What is NAP (Name, Address, Phone)?
Your business name, address, and phone number. Consistency of these three fields across every directory and listing is a local-SEO ranking input.
Also known as: NAP consistency, citation NAP
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone — the three foundational facts about your business that need to match exactly everywhere they appear online. Google uses NAP consistency as a signal of whether a business is legitimate and verifiable.
Inconsistent NAP — say, '123 Main St' on your website but '123 Main Street' on Yelp and '123 Main St, Suite 4' on the BBB — confuses Google's local-pack ranking algorithm. Inconsistencies dilute ranking signal and can cost you a 3-pack placement you'd otherwise earn.
Tools like BrightLocal, Whitespark, and Moz Local can audit your existing citations across major directories and flag inconsistencies. The fix is methodical: pick one canonical NAP (typically matches Google Business Profile), then update every directory to match.
Inconsistent NAP is the most common reason local businesses underperform in 3-pack rankings despite doing everything else right.