Are you looking for a solution to your NAP SEO ranking issues? Or maybe you want to get your head around NAP. Well, you’ve come to the right place.
The digital marketing arena is littered with acronyms and jargon ranging from Bounce Rate to NAP or SEO and Domain Authority. With various novel terms and letters thrown into the mix, improving your business website’s online presence can be confusing.
There is no need for you to worry, in any case! This article will help you understand NAP, its importance, consistency, and implementation for better SEO rankings. You’ll appreciate NAP or be able to solve your local SEO NAP ranking issues in no time.
Understanding NAP in the Local SEO Environment
Over the years, there has been a sharp decline in users opting for a single device to complete a journey. As per Google’s Consumer Barometer, these numbers decreased from 32% in 2012 to a mere 14% in 2017.
The scenario above poses new and complex challenges for local businesses. It’s plausible that the discovery and search experiences will vary due to variations in the weighting of local algorithms and local packs. Primarily, this will affect the businesses’ proximity to a user location.
As such, it’s vital to consider the NAP consistency with regards to Local Pack algorithms. Moreover, building NAP citations to your online listed addresses and Google Business listing with consistency in NAP is quite significant. It helps to influence the local rankings positively.
Search engines, including Google, always look to present the maps and local results with utmost confidence. It helps your business rank better for SEO on Google as the search engine finds clear signals to your NAP information. The local NAP citations effectively describe the same company. Note, these citations offer the information drawn from off-site NAP listings and your business’s website.
But, What is NAP?
NAP is an abbreviation for Name, Address, and Phone number. It’s essential to have consistent and correct NAP for your business. It renders consistency especially vital while optimizing your online and website presence due to Google’s emphasis on having accurate information for the users.
NAP digitizes the information regarding the physical world. Moreover, it offers a direct, quick way to validate brick-and-mortar business locations for significant search engines. It further helps present the accurate data via features such as a local carousel or maps in local SERPs.
To put it simply, NAP is a simple but quite integral component to the online presence that your business holds. One simple reason is that it serves your interests to have users easily find and contact you. When you search for a particular company, the NAP information ideally shows up in the information box on SERP’s right margin. As such, the data plays a crucial role as a ranking factor for your NAP business’s local SEO.
Why is NAP Essential to your Google Business’s Local SEO?
It’s of utmost importance that your business accompanies correct NAP information in the online space. Doing so is essential for an influential local SEO ranking. With its strong emphasis on quality user experience, Google holds zero tolerance for incorrect NAP information. The search engine determines the ranking by scanning all the SEO local listings for accurate information.
Having your business’s NAP indexed correctly across various Google local citations makes it easier for users to find your business online. In this way, the search engines can better understand when to feature your site in the SERPs. It works with searches using “near me,” etc., and with search terms that are both location-based and high-volume.
Apart from accurate NAP listings having severe implications for local SEO efforts, they also add value to the overall customer experience.
Why is NAP Consistency Crucial to Local SEO and Quality User Experience?
Apart from search engines, consistency helps add value to the user experience with your NAP citations and local SEO listings. If you want to avoid any potentially lost leads, then taking care of the inaccurate or inconsistent NAP information will be wise. As mentioned above, Google gives strong consideration to the user experience.
As such, making sure that your users lack any signs of frustration may do wonders for your ranking efforts.
What Are Some Common Reasons for Inconsistent NAP?
By now, you can understand the importance of NAP consistency. It’s a sure thing that poor user experience can severely damage your brand and lead to loss of sales. And inconsistency in NAP information causes just that in addition to issues for your local SEO. There are several business challenges and human errors that follow inaccurate NAP data. But, the following three are primary issues:
● Not updating directory listings, older citations, etc.
● Making changes in business address
● Creating different phone numbers for attribution tracking purposes.
● Having a different store address to the business’s registered address.
Remember, having the ability to accurately report and track the success of your marketing activities is essential too. As such, it’s only natural that Google considers all the local intent satisfactions and local journey management too. The user experience extends far beyond merely your NAP website’s SERP’s and Local Pack.
Using NAP Information effectively
To optimize your local SEO activities to the fullest, follow the following steps for practical NAP information:
● Ensuring that your NAP information is clearly-labeled and consistent all across your website;
● Updating your NAP information regularly
● Add your business to valuable directories as much as possible. You can start with Yelp or the Better Business Bureau.
How to update NAP information for SEO purposes?
For Google and your customers to quickly read the critical information, display NAP prominently on your website. Furthermore, make it easy for Google to scan the data by putting it in text form instead of images. Also, make sure to claim your Google business listings and update them with the correct NAP information consistently.
You can use Google site operators like yelp.com to uncover potentially incorrect listings. Use the “my business” option to search for your address, phone number, or business name or search for any specific directories. Moreover, keeping a record of all of your listings will be wise. A record will help you with fast corrections if you change your business’s address or phone number.
To avoid any potential problems with local SERPs, you must take your time to make sure that all the listings are correct. Otherwise, incorrect NAP can have a massive negative impact on your brand due to a lack of easy access.
