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Course → Module 1: Identity Consistency: NAP and Beyond
Session 1 of 7

NAP Fundamentals

Session 1.1 · ~5 min read

Welcome to Module 1. This is where the real work begins. Everything in Module 0 was diagnostic. From here forward, every session produces something you can implement.

We start with the most fundamental building block of entity recognition: NAP. In the context of entity SEO, NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone (though we will expand this concept beyond just phone numbers). These three pieces of information are how Google cross-references mentions of your entity across the web. If they are not identical everywhere, Google cannot confidently conclude that all those mentions refer to the same entity.

Why NAP Is the Foundation

Google builds entity understanding by collecting information from hundreds of sources: your website, social profiles, business directories, government registries, news mentions, Wikipedia, and more. For each source, Google extracts basic identifying information and tries to match it against known entities.

The matching algorithm relies heavily on exact string comparison. If your website says "Acme Corp" but your Google Business Profile says "ACME Corporation" and your LinkedIn says "Acme Corp." (with a period), Google has to decide: are these the same entity or three different ones? With enough other corroborating signals, it might figure it out. But every inconsistency reduces confidence and slows recognition.

NAP consistency is not a best practice. It is a prerequisite. Without it, every other entity signal you build is weakened.

The Three Pillars

Name

Your entity's name must be written exactly the same way everywhere. Not approximately. Not "close enough." Exactly. This includes capitalization, punctuation, spacing, abbreviations, and legal suffixes. We cover name consistency in depth in Session 1.2.

Address

Your physical address (if applicable) must use the same format everywhere. Street abbreviations, unit numbers, zip codes, city names. If one listing says "Jl. Sudirman No. 45" and another says "Jalan Sudirman 45," those are two different strings to an algorithm. Session 1.3 covers address formatting rules.

Phone

Your phone number is a unique identifier. Format matters: country code, spacing, dashes, parentheses. "+62 21 555 1234" and "021-555-1234" and "(021) 5551234" are three different strings. Session 1.4 covers phone number formatting and secondary identifiers like email.

How NAP Flows Across Platforms

graph TD MASTER["Master NAP Record
(Your canonical source)"] --> WEB[Your Website] MASTER --> GBP[Google Business Profile] MASTER --> LI[LinkedIn] MASTER --> FB[Facebook] MASTER --> YELP[Yelp] MASTER --> YP[Yellow Pages] MASTER --> IND[Industry Directories] MASTER --> WIKI[Wikidata] WEB --> |"Must match"| GBP GBP --> |"Must match"| LI LI --> |"Must match"| FB style MASTER fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#c8a882,color:#ede9e3 style WEB fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style GBP fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style LI fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style FB fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#6b8f71,color:#ede9e3 style YELP fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#c47a5a,color:#ede9e3 style YP fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#c47a5a,color:#ede9e3 style IND fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#c47a5a,color:#ede9e3 style WIKI fill:#2a2a28,stroke:#c47a5a,color:#ede9e3

The diagram shows the correct approach: a single master NAP record that feeds every platform. Green nodes are platforms you directly control. Orange nodes are platforms where you may need to request corrections. The key principle is that information flows from one source outward, never assembled ad hoc at each platform.

NAP Format Examples

The table below shows correct and incorrect NAP formatting for a fictional business. Study the "Correct" column carefully. Every field has one canonical version.

Field Correct (Canonical) Incorrect Variation 1 Incorrect Variation 2 Why It Matters
Business name Acme Engineering ACME Engineering Acme Engineering, Inc. Different strings to matching algorithms
Street address Jl. Sudirman No. 45 Jalan Sudirman 45 Jl Sudirman No 45 Abbreviation and punctuation inconsistency
City, state, zip Jakarta Selatan 12190 South Jakarta 12190 Jaksel Language and abbreviation differences
Phone +62 21 555 1234 021-555-1234 (021) 5551234 Format and country code inconsistency
Website URL https://acme-engineering.com http://www.acme-engineering.com acme-engineering.com Protocol and subdomain differences

The Compounding Effect of Inconsistency

A single NAP inconsistency is a problem. Multiple inconsistencies are a disaster. The effect compounds because Google uses each source to verify the others. If 4 out of 10 sources agree on your name, 3 agree on a different version, and 3 have yet another version, Google's confidence in any single version drops dramatically.

The chart illustrates the relationship between NAP consistency rate and estimated entity confidence. The drop is not linear. It accelerates as consistency falls below 80%. At 50% consistency (half your listings have variations), entity confidence is near zero. This is why fixing NAP is the first operational task in the course.

Creating Your Master NAP Record

Before touching any platform, create a single canonical record. This is your master NAP. Write it down once, exactly as you want it to appear everywhere.

  1. Legal entity name (as you want it recognized, not necessarily the full legal registration)
  2. Full address with consistent abbreviations and formatting
  3. Primary phone number with country code
  4. Primary website URL (https, with or without www, pick one)
  5. Primary email address (branded domain preferred)

This record becomes your single source of truth. Every platform gets exactly this information. No variations, no "close enough."

Further Reading

Assignment

  1. Create your master NAP record. Write the canonical version of your entity name, address, phone, website URL, and email. Store it in a document you can reference throughout this module.
  2. Check your own website (homepage, contact page, about page, footer). Does your NAP match your master record exactly? Note any discrepancies.
  3. Check your Google Business Profile. Does every field match your master record?
  4. List every platform where your business or personal brand is listed (social profiles, directories, review sites). You will use this list in Session 1.5 for the full NAP audit.