# What is NAP consistency? NAP consistency means a business's name, address, and phone number match everywhere they appear online, so customers and search engines get the same details from every source. - Canonical URL: https://movermarketing.ai/learn/local-search/what-is-nap-consistency - Topic: [Local Search & Google Maps](https://movermarketing.ai/learn/local-search) - Format: Glossary - Publisher: Mover Marketing AI, reviewed by Nicholas DiMoro ## Learning objectives After reading this article you will be able to: - Define NAP and NAP consistency - Explain why mismatched details can change a Business Profile - Check a moving company's name, address, and phone number across listings ## What is NAP consistency? NAP stands for name, address, and phone number. NAP consistency means those three details match wherever a business appears online: its website, its Google Business Profile, other map platforms, directories, and social profiles. NAP is an industry term. Google's guidelines don't use it, but they set rules for each of the three details. ## Why does NAP consistency matter? Google builds a Business Profile from more than what the owner enters. It says information in profiles is "compiled from a variety of sources," including "crawled web content" and "licensed data from third parties." It also says: "If sources report that your profile info is incorrect or outdated, Google may update your profile." Mismatched details give those sources different answers. Customers are affected too: an old phone number on a directory sends callers to a line the business no longer answers. ## What does a consistent name, address, and phone number look like? - **Name.** Google says a business name "should reflect your business's real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers." Use the same name everywhere, without added keywords or city names. - **Address.** Use one format for the street address and put a suite number in the second address line, as Google's guidelines describe. A service area business that doesn't serve customers at its address hides it on Google, so check whether other platforms offer the same option before publishing it. See [what is a service area business](https://movermarketing.ai/learn/google-business-profile/what-is-a-service-area-business). - **Phone number.** Use one main number for each location. Google says the number "must be under the direct control of the business" and to "use a local phone number instead of a central call center helpline number whenever possible." Google's guidelines don't address small format differences such as "St." versus "Street." The goal is that every listing clearly describes the same business. ## How is NAP consistency different from local citations? A [local citation](https://movermarketing.ai/learn/local-search/what-are-local-citations) is a listing that shows a business's NAP. NAP consistency is whether all those listings agree. A business with many citations can still have poor NAP consistency if they show an old address or phone number. ## When do NAP details usually drift? Details drift after a business changes something: a move, a new phone number, a rebrand, or a new location. Old listings stay online and keep showing the previous details until someone updates them. After any change, update the Business Profile and website first, then each other listing. For a new location, match the name, address, and phone on the lease, business license, and citations before you verify the new profile, as our [new-location video verification checklist](https://movermarketing.ai/blog/google-business-profile-video-verification-checklist) lays out. ## FAQs ### What does NAP stand for in SEO? NAP stands for name, address, and phone number, the three details that identify a local business in listings and directories. ### Why is NAP consistency important? Google builds Business Profiles from several sources, including the business website and licensed third-party data, and may update a profile when sources say its information is wrong. Matching details keep those sources in agreement and send customers to the right phone number. ### How do you check NAP consistency? List the name, address, and phone number exactly as they appear on the Business Profile and website, then compare them with each directory and map listing. Search for the business name and for old phone numbers or addresses to find listings that still carry outdated details. ## Related articles - [What are local citations?](https://movermarketing.ai/learn/local-search/what-are-local-citations) - [Local SEO checklist for moving companies](https://movermarketing.ai/learn/local-search/local-seo-checklist) - [What is a service area business?](https://movermarketing.ai/learn/google-business-profile/what-is-a-service-area-business) ## Our take - [GBP Optimization for Moving Companies: Map Pack Playbook](https://movermarketing.ai/blog/google-business-profile-optimization-for-movers) - [Google Business Profile Video Verification: 43 Steps to Pass](https://movermarketing.ai/blog/google-business-profile-video-verification-checklist) ## Sources - [Google Business Profile Help: Guidelines for representing your business on Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177) - [Google Business Profile Help: How Google sources & uses info in Business Profiles & local search results](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2721884) - [Google Business Profile Help: Understand Google updates on your Business Profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3480441) - [Google Business Profile Help: Manage your service areas for service-area & hybrid businesses](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481)