What is NAP in Local SEO?

NAP is an acronym for Name, Address, and Phone number. The NAP for your business needs to be correct and consistent when optimizing your website and online presence for local search because Google values accurate information for its users.

Local SEO NAP basics - brightedge

Why is NAP important for Local SEO?

Having correct NAP for all your listings across the internet is crucial for local SEO. Google scans all these listings when searching for information about your business. The data is stored and used when determining ranking. Incorrect information in NAP citations can lead to confusion for customers and a poor user experience.

What problems can arise if incorrect NAP listings are published?

Google values consistency in your listings. When all your listings say the same thing, Google can confidently display your contact information to customers on applicable queries. When the search engine finds discrepancies in the listings, then it is not sure of the information. Since incorrect information can lead to a poor user experience, differences in NAP between your listings can cause lower rankings.

A study was conducted by Wesley Young to see how much different factors impacted local search performance. He found that that consistency of the NAP could impact a site’s performance by as much as 16 percent.

How do I create NAP SEO?

  1. Make sure this critical information is displayed prominently on your website so that it can be easily read by your customers and by Google. Make sure the information is text and not an image so that Google can scan the information.
  2. Claim your Google My Business listings and make sure to update it with the correct NAP information.
  3. Use Google to uncover potentially incorrect listings. You can use Google site operators, such as site:yelp.com “my business” to search specific directories or you can search for your phone number, address, or business name.
  4. Use a resource, like this compilation of important listing sites, to get started correcting incorrect listings.
  5. Keep a record of all your listings so you can quickly correct this information if you ever change your business’ phone number or address.

NAP can have an enormous impact on businesses because it gives customers easy access to the most critical information about your brand. Take the time to make sure your listings are accurate to avoid potential problems in local SERPs.