Definition
NAP is the business name, address, and phone number as they appear on the Google Business Profile, the website, and every directory that lists the business. Google compares these three fields across sources to confirm the business exists, is one business, and is where it says it is. NAP consistency means the three fields say the same thing everywhere they appear.
Consistency is judged on meaning, not punctuation. "123 Hurontario St" and "123 Hurontario Street" are the same address to Google. A different phone number, an old address, or a name with extra words added is a real mismatch, because each one can look like a second business.
Why it matters on the Georgian Bay shoreline
Trust before rank
Google does not publish a NAP score. It ranks the business whose identity is cleaner above the otherwise equal business whose identity is muddled. Most Collingwood trades we audit carry between 4 and 18 real mismatches they did not know about, usually a call-tracking number on a directory, a previous address from before a move, or a legal name with "Inc" that the truck never shows.
Duplicates and split reviews
The worst NAP problem is not on a directory. It is a second Google listing for the same business, built by Google from stale directory data, with its own reviews. The two records split the review count and the ranking signals between them. Cleaning up NAP is how that second listing stops getting fed.
Example
Take a Blue Mountain plumber who moved from a Craigleith address to a Collingwood shop. The profile and website get updated. Yellow Pages, Bing Places, and two trade directories still show Craigleith, and one carries a tracking number from an old ad campaign. Four sources, two addresses, two phones. To Google that reads as two possible businesses. This is the shape of the mismatch set we find in most Collingwood trade audits: an old address and a tracking number, not a typo.
The common mistake
Chasing cosmetic variants. Owners spend hours making "St" and "Street" match while a directory still lists the old phone number. Fix the meaning mismatches first: phone, address, added or missing words in the name. Leave abbreviations alone.
Check your NAP now
Paste the name, address, and phone from your profile, your website, and one directory. The free NAP checker tells you which differences are cosmetic and which ones Google reads as a different business.
Check your NAP now →