For local searches, search engines need to know which business is where. They compare details from many sources. If these contradict each other, confidence in the details drops — and with it the chance of appearing in local results and maps.
What NAP covers
The business name as used in trade, the full address and the main phone number. Website address, opening hours and category are often added. What matters is not a particular spelling but the same spelling everywhere.
Where the details appear
On your own website, ideally in the imprint and footer and in the structured data. In the Google business profile. In Swiss directories such as local.ch and search.ch, in other map services, in industry directories and on social profiles. For law firms, lawyer directories and professional association listings come on top.
Typical discrepancies
Old addresses after a move, different company names with and without the legal form, several phone numbers for different sites without clear assignment, abbreviations in one directory and full forms in another. Particularly common are listings never updated after a move or a change of name.
Finding and fixing discrepancies
Keep a list of every place the business is listed, set a binding spelling and align the listings one by one. The website is the reference; structured data under Schema.org with a full address makes the details machine-readable. After a move, updating every listing belongs on the list of first steps.
Several locations
Businesses with several locations need a separate, consistent listing per location with its own page on the website. A single location presented as several, or virtual addresses without genuine presence, violate map services’ guidelines. The connection with law firms is described in our article SEO and GEO for law firms and fiduciaries.