NAP SEO: Understanding the Importance of Consistency in Local SEO Ecosystem
When it comes to running a local business, having a consistent informational background is just as important as driving potential clients to your website. This is what we call NAP SEO. NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone. These three are the most essential things to consider when creating a digital presence for your business.
Imagine, you have hooked the client, your products have gone viral, and your website has traffic you’ve never seen before. But your internet business page or social platforms doesn’t contain any relevant information clients will use to be able to reach you. Would you like that? Of course not. So better learn about NAP Consistency and keep on reading.
What is NAP SEO Consistency?
In simple terms, NAP SEO consistency refers to making sure that your business’s name, address, and phone number are consistent across all online directories and platforms. This consistency is essential because it helps search engines like Google and Bing to understand that your business is legitimate and trustworthy.
If your NAP is somehow inconsistent, it can create confusion for your consumers and search engines will not promote your website to a higher ranking. This can hurt your online visibility and lost sales.
Why is NAP SEO Consistency important to a local SEO Ecosystem?
Local SEO is a key component of your digital marketing strategy. In fact, 82% of consumers say they search for the business before purchasing whilst 76% of people say they trust a business who has positive online reviews. Using Local SEO powered with NAP SEO Consistency is like applying the secret, mighty formula for creating a successful business online credibility and driving traffic across all your social platforms. Once you used the formula right, strategizing your business digitally and targeting your audience would be a walk in the park.
Here are other reasons for the importance of NAP SEO Consistency:
1. It builds trust among your consumers
NAP Local SEO helps to establish trust with your potential customers. This means that your NAP information should be the same on your website, social media, directories, and any other online presence you may have. Inconsistencies in your NAP information can lead to confusion, which results in mistrust. This is especially true for millions of newly-opened small local businesses in the UK that don’t have any reputable feedback or reviews to showcase.
For example, if your website has a different phone number than your social media accounts, it can lead to confusion and distrust among potential clientele. They may wonder which phone number is correct and start to question the legitimacy of your business. If you still can’t grasp this knowledge, try to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and question whether you would trust your business online informational background.
2. Great potential in ranking higher on search engines
Search engines like Google promote businesses with multiple landing pages – as long as they don’t compete with each other and their website contents are all different. The same thing applies for consistency in NAP SEO. If your Google My Business Page has identical information compared to all your other social media platforms, it will help your website perform well, thus, rank higher.
Consistent NAP data will signal to search engines that your business is credible, reliable, and trustworthy.
TIP: if you list your address as “123 Main Street” on your website, you should not list it as “123 Main St.” on your social media profiles. The same goes for your phone number, which should be formatted in the same way on all platforms.
3. Increased sales
Local SEO aims to get a business to show up in local search results when someone types in a query related to the business and its location, such as “coffee shops near me.” When a business has consistent NAP information across different directories, review websites, and social media platforms, search engines will be more likely to trust the information. Respectively, the business will be more likely to show up in local search results, which will lead to greater conversion and increased sales – the ultimate goal of having a business.
Common Reasons for Inconsistent NAP
We can all agree that local businesses being aware of the importance of NAP SEO is still ambiguous. Especially those who don’t have the capability to hire a digital marketing agency or didn’t carry out their due diligence to research local SEO before opening a business. With this in mind, an SEO NAP inconsistency is inevitable – and there are many other reasons why.
One biggest reason is when a business has moved locations but failed to update their NAP information across all their online listings. This can be problematic especially if they have multiple landing pages or different social media profiles. Another common reason for NAP inconsistency is data entry errors. This can happen when business owners or employees manually enter NAP information into different online platforms, resulting in typos or other mistakes that lead to inconsistent information.
Finally, NAP information can be inconsistent due to mergers or acquisitions, which can result in multiple listings for the same business with different NAP information. Keep in mind that it is important for businesses to regularly audit their online listings and double-check and correct any inconsistencies to ensure optimal local SEO performance.
Conclusion
You may hear this quote in an old chestnut but consistency is indeed key – particularly if you are talking about business information that helps your consumers take their next steps in the buying process.
The good news is that you don’t have to tackle this challenge alone. Hiring a lead generation agency that specialises in NAP local SEO can help you achieve the consistency you need for your business to succeed. These agencies have the expertise and experience to ensure that your business information is accurate and consistent across all online platforms.