What does NAP stand for? 

NAP is shorthand for three powerful pieces of local business information commonly found in directory listings, review sites, and other business profiles: 

• Name
• Address
• Phone number 

Each element of the NAP trio conveys a vital chunk of information to a local consumer, making it easier for them to contact or visit you. If any one of the three foundational elements is missing from a business mention, it’s known to be a partial NAP. 

Your Local Citations and NAP Data

As NAP data is commonly shared as part of any online mention of your business, you might find many of these citations you haven’t purposefully created yourself. 

Have you received coverage in a local newspaper article or presented at an industry expo? Have you hosted a local event or sponsored a local community sports team? These are examples of where a NAP citation may have been created without you realizing it.

Having others do some of the heavy lifting by creating NAP listings on your behalf can be both a blessing and a curse. The more of these citations you have, the bigger the SEO benefit you can expect to receive, and the more visible your business becomes to local consumers. 

However, that’s only the case if your business name, address, and phone number are accurate in each of the listings.

It’s quick and easy to create inaccuracies but time-consuming to fix them. For example, a local reporter might get your zip code wrong in their write-up about your latest award. Likewise, that industry seminar you’re speaking at may inadvertently share an outdated phone number or old address. 

Each time one piece of information differs, confusion and uncertainty are created. This can erode trust, leave consumers unable to contact you, and cause Google to place less trust in your business.

How do you make a NAP citation? 

Any time your business name, address, and phone number are mentioned online, a NAP citation is created. This means there are a few different options for building your pool of listings:

• Claiming your business profile on review platforms 
• Adding your business to directory sites
• Creating social media profiles with all profile information filled out
• Creating events listings 
• Local media mentions
• Putting out press releases 
• Through local business organizations, such as Chambers of Commerce
• Exhibition listings 
• Industry award nominations 
• By authoring guest blog posts

Another way to build local citations is via your business website. The content on your site should naturally include your organization’s name, address, and phone number on various pages.

For example, it could appear on your contact page, in the footer on each page of your site, or be covered in a press release you publish on your news page. Whether you present that data together or split it across the page, it still has value for your local SEO efforts. 

What is NAP consistency?

NAP consistency refers to your business name, address, and phone number being the same across all of your online citations.

Whether on your Facebook page, a business directory or a review platform, there should be complete uniformity in how your data is shared.

Something as simple as a missing digit from your zip code or phone number can spiral into a bigger problem. This is because these errors create variations of your information, and this erodes consistency.

Why is NAP consistency important for SEO?

NAP data may appear so simple as not to warrant much importance, but when it comes to SEO, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Local SEO Ranking Factors Survey confirms citations as a top-five ranking factor for both the Local Pack and organic search results. Consistency and accuracy must be on point for the data to benefit search engines and human readers.

Outdated or Incorrect Citations Can Impact Search Visibility 

To verify that its impression of a local business is correct, Google requires a sufficient pool of data. 

Many citations with identical NAP information can signal to Google that what it knows about a business is correct. This also indicates that it’s safe to provide that information to search users. 

However, warning bells sound if there are differences in NAP data from one citation to the next. To Google, inaccuracies suggest that some of the data is wrong, meaning it can’t trust that search users are being served reliable information. As a result, rankings can suffer.

Inconsistent NAP Harms Voice Search Visibility 

Google needs to be confident that your business information is accurate when populating traditional search results, and it also requires that same trust for other forms of search results, including voice search.

Voice search can represent a significant source of traffic to your local business, so the importance of this should not be underestimated. 

Comscore data confirms that smart speaker ownership is at an all-time high, with almost one in two households having at least one smart speaker device.

SEMRush has revealed that two in five adults use voice search at least once per day and that the results are typically from the first page of the organic SERPs. The data shows that 80% of voice search results are sourced from positions one to three, while 97% of results are drawn from the top ten results.

We know that NAP data is a notable organic search ranking factor and having consistent information means you’re also much more likely to be ranked well in voice search.

Local citations can be the starting point for the consumer journey – but only if they’re accurate

Any discovery of your business name, address and contact information can be the starting point for the consumer journey. 

For many consumers, especially those using mobile devices, that journey will begin with a search engine. 

However, that doesn’t always mean that a consumer will click on your website. for example, we know that 31% of search users will select an organic search result because it offers them a list of businesses, which will likely be a review site or directory listing. However, they could also click through to an informative article, a social media post, or a Google Business Profile.

