Why this matters
Search engines cross-check your name, address, and phone number (NAP) across the web to decide whether you're legitimate and where you actually are. If Google, Yelp, and your own site each show something different, you're feeding conflicting evidence to the systems that decide local rankings — and confusing customers who call a dead number.
What "done" looks like
- One canonical NAP format written down (exact spelling, suite format, one phone)
- Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Yelp, and Bing Places all match it exactly
- Your website footer and contact page use the same format
- Old addresses and numbers are corrected everywhere you can find them
How to do it
- Write your canonical NAP once — decide "St." vs "Street," one phone number, exact business name.
- Claim the big four: Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Yelp, Bing Places — all free.
- Search your own name and old addresses to find stale listings from moves and rebrands.
- Fix or remove mismatches, starting with the directories that rank for your searches.
- Add the canonical NAP to your site footer so every page confirms it.
- Recheck after any move or number change — updates don't propagate on their own.
Common mistakes
- Using tracking phone numbers on directories, splitting your identity across numbers
- Ignoring listings auto-created from old data — they persist until claimed and fixed
- Paying monthly "citation services" before fixing the few listings that matter yourself
Real-world examples
- Moz's long-running Local Search Ranking Factors surveys consistently list citation signals — presence and consistency of listings — among local ranking factors.
- A widely documented failure pattern: after a move, unclaimed listings keep the old address ranking for months, sending customers to a closed door.
From a founder's point of view
Listings are boring exactly once. An afternoon of claiming and correcting beats months of wondering why the map shows competitors instead of you.
Rule of thumb
Search your business name plus your old address: if anything surfaces you'd have to explain to a customer, you're not done.