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Citation Building

NAP Consistency Audits: Finding and Fixing Citation Errors

Run a complete NAP audit, identify inconsistencies, and build a cleanup workflow that scales.

The NAP Audit Workflow

Before building new citations, clean existing ones. Submitting new citations while old inconsistent ones exist just adds to the confusion.

Step 1: Establish Your Master NAP Record

Create a definitive business information record. This is the source of truth every citation must match exactly:

text
Business Legal Name: Smith Plumbing LLC
DBA (if applicable): Smith's Plumbing Services
Street Address: 1234 Oak Street, Suite 200
City, State, ZIP: Austin, TX 78701
Phone: (512) 555-0100
Website: https://www.smithplumbingaustin.com
Primary Category: Plumbing
Business Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 9am-2pm

Formatting decisions that matter:

  • "Street" vs "St." — pick one and stick to it
  • "(512) 555-0100" vs "512-555-0100" — most citation tools accept both, but be consistent
  • Suite numbers: always include them or always omit them
  • "LLC" in your name — include or exclude, be consistent

Step 2: Run a Citation Tracker Audit in BrightLocal

  1. Create a new campaign in BrightLocal
  2. Enter your master NAP data
  3. Run Citation Tracker
  4. Export the results to a spreadsheet

The report will show:

  • Found citations with their current data
  • Inconsistency score (how closely the listed data matches your master NAP)
  • Duplicate listings

Step 3: Categorize Issues

Sort your findings into three categories:

Category A: Correct citations — No action needed. Note these for benchmarking.

Category B: Incorrect citations — The listing exists but has wrong data. These need manual correction by logging into the directory and editing the listing.

Category C: Duplicate listings — Two or more listings for the same business on the same platform. Duplicates split authority and confuse Google. Merge or suppress the extra listings.

Step 4: Prioritize Corrections

Fix in this order:

  1. Google Business Profile (highest impact)
  2. Tier 1 directories (Yelp, Bing, Apple Maps, Facebook)
  3. Data aggregators (changes here propagate downstream)
  4. Industry-specific directories
  5. Everything else

Step 5: Document and Monitor

Create a master citation spreadsheet with:

  • Directory name
  • Listing URL
  • Login credentials (use a password manager)
  • Current status
  • Last verified date

Re-run Citation Tracker every quarter. Business information changes, and new inconsistencies can emerge from directory auto-updates.

Common NAP Problems and Fixes

Old address after moving: Update GBP immediately, then work through directories by tier.

Phone number change: Update GBP, then use Citation Builder to push the new number to your directory network.

Name change or rebrand: Most time-intensive. May require creating new listings and suppressing old ones.

Franchise or multi-location confusion: Each location needs its own distinct citations with exact address. Common issue when a franchise system doesn't control its citation footprint centrally.

Key Takeaways

  • Always audit before building new citations
  • Establish a master NAP record and treat it as the single source of truth
  • Fix inconsistencies in tier order: GBP first, then major directories, then aggregators
  • Document everything in a master spreadsheet and re-audit quarterly