Whatever the point of call, you need your information to be accurate if you’re to have any hope that they’ll continue on that path to purchase. If your phone number is incorrect and they can’t get in touch to see if you stock a particular brand, for example, they’ll abandon that path and turn to one of your competitors.

Inaccurate Citations Spell Disaster for Consumer Trust

First impressions matter. If the first impression a consumer has of your brand is that the street address they found leads them to the wrong location, you can guarantee you’ll get off on the wrong foot. 

In addition to the inconvenience that incorrect data causes, research shows that consumers hold the business responsible for that error. 93% of consumers are frustrated by incorrect information on online directories, and 80% say they will lose trust due to inconsistent contact details. 

Consistent NAP Leads to More Referral Traffic 

Consistent business information is the backbone of higher local search and voice search rankings and funnels consumers along the path to purchase. Therefore, it’s a significant factor in the volume of referral traffic your business receives.

The higher the level of consistency you can achieve across your local citation profile, the greater the level of trust search engines and consumers can build. This makes your website more discoverable, sets the right tone for the consumer relationship, and encourages searchers to call, click, or visit.

How do you measure NAP consistency?

You can manually gauge your NAP consistency or use an automated tool. If you opt to check manually, you’ll need to hunt down all your citations and study each in turn. Pay particular attention to review sites, directory listings, your social media profiles, and your Google Business Profile. 

How consistent should your NAP citations be?

Today’s search engine algorithms are very smart, so you don’t need to worry about minor details, such as using slightly different abbreviations in your listings. For example, Google will understand that ‘No.’ and ‘#’ are the same thing. Ditto for ‘Street’ and ‘St’. 

Rather than focusing on these formatting matters, concentrate instead on the essential details such as always using your correct business address and phone number. 

To automate the process, use a tool like Citation Tracker, and use other tools to manage your listings.

What is a duplicate business listing?

A duplicate business listing occurs when a business has more than one listing on an industry directory site, general directory site, or similar platforms, such as Google Business Profile. 

Even if the details are different for each listing, if the listing itself relates to the same business, then this counts as a duplicate listing.

Let’s say, for example, that you run a restaurant and also have a takeout service. If you created a business listing on Tripadvisor or Yelp for your restaurant and then created a second listing for your takeout service, you’d essentially be creating duplicate business listings.

In cases like this, it may be a genuine mistake caused by simply wanting to get as much online visibility as possible, however, it’s an action that can have serious consequences for your overall local search visibility.

Why are duplicate business listings a problem?

You may have created a duplicate listing innocently enough, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that duplicate business listings are no big deal; after all, you’re simply making it easier for a potential customer to find you, right?

Unfortunately, while it may seem inconsequential on the surface, duplicate business listings can seriously derail your local SEO efforts. Google Business Profile doesn’t allow duplicate listings, which is a big indication that you’ll need to be especially vigilant about maintaining just one profile on industry directories.

Duplicate Listings Negatively Affect Your Local SEO

One of the biggest issues associated with having a duplicate business listing is that it can harm your local search visibility. Having repeated information — whether that’s in the form of multiple social media profiles or multiple directory listings — creates NAP inconsistencies, which, as well as being problematic for Google, can cause issues for your customers.

Duplicate Listings Cause Consumer Confusion and Negatively Impact Trust

Google finds duplicate listings suspicious and so do consumers. Duplicate listings not only confuse consumers and erode trust, but they can also lead to a loss of revenue and store visits.

The findings from our Local Citations Trust Report confirm this impact, with 93% of consumers admitting to being frustrated by incorrect information in an online directory. What’s more, eight in ten consumers state that if they encounter incorrect or inconsistent business names or contact information, they will lose trust in that business. 

With nine in ten consumers known to search for the address of a business online before their first visit, no organization can afford to generate confusion via duplicate listings. If a potential customer is confused by a duplicate business listing, you may inadvertently encourage those visitors to spend their money with one of your competitors—one they can easily find online with no conflicting information.

Commenting on the study, BrightLocal’s Content and Research Manager Rosie Murphy says,

It’s clear from this data that having incorrect information about your business visible in your local citations could be having a serious impact on your potential audience’s likelihood to visit or call you. Nearly everyone finds incorrect information in online directories frustrating. [And] the blame for incorrect local citations tends to lie with the business. These errors can be reason enough to deter potential customers, and sometimes even send them into the arms of competitors. Businesses need to take action now if they are to maximize their chances of getting customers through the door and ready to buy. It’s not enough to make sure contact details are correct on the business website, as anyone researching their choice of local business using an online directory could still fall foul of incorrect info.

