Your NAP Helps Your Business Make the MAP.

Your business Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) are VITAL pieces of information Google looks for to determine your credibility and authority.  Search engines take this data into account when determining which companies to select to show up during a local search for a product or service.  Local SEO experts believe that Google and the other search engines cross-reference your NAP and other information across a variety of sites and directories to validate and verify the legitimacy of your business.

Also referred to as NAP, your business name, address, and phone should be accurately listed on your Google My Business (GMB) Listing, Bing listing and local directories and citations.  So, how do you go about it?

Update your GMB Listing first. 

Make sure all elements of your GMB listing are completed – NAP, business category, company URL, services, etc.  Add your company logo and images and write your company profile.

Can you use a tracking phone number instead of your real number?

Google seems to be allowing businesses to include a “tracking” phone number as your primary number and your real number as your secondary number on your GMB page and directories/citations.  We have not seen any companies penalized for adding this tracking number, so we advise doing so to more effectively track how many new customers/patients/clients you get from local search.

Update your Bing Listing.

Bing is the second largest search engine.  Claim and update your bing listing with accurate NAP information, as well.

Add Your NAP to Local Business Listings and Citations.

Directories like Yelp, YP.com, Garmin, HealthGrades, Facebook, CitySearch, and others play an important role in helping Google find your company information.  Essentially, the more “local citations” you can build up with consistent NAP information, the better for your search engine optimization.

Use the tracking phone number you set up in your Google My Business page for your business citations so it is consistent across the web.

Remember, the more credible and accurate your information is across the web, the more likely your business will show up on the Google MAP when someone searches for your product or service.