Glossary
NAP consistency
In short: NAP consistency means a business's name, address and phone number are identical across its website, structured data, Google Business Profile and third-party directories.
NAP stands for name, address and phone number. NAP consistency is the discipline of making sure those three facts, and usually opening hours and website URL as well, are written the same way everywhere a business is listed: its own site, its LocalBusiness schema, Google Business Profile, Companies House, review platforms and local directories.
It has long mattered for local search, where matching listings help Google trust that they describe the same entity. It matters more for AI assistants. A model deciding whether to recommend a business looks for corroboration across sources. "Smith & Sons Plumbing Ltd" on your site, "Smiths Plumbers" on a directory and a third variant on a review site look like three weak entities rather than one strong one. Worse, if the directory shows your old address, a grounded answer may repeat it to a customer.
A practical checklist:
- Pick one canonical form of the name, with or without "Ltd", and use it everywhere.
- Use the same address format and postcode, including any unit or floor.
- Use one phone number, formatted identically, including in your schema.
- Update directories within days of any change.
Seoptist's audit checks NAP consistency between your pages and schema, and the fact card lets you record the correct values so inaccurate answers can be flagged.