What is NAP and why is it essential for SEO?

NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone Number. NAP is essential for businesses wishing to rank well in the local organic search results, because search engines like Google take NAP data into account when determining which companies to show for geographically targeted searches. What can businesses do with their NAP to boost their local search rankings?

To start with, make sure that your NAP is correct – both on your website as well as on other sites throughout the web. Local SEO experts believe that Google and the other search engines cross-reference your NAP information across a variety of websites as a validation that you are a legitimate business. For example, it’s incredibly unlikely that a “made for SEO spam site” (i.e. not a real business) is going to have a physical address listed on their website let alone consistent NAP information on sites ranging from local directories and Yelp to the Yell.com. The more “local citations” you can build up with consistent NAP information, the better.