Duplicate Listings Could Lead to Your Account Being Suspended

Incorrect or inconsistent information is incredibly frustrating for consumers. If that frustration turns to action in the form of complaints, it could lead to the business directory suspending your account or even removing all listings related to your business.

If this happens — and you’re prevented from having a business listing on a key business listing site such as Yelp for restaurants or Tripadvisor for hotels — you could be giving a serious amount of ground away to your competitors.

Being suspended could cost time and money to rectify. The loss of a live link and profile on a major directory site could also result in a loss of rankings, which leads to fewer site visitors and potential damage to your revenue.

How can duplicate business listings occur?

Even if you haven’t intentionally set out to create a duplicate business listing, you may well find that several have sprung up over time anyway. There are lots of reasons why this may be the case: 

Accidental Addition

You, a co-worker, or an agency working on your behalf may inadvertently create a citation on a site where you already have a listing. This can happen very easily if you have been building citations for a while and have lost track of sites where a business listing already exists, or if you bring someone new on board who doesn’t have a complete list of current business listings.

To avoid the curse of accidental addition, make sure you keep track of all existing listings in a location that every team member has access to.

Aggregation

Some listing sites aggregate data from multiple sources. If you have inconsistent NAP, it may be that these sites find several different listings, each with slightly different data, all of which are then imported separately, compounding your duplicate business listing problem.

Loss of Login Details

Business information naturally changes over time. Your business phone number may change, for example, or you could move to a new address. If you no longer have access to an original listing, perhaps because it was set up by an old agency or owned by a former employee, you may just go ahead and create a new one instead.

Securely storing your login information for all directories your business is present on is advisable to avoid this common faux pas.

Attempting to Boost SEO

SEO is in a constant state of evolution, so it’s possible that an agency you worked with in the past created multiple business listings on the same directories because they believed it was a way to gain better search engine rankings.

This definitely isn’t the case today. So if you think an agency you worked with may have created duplicate listings on your behalf, be sure to monitor where your business is present online and remove any copies.

How to Find Duplicate Business Listings

Now you know the consequences of duplicate business listings, let’s explore how to find them. 

Whether you’ve been building a business listing profile for a few months or several years, regularly checking for duplicate listings is essential to keep your local SEO and consumer trust in good standing. 

Manual Search Engine Check

A manual check is just as it sounds – you’ll methodically and manually work your way through the web to find and flag up duplicate listings. Of course, this is a pretty daunting task and an unenviable job to have on your to-do list.

It’s very difficult to manually find all of your business listings and harder still to keep track of each one. If you’re set on doing things the old-fashioned way, make sure you set up a tracker (a Google or Excel Spreadsheet will do) to monitor your progress.

Manual Listings Site Check

Similarly to a manual search, you can use a Google search operator such as “site:listingssite.com yourbusinessname” to track down all mentions of your business on each individual listing site. Again, you’ll need to comb through the results and check each site in turn to perform an effective check.

Business Listings Site Check

Another option is to manually search every business listing site you know you have a listing on, and search for multiple variations of your business name on each.

The main problem with these manual methods is that many listings sites get their information from third parties, so there could well be plenty of duplicate listings on sites you’re not aware of.

Invest in a Tool

Using a specialist local SEO tool is a less time-consuming and more thorough solution. It can be used to perform a full web scan of hundreds of listings sites so you can easily find each duplicate business listing and take appropriate remedial action. Tools like Citation Tracker can help you spot your duplicate listings.

How to Remove Duplicate Business Listings

Once you have identified a duplicate business listing, you need to remove that duplicate so that a single, correct, and complete listing remains. The exact process you’ll need to undertake will depend on the directory or platform hosting the duplicate.

For example, GBP has a specific process to follow, but this process will differ from the steps required by a directory such as Yell. 

Wherever you do encounter a duplicate listing, you’ll need to log in, claim it, and then edit it. If you have pinpointed dozens of duplicates, it’s a long and arduous process that requires a lot of manual effort, but the results are worthwhile.

Some services allow you to suppress duplicate listings, while others will merge or remove the listing. Again, the exact process will depend on the site or service itself.

Protecting Your Online Reputation

Duplicate business listings can eat away at your Local Pack rankings and consumer trust. Incomplete and conflicting information is frustrating to both search engines and consumers and can seriously undermine SEO efforts being made elsewhere.

While there are several reasons for duplicate listings cropping up, it’s important that you develop a process for monitoring duplicate listings and take appropriate action.