Scottsdale SEO – How NAP Affects Your Local SEO

The mobile usage has exceeded the desktop usage since 2015. The change of device and the change of the number of devices could affect the user’s behavior. This becomes a problem to the local businesses because when a user changes from one device to another, their search experience will also differ.

The thing is… Google’s algorithms apply the user’s current location to their directory listing. They check if the existing record coincides with your business listing.  NAP, an acronym for Name, Address, and Phone, affects your business’ rankings.

What we have learned here? It’s not only Google that checks for NAPs. People use online directories too! If they’re hungry, they’ll surely search for the nearest pizza place and call the number right away.

The start of the transaction.

Contrary to popular belief, business transaction does not happen during the first inquiry via social media, or when someone ordered at the company website. Take a step back because it’s earlier than that.

According to Google, the start actually happens when…

• someone used a search engine (Google, Bing, Ask!)
• someone visited the actual store.
• someone visited the official website or app.
• someone browsed a related website or app.
• someone used an online map service like Google Maps.

These five actions will most likely lead to purchase or a positive reaction from the user. The moment they see your business on the SERPs (or search results pages), expect an offline visit within the day. When a business is searched online, as much as 78% of the users ended up visiting its physical store.

This is why having a consistent NAP is important to your business’ success. The transaction won’t be completed if the given store address or phone number is wrong.  The correct information should be provided for the users online for their intent to progress.

Wrong Assumptions.

The problem is… we conclude right away that customers know our company website, our order page, our business listing. They will figure it out!

Nope, they won’t. Not everyone will figure out your official pages in just a click. People will ask their friends and visit a lot of other websites before they get to you.

This is why a lot of pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram make an effort to verify certain businesses. Because they don’t want people to be lost and transact with a fake page, social media sites are making sure to highlight legitimate businesses over unverified ones.

Be a part of the journey.

This is the perfect opportunity to make a great first impression. On all your official pages, be sure to indicate a uniform name, address, and phone number. Whether it’s on your website, Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, the NAPs provide should be consistent.

Wherever the user decides to search for you, you are certain that they will NOT go astray. Besides, even if you are not the user’s first choice, they will still consider you as one of their options in the future because you are easy to find and you are active on different social media accounts.

Do not be like the other lazy local pages out there that offer no help at all. Lend a helping hand by providing accurate answers to the user’s inquiry.