Fixing NAP Inconsistencies Across the Web

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number — the three core identifiers Google cross-references across the web to confirm your business is real, legitimate, and located where you say it is. Inconsistencies (an old address on one directory, an abbreviated business name on another) don't just look sloppy — they actively reduce Google's confidence in your listing, which suppresses ranking even when every other signal is strong.

Business moves, rebrands, phone number changes, and even small formatting differences ("St." vs "Street," "LLC" included in one listing and dropped in another) all create inconsistencies over time. Old citations don't self-correct — a listing created five years ago still shows the old information until someone actively goes and fixes it.

Search your business name plus old addresses or phone numbers to surface listings you may have forgotten existed. Data aggregators (the services many directories pull information from automatically) are the highest-leverage place to fix information first, since correcting the source often cascades to smaller directories that sync from it.

Update the data aggregators and your Google Business Profile first, then work through the directories and citations most relevant to your industry. Going forward, treat any business detail change (address, hours, phone) as a checklist item that includes updating every platform where you're listed — not just your own website — to prevent the same problem from recurring.