The NAP Consistency Audit Checklist
Find and fix every mismatched name, address, and phone number that is quietly capping your local rankings.
If your business appears in local search results with three slightly different addresses, two phone numbers, and a name that changes depending on the directory, Google treats that as a trust problem. The result is lower rankings, fewer map pack appearances, and customers who find your competitor instead of you. This checklist walks you through every place your NAP data lives, what to check, and exactly how to fix it.
- Step 1: Set Your Master NAP Record
- Step 2: Audit Your Google Business Profile
- Step 3: Audit Core Data Aggregators
- Step 4: Audit Major Directories and Review Sites
- Step 5: Audit Your Own Website
- Step 6: Find and Fix Rogue Citations
- Step 7: Maintain Consistency Going Forward
Step 1: Set Your Master NAP Record
Before you audit anything, you need one canonical version of your business name, address, and phone number. Everything else gets measured against this.
Write out your exact legal business name
Decide whether you trade as 'Acme Ltd', 'Acme Limited', or 'Acme' and lock that in. Pick one version and use it everywhere, including punctuation and capitalisation.
Format your address in full, including suite or unit numbers
Write it exactly as Royal Mail or USPS would format it. Include Suite, Unit, Floor, or Building numbers if they apply. This is the string every directory must match.
Decide on one primary phone number
If you use a local number and a freephone number, pick one as your primary NAP phone. The other can appear on your website but should not be scattered across directories.
Format your phone number in one consistent style
Choose a format, for example 020 7946 0018 or +44 20 7946 0018, and use it identically everywhere. Mixed formats confuse citation-matching algorithms.
Save your master NAP in a shared document
Put it somewhere your team can access it. Every time someone needs to submit a listing or update a profile, they copy from this document, not from memory.
Step 2: Audit Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the most important NAP source you control. Discrepancies here do the most damage.
Log in and check your business name field
Go to business.google.com and compare the name field against your master record. Remove keyword stuffing like 'Acme Plumbers London' if your legal name is just 'Acme'.
Check your address line by line
Open the Info tab and compare every line of the address against your master record. A missing suite number or abbreviated street name counts as a mismatch.
Verify the phone number listed
Confirm it matches your master NAP phone in the same format. Remove any secondary numbers from the primary phone field.
Check your website URL is correct and live
Click the URL listed in your profile and confirm it loads your website. Broken or redirected URLs affect trust signals.
Confirm your business category is accurate
Your primary category should reflect exactly what you do, not a broader parent category. Mismatched categories can suppress you for your most important queries.
Check your opening hours are current
Incorrect hours cause customer complaints and can trigger Google to suggest edits from third-party sources, which may introduce NAP errors.
Review and remove duplicate GBP listings
Search your business name in Google Maps. If you see two listings for the same location, report the duplicate via the 'Suggest an edit' flow or the Business Profile Help Centre.
Step 3: Audit Core Data Aggregators
A small number of data aggregators feed hundreds of directories automatically. Fixing errors at source saves you weeks of one-by-one corrections.
Claim and correct your listing on Neustar Localeze
Neustar supplies data to a large portion of the directory ecosystem. Go to localeze.com, claim your listing, and update it against your master NAP.
Claim and correct your listing on Data Axle (formerly Infogroup)
Data Axle powers Yelp, Apple Maps, and dozens of others. Go to dataaxle.com, find your listing, and correct any errors.
Check and update Foursquare
Foursquare is a major data provider for apps and voice search. Claim your listing at business.foursquare.com and verify your NAP matches.
Check and update Acxiom
Acxiom feeds data to navigation systems and smart speaker results. Go to acxiomdata.com and submit a correction if your data is wrong.
Step 4: Audit Major Directories and Review Sites
These platforms carry enough authority that discrepancies here directly influence your local rankings and your customers' first impression.
Audit your Yelp listing
Log in at biz.yelp.com and check name, address, and phone against your master record. Yelp is heavily weighted for local service searches.
Audit your Apple Maps listing
Go to mapsconnect.apple.com, claim your place, and correct any NAP errors. Apple Maps powers Siri results and a large share of mobile searches.
