Your business name, address and phone number are probably listed in more places than you realise. Your website, your Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram, Yell, Checkatrade, Bark, local directories, old adverts and supplier lists. In the SEO world, this trio is often shortened to NAP, which simply stands for name, address and phone.
Keeping these details the same everywhere sounds like a small thing. It is a small thing. But it is one of the easiest ways to avoid confusing both customers and Google, and it costs nothing but a bit of time.
Why it matters
There are two reasons to care about this.
The first is your customers. If someone finds an old listing with a phone number you no longer use, they cannot reach you. They will not try very hard to find another number. They will ring the next business on the list. The same goes for an old address, if customers visit you, or opening hours that are out of date.
The second is Google. When Google decides which local businesses to show for a search, it looks at information about your business from lots of places across the web. If your details match everywhere, that builds a consistent picture of a real, established business. If one site says "Smith Plumbing Ltd" at one address and another says "J Smith Heating" at a different address with a different number, Google has to work out whether these are the same business. Consistent details remove that doubt.
Nobody can tell you exactly how much consistent details affect your position in search, and it will not fix everything on its own. But inconsistent details are a common, avoidable problem, and tidying them up is sensible housekeeping.
Decide on your official version
Before you start fixing anything, decide exactly how your details should be written. Write it down and use it every time.
Think about:
- Your business name. Use your real trading name. Decide whether you include "Ltd" and stick to it. Do not add extra keywords to your name on Google, like "Smith Plumbing Nottingham Boiler Repairs", unless that is genuinely your registered trading name. It breaks Google's guidelines.
- Your address. Pick one format. "Unit 4, Mill Lane" or "4 Mill Lane". "Road" or "Rd". Include the postcode. If you work from home and do not want customers turning up, you can hide your address on Google and set a service area instead.
- Your phone number. Choose one main number. Decide whether you show a mobile or a landline, and write it the same way each time.
- Your website address. Use the same version everywhere, ideally the full address including "https".
Small formatting differences, like "Rd" versus "Road", are not usually a big problem on their own. The ones that really matter are wrong numbers, old addresses and different business names.
How to audit your listings
An audit just means checking every place your business appears. Set aside an hour or so, make a simple list, and work through it.
- Start with your website. Check the header, footer, contact page and any other pages that show your details. Make sure they all match each other.
- Check your Google Business Profile. This is the most important listing. Make sure your name, address or service area, phone number, website link and hours are all correct.
- Check your social media. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and any others. Look at the "about" or "contact" sections.
- Check trade and review sites. Checkatrade, TrustATrader, Rated People, MyBuilder, Bark, Treatwell or similar sites for your industry.
- Check general directories. Yell, Thomson Local, Yelp, Bing Places and Apple Maps.
- Search for yourself. Type your business name into Google, then your old phone number, then your old address. This often turns up listings you had forgotten about, or ones created automatically without you knowing.
As you go, note down each place, whether the details are right, and what needs changing. A notebook or simple spreadsheet is fine.
How to fix what you find
Most listings can be fixed by logging in and editing them. If you have forgotten the login, use the password reset option or the site's "claim this business" process.
Some tips:
- Fix the most important ones first. Your website and Google profile, then Facebook, then the main directories for your trade.
- Do not create new listings to replace old ones. Update the existing listing if you can. Duplicate listings cause more confusion.
- Remove duplicates where possible. If you find two listings for your business on the same site, ask the site to merge or remove one.
- Contact the site if you cannot edit. Many directories have a form for correcting information.
- Be patient. Some sites take a while to update, and Google may take some time to notice changes elsewhere.
Keep it tidy in future
Once your details are consistent, keep them that way. If you move premises, change your number or rebrand, update everything on your list at the same time. Keep the list somewhere safe so you do not have to start from scratch.
It also helps to check your Google Business Profile now and then. Google sometimes accepts suggested edits from the public, so a wrong phone number or opening time can appear without you changing anything.
If you are on the We are Graft Growth plan, we set up and look after your Google Business Profile for you. For a wider tidy-up of your listings, our local SEO and Google listing add-on is quoted per job. See the pricing page for more.
If you would like a hand checking your details, or want a website that shows them clearly with your number one tap away, get in touch. We reply within one working day.