other directory. When they match, customers reach you and Google is confident it has the right facts. When an old address or a disconnected number is still floating around, customers drive to the wrong place or call a dead line, and Google has to decide which version to trust.

Why it matters, in practice

The reason most often given is Google, and it is real: Google builds its picture of a local business partly by comparing details from many sources. If your website, your profile and a dozen directories all say the same thing, that picture is clear. If half of them show an address you left three years ago, Google may show the wrong one, or treat the listings as two different businesses.

But the more immediate cost is customers:

A wrong address on an old directory sends someone across town to your previous location.
An old phone number rings a line you no longer have, or worse, someone else's business.
A different business name on one site makes customers wonder if they have the right company, or if you closed and reopened under a new name.

None of these needs Google to be a problem. They lose you the job directly.

What "matching" actually means

Matching does not mean every comma has to be identical, but the closer the better. Pick one exact version of each detail and use it everywhere.

Name

Use your real business name, the one on your signs and paperwork. Do not add town names or service words to it on listings ("Smith Plumbing Akron Best Drain Cleaning"); Google's guidelines do not allow that on the profile, and it makes the name inconsistent elsewhere. Decide whether you include "LLC" or "Inc." and stick to it.

Address

Write it the way the post office does. The USPS website lets you look up the standard form of an address.
Choose one form for suites and units: "Suite 200" or "Ste 200", not both.
Spell out or abbreviate street types consistently: "Street" or "St."

If you work from home and serve customers at their location, you may not want your home address anywhere. That is fine: hide it on your Google profile, list your service area instead, and leave the address off directories that allow it. Consistency then means the address is absent everywhere, not shown on some sites and hidden on others.

Phone

Use one main local number everywhere. If you use call-tracking numbers for advertising, keep them on the ads and use your main number on the listings and the website. Write it in one format, such as (555) 555-0142.

Where your details appear

Most small businesses are listed in more places than they realize, because many directories copy data from each other or from public records. The ones to check first:

Your own website: the header, footer, contact page and any location pages.
Google Business Profile.
Apple Maps, which iPhone users see by default. Apple Maps and your business listing shows how to claim it.
Bing Places.
Facebook, in the page's About section.
Yelp.
The Better Business Bureau, Angi, Houzz, Thumbtack or the directories specific to your trade.
Your chamber of commerce and trade association member listings.
Your state's business registration, which some directories copy from.

These listings are sometimes called citations: any mention of your name, address and phone online. Citations explained covers them in more depth.

How to audit your listings in an afternoon

Write down your one correct version of name, address and phone in a document. This is your master.
Search Google for your business name plus your town. Open every listing in the first few pages of results.
Search for your old address and old phone number too, in quotes. This finds listings you would never think of.
Make a simple list: site, what it shows, whether it matches, and whether you have a login.
Fix your own website and Google profile first, since those carry the most weight.
Then work down the list, starting with the sites customers actually use in your trade.

How to fix listings you do not control

Claim the listing. Most directories let a business owner claim a listing by verifying with a phone call, a text or an email. Once claimed, you can edit it.
Suggest an edit. Where claiming is not possible, many sites accept corrections from the public.
Ask for removal of duplicates, such as an old listing at your previous address. Most directories have a way to report a closed or duplicate listing.
Leave the minor ones. You do not need to chase every obscure directory. Fix the ones that show up when you search your business and the ones customers in your trade use.

Paid listing-management services can update many directories at once. They can save time for multi-location businesses, but some only keep the changes while you keep paying. Ask what happens to the listings if you cancel.

When your details change

Moving, changing your phone number or renaming the business are the moments when NAP goes out of step. When it happens:

Update the website and the Google profile on the same day.
Then Apple Maps, Bing, Facebook and Yelp within the week.
Then work through your audit list.
Keep the old phone number forwarding to the new one for as long as you can.

Moving your business: updating Google and your website and changing your business name on Google and your website cover those two changes step by step.

On your own website

Your website is the one listing you fully control, so make it the reference:

Put the name, address (if customers visit) and phone in the footer of every page, as text, not inside a picture.
Make the phone number a link that dials on a phone.
Use the same details on the contact page.
If you have several locations, give each its own page with its own details.

What to do this week

Write your master version of name, address and phone.
Check your website footer and contact page against it.
Check your Google Business Profile against it.
Search your old address and old phone number in quotes and list what you find.
Fix the top five listings customers are most likely to see.

If your website still shows an old address or number in places you cannot easily edit, you can see your site rebuilt first with your current details in one consistent form across every page.