Audit your Bing Places listing
Go to bingplaces.com, claim or log in to your listing, and align the NAP with your master record. Bing Places feeds Microsoft Edge and Cortana results.
Audit your Facebook Business Page
Open your page, go to About, and check the address and phone fields. Facebook often surfaces in local search results, and mismatches here are common.
Audit your Trustpilot business profile
Log in at support.trustpilot.com and check the contact details on your profile. Trustpilot pages frequently rank for branded searches.
Audit industry-specific directories relevant to your sector
Identify the top three to five directories specific to your industry, for example Checkatrade for tradespeople or Treatwell for beauty. Check and correct NAP on each.
Audit local chamber of commerce and business association listings
Search '[your town] chamber of commerce member directory' and check your listing. These carry local authority and are frequently out of date.
Step 5: Audit Your Own Website
Your website is a primary reference point. Inconsistent NAP in your own schema, footer, or contact page undermines every external correction you make.
Check your contact page NAP against your master record
Open your contact page and compare the displayed address and phone number word for word. Update any inconsistencies to match your master record exactly.
Check your footer NAP on every site template
If your footer contains an address or phone number, check it on the homepage, a blog post, and a service page. Footer NAP often diverges from the contact page after site updates.
Audit your LocalBusiness schema markup
Paste your homepage URL into Google's Rich Results Test at search.google.com/test/rich-results. Check that the name, streetAddress, addressLocality, and telephone fields match your master NAP exactly.
Check embedded Google Maps pins point to the correct address
Click the map embed on your contact page and confirm the pin lands on your actual location. An old address in an embed is a silent NAP error.
Search your website for old phone numbers or addresses
Use site search (site:yourdomain.com 'old phone number') or a crawl tool like Screaming Frog to find any pages still showing outdated contact information.
Step 6: Find and Fix Rogue Citations
Old addresses, trading names, and phone numbers live on in directories you have forgotten about. These are the citations that do quiet, ongoing damage.
Run a citation audit using a free tool
Use BrightLocal's free citation tracker or Moz Local's free check at moz.com/local/search. Enter your business name and postcode to surface all known citations and flag inconsistencies.
Search Google for your old phone number
Type your old phone number in quotes into Google. Every result that shows up is a citation that needs correcting. Work through them in order of domain authority.
Search Google for your old address
Type your previous street address in quotes into Google. Old addresses on directories, press releases, and supplier pages are common sources of NAP drift.
Search for misspellings of your business name
Try common variations, abbreviations, and misspellings in Google. For example 'Acme Plumbing Ltd' vs 'Acme Plumbing Limited' vs 'ACME Plumbing'. Each variation is a citation that dilutes your authority.
Contact directories directly where you cannot self-edit
Some directories do not offer a self-service correction option. Find the contact or support page and email them your correct NAP alongside proof of address. Keep a log of who you contacted and when.
Check press releases and news mentions
Search Google News for your business name. Press releases often carry old contact details. Contact the publisher and ask for a correction, or request a no-index if the page is outdated.
Step 7: Maintain Consistency Going Forward
A one-time audit decays without a maintenance system. These steps prevent NAP drift from creeping back in.
Create a citation tracking spreadsheet
List every directory where you have a listing, the URL of your listing, the date you last checked it, and the current status. Review this sheet every quarter.
Add a NAP check to any office or rebrand process
If you move premises, change your trading name, or get a new phone number, run this full checklist again before the change goes live. Do not wait for the drift to happen.
Set a Google Alert for your business name
Go to google.com/alerts and create an alert for your business name in quotes. New mentions that appear with incorrect NAP will surface in your inbox so you can correct them quickly.
Add a quarterly citation spot-check to your calendar
Schedule 30 minutes every quarter to re-run the BrightLocal or Moz Local check. New directories emerge, old ones get updated from aggregator data, and errors creep back in.
Brief anyone who handles PR, partnerships, or supplier registrations
Anyone who submits your details to a third party, whether for a press feature, a supplier portal, or a business award, should copy from your master NAP document, not type from memory.
Review your schema markup after every website rebuild
Website rebuilds frequently strip or reset schema. Add a schema validation check to your post-launch QA list and confirm your LocalBusiness markup is intact and correct before the new site goes live.
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