NAP consistency, explained
NAP stands for name, address and phone number, the basic facts that identify a local business. NAP consistency means those facts match exactly across the business's website, its Google Business Profile, directories, review sites, social profiles, industry listings and data aggregators.
Inconsistency creeps in easily: an old suite number after a move, a tracking phone number on one listing, "and" on one profile and "&" on another, a former name that was never updated. Each discrepancy is small, but together they make it harder for search engines, map services and AI assistants to be confident that the listings all describe the same business, and they confuse clients who find the wrong number.
NAP consistency is a foundation of local SEO and of entity SEO more broadly. An audit usually means finding every listing, correcting the authoritative sources first, then working outward, and deciding how to handle duplicates and old locations. Many practices extend the same discipline beyond NAP to hours, categories, website URL and practitioner names. It is unglamorous work, and it quietly supports everything else.