NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)

01 February 2023

NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) and Local SEO

NAP stands for name, address, phone number. For a search engine, these collective details form a unique marker that separates you from anyone else. The more you can solidify your identity, the better. Through listing your NAP details consistently, you demonstrate your presence in a certain area, and most importantly, your right to rank for location-based searches performed there.

NAP is a crucial part of local SEO. It plays a significant role in helping search engines understand and trust your business’s location information.

NAP Consistency

Maintaining consistent NAP information across various online platforms is vital for local SEO. Search engines like Google rely on this data to understand and validate your business’s physical presence. Inconsistencies or inaccuracies in your NAP information can confuse search engines and potential customers, leading Google to trust you less and so lower your rankings in the local pack and map search.

Imagine you run the local bakery “Vegan cakes” in Brixton, London. Your business listing on your website mentions your address as “123 Brixton Road” and your phone number as “+44 207 771 3000.” However, on your Facebook page, you accidentally listed your address as “321 Brixton Road.” and your phone number as “0207 771 3000.” These variations might seem minor, but they can cause confusion for both search engines and customers trying to find or contact your business. To maintain NAP consistency, ensure that all your online listings, including your website, directories, social media profiles, and review sites, display the same NAP information.

Local Citations

Local citations are online mentions of your business’s NAP information on external websites, directories, and review platforms. These citations play a crucial role in establishing your business’s credibility and authority in local search results. When search engines find consistent NAP information across multiple reputable sources, they gain confidence in the accuracy of your business details and are more likely to display your website higher in local search results.

For instance, if “Vegan Cakes” is mentioned in local directories such as Yelp, Yell, and TripAdvisor, with consistent NAP information, it sends a strong signal to search engines that your business is legitimate and trustworthy. Search engines are more likely to rank your website higher in local search results, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

Schema Markup

Schema markup is structured data that you can add to your website’s HTML code to provide search engines with additional context about your business. When it comes to NAP information, implementing schema markup enhances its visibility in search engine results.

By adding schema markup, such as LocalBusiness schema, to your website, you can explicitly specify your business’s name, address, phone number, and other relevant details. This markup helps search engines understand and display your NAP information more prominently in local search results. For example, when someone searches for “bakery in London,” search engines might display a rich snippet with your business’s name, address, and phone number right on the search results page, improving your visibility and attracting potential customers.

Here’s an example of how you might implement Schema Markup for your NAP information:

html

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/LocalBusiness">

<h1 itemprop="name">Vegan Cakes</h1>

<div itemprop="address" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress">

<span itemprop="streetAddress">123 Brixton Road</span>,

<span itemprop="addressLocality">London</span>,

<span itemprop="addressRegion">Greater London</span>,

<span itemprop="postalCode">SW9 8HE</span>,

<span itemprop="addressCountry">United Kingdom</span>

</div>

<span itemprop="telephone">+44 207 771 3000</span>

</div>

In the above example, the schema markup is wrapped in a <div> element with the itemscope attribute set to http://schema.org/LocalBusiness, indicating that the markup represents a local business entity. The business name is specified using the itemprop="name" attribute.

The address information is nested within a <div> element with the itemscope attribute set to http://schema.org/PostalAddress, indicating that it represents a postal address entity. Each address component (street address, locality, region, postal code, and country) is specified using the respective itemprop attributes.

Finally, the phone number is specified using the itemprop="telephone" attribute.