NAP

Google sees “Smith Plumbing, 0400 123 456” on your website and “Smith’s Plumbing Services” with a different number on a directory. Now it can’t be sure they’re the same business. That uncertainty costs you local rankings — consistency is one of the signals Google leans on to trust a listing.

The usual culprits: an old phone number lingering on a directory nobody remembers signing up to, or an address that changed two years ago. Or your business name written three different ways. Directories also copy from each other, so one wrong listing quietly spreads.

What to do: pick the exact format of your name, address, and phone — then use it identically everywhere. Website, Google Business Profile, socials, every directory. Then search your business name and old phone numbers to hunt down stale listings. Tedious, but you only have to do the cleanup once.