We all know that we need to be consistent with our business’ NAP as discussed in part 1. It is after all as vital as the listings in the directory and citations that was built for possible customers to find them. No consistency in the NAP, no conversion of potential customers.

What are the reasons for NAP inconsistency?

It could be due to human errors or changes in the business. Here are the other reasons:

• No updates in its directory listings and citations when the business address was a changed.
• When there are two or more listed address that are being posted online.
• Created different phone numbers for conversion tracking.The effect of the above reasons is the non-conversion of sales. It could likewise harm your brand.

Google’s algorithm.

There is a different algorithm for Google compared to the organic SERPs. It is affected by the location of the user every time they search something online. If your NAP is consistent, your business will be shown in the local searches.

Inconsistent directory adscription.

There are businesses that give a different phone number in every directory. This is to track down marketing efforts. But there is always two sides:

• The advantage is that there’s more accuracy in measuring the ROI of the marketing campaign.
• The disadvantage is that you may have many published information with different NAPs.

This will of course result to several business listings with different NAP and perhaps different locations. Users will be confused in guessing which one is correct. That could be frustrating!

Too many phone numbers listed.

Stop the online blinds.

There are also businesses that located in 1 area, but it shows different 3 contact numbers and varying business closing times too! Even if the user was eventually able to guess the right contact number, the user still wasted his time and effort figuring out the correct information.

Avoiding spam is also avoiding customers.

Wrong numbers on the directory listings is used to avoid the spam phone calls. But it can also drive away interested customers.

Doing the local right!

Local searches do have higher conversion rates, and because of the proximity, users would often complete their intended.

Local businesses has forgotten that there are a lot of opportunities in making good business only if they could also satisfy the intent of the local customers. So, make sure your business’ NAP is consistent.

Build a Quality Local Value Pages.

This would be easier if the business has an actual store at the right location. However, it does not mean that intangible product or service sold online has no chance.

For example, if you are in New York and you are looking for a contractor, Google breaks in down to…

• “contractors”, user is looking for a contractor. This is the main keyword of the search.
• “in New York” will be the supporting element. This means the user is asking for a local contractor.

In short, the main part of the website should reflect the primary product or the service, with of course the supporting elements that could surely add value in connection to the user’s location.