NAP stands for name, address and phone number. Keeping those three details identical across the web is a long-standing habit in local SEO. It is not glamorous, and nobody outside Google can say exactly how much it moves a ranking. It is still worth doing because it removes a source of doubt. This guide walks through an audit you can do with a spreadsheet and a spare afternoon.
Why the audit comes before any link work
Google says prominence draws on information from across the web, including directories. If those sources disagree with your profile, you are giving Google mixed information about who you are. It is cheaper to fix that first than to add links on top of a muddle. If you are planning other work, our map pack ranking factors page shows where this fits.
Step 1: write down the master version
Open a blank sheet and enter the exact business name as it appears on your signage and documents, the full address and the main phone number. Decide how you write details such as Suite or Ste, Street or St, and keep that choice. Google's guidelines ask for a business name that reflects the real world, so do not add keywords to it.
Step 2: collect every place the business appears
Search for the business name, the phone number and the street address separately. Search past names, old numbers and old addresses as well. Note each page you find, including:
- General directories and map platforms.
- Industry and trade listings.
- Chamber of commerce and local association pages.
- Social profiles and review sites.
- Old press mentions and sponsor pages.
Step 3: compare line by line
For each listing, record what it shows for name, address, phone and website, then mark a match or a mismatch. Small differences count. A tracking number, a missing suite or an old brand name all show up here. Aim to separate three groups: exact matches, harmless variations and real conflicts.
Step 4: fix in a sensible order
- Start with your Business Profile and your own website, because everything else points back to them.
- Fix the high-visibility listings next, the ones that appear in search for your name.
- Merge or remove duplicates where the platform allows it.
- Leave small, inactive listings until last.
Some listings need a claim or a verification step. Others are fed by data suppliers and take weeks to refresh, so a correction may not appear at once.
Step 5: handle tracking numbers carefully
Many businesses use a call tracking number on their site. That is fine, but make sure the main number appears consistently in the profile and listings, and decide with your marketer which one is primary before you start changing things.
Step 6: keep a change log
Record the date, the page, what you changed and who did it. Months later, when someone asks why a listing says something odd, you will know. The log also protects you from undoing your own work.
How often to repeat the audit
Details drift. A business moves a desk, changes a phone plan, rebrands a service or merges with another company, and old data keeps circulating. Repeat a light version of the audit every few months, and a full one after any move, rename or phone change. Ten minutes spent comparing your master sheet with the top few listings usually catches new problems early. A short check is far easier than the long clean-up that follows when a mismatch spreads across dozens of sites.
What the audit will not do
A tidy citation base does not change where your pin sits, and it does not replace reviews or a good website. Treat it as housekeeping that supports other work. If you want help with the clean-up itself, the profile optimization service page describes how we handle it. Citation work carries less risk than most link work, but listings placed mainly to pass a link can still touch Google's spam policies on link schemes.
Search guidelines and tactics change over time, and results can never be promised. Treat this as general education, not a forecast for your business.