NAP Consistency
(Name, Address, Phone)Definition
NAP consistency is the exact-match alignment of a business's Name, Address, and Phone number across every place those details appear online — including the business website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, citation directories, and review sites.
Search engines compile a confidence score on each business by cross-referencing its NAP across the web. When the name, address, or phone differs between sources — even minor formatting differences like "Street" vs "St." or +91 vs no country code — Google treats the entity as less trustworthy and ranks it lower in Local Pack results.
NAP inconsistencies typically accumulate as businesses change premises, update phone numbers, rebrand, or get listed in new directories by third parties. Common sources of drift include outdated Yelp listings, old YellowPages entries, citation aggregators showing pre-move addresses, and franchise pages using corporate-level NAP for local locations.
Maintaining NAP consistency is the most basic local SEO hygiene task. Auditing tools like BrightLocal, Moz Local, and Whitespark scan major citation sources and report inconsistencies. Most businesses discover 5-20 mismatches the first time they audit.
Related terms
Google Business Profile
A Google Business Profile is the free business listing on Google that appears in Google Search, Google Maps, and the Local Pack, and serves as the central control surface for a local business's presence on Google.
Citation (Local SEO)
In local SEO, a citation is any online mention of a business's Name, Address, and Phone number — collectively NAP — whether or not it includes a link, on a directory, review site, or third-party publication.
Local Pack
The Local Pack is the cluster of three local business results that appears at the top of Google's search results page for queries with local intent, accompanied by a map and a "View all" link.