Your business name is “Johnson’s Plumbing.” On Yelp it’s “Johnson’s Plumbing LLC.” On your Facebook page it’s “Johnsons Plumbing.” On a contractor directory someone created for you in 2018, it’s “Johnson Plumbing Services.” Same business. Four different versions.
That inconsistency is eroding your local search rankings right now.
What NAP Means
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. These three pieces of data appear across dozens of online directories: Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Angi, HomeAdvisor, YellowPages, and 50 others. Google cross-references these listings as part of how it verifies that your business is real and where it says it is.
When your NAP is inconsistent, Google’s confidence in your business information drops. Lower confidence means lower rankings in the local pack. It’s not a penalty. It’s just Google not knowing which version to trust.
The Most Common NAP Errors
Suite numbers are the most frequent offender. “123 Main Street” vs “123 Main St., Ste 200” vs “123 Main Street Suite 200” are technically the same address, but crawlers don’t always read them that way. Pick one format and use it everywhere.
Phone numbers are the second most common issue. (636) 555-0100 and 636-555-0100 and 6365550100 are the same number in three formats. Pick one and standardize.
Business name variations are the third issue, as shown in the plumbing example above. If your legal name is “Johnson’s Plumbing LLC” but you operate as “Johnson’s Plumbing,” pick one and stick to it across all listings.
How to Find Your Inconsistencies
Search for your business name on Google. Click through to every listing that appears: Yelp, Facebook, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Angi, whatever shows up. Screenshot or note what each one says.
You can also use a free tool like BrightLocal’s Citation Tracker or Moz Local’s free check to pull a report across major directories at once.
Fixing Them
Once you have the list, go through each platform and correct the information. Some platforms let you claim and edit instantly. Others require a verification step (usually a postcard or phone call). Work through them methodically, highest-traffic platforms first: Google, Yelp, Facebook, Bing.
For directories you cannot easily edit or claim, contact their support team. Most have a correction form or email process.
This is tedious work. Most business owners start it, fix 4 or 5 listings, and stop. The value comes from consistent cleanup across 30 to 50+ directories over time.
One Number to Keep in Mind
Businesses with consistent NAP data across major directories rank an average of 16% higher in local search than those with significant inconsistencies, according to research from Whitespark. That gap is entirely closeable with systematic citation cleanup.
SVG Digital handles citation audits and cleanup for businesses in O’Fallon, Yorktown, and Florence. If you’re not sure where you stand, we’ll pull a full NAP report in your first call.
