Auto dealers must stay visible online with the most accurate information about their business. But even minor contact information errors can appear on third-party listings, social media platforms, major search engines — even your dealership website. Luckily, practicing NAPU Consistency helps ensure your dealership’s information online is accurate and consistent, which can boost your customer reputation and position in search results.
NAPU consistency refers to your dealership’s Name, Address, Phone Number, and website URL. Google uses NAPU information and listings when looking for information about your dealership, so inaccurate NAPU details can lead to confusion for customers and a bad user experience. But how does NAPU consistency work, how does it affect SEO, and what are the best ways to achieve it?
NAPU Consistency & the Customer Journey
The importance of NAPU consistency extends beyond just SEO tactics; it directly impacts the customer journey. For instance, online directories and social bookmarking sites are utilized by both humans and search engines as touchpoints in the quest for automotive solutions.
Ensuring a high level of NAPU accuracy helps prevent search engines from ranking inconsistent or unavailable information about your business. In a nutshell, NAPU protects against potential customer friction, preventing instances where inaccurate phone numbers, store hours, or email addresses hinder the seamless connection between dealerships and customers.
Notably, the customer journey and brand experience begin well before a user makes the first inquiry or spends time on a website. Google’s own research shows five crucial touch points that lead to purchases or other positive action, including:
- using a search engine
- visiting a store
- exploring a retailer website or app
- checking another website or app
- using a map.
For dealerships, the customer journey typically starts when people first encounter the brand in search results, the Local Pack, on a map, or at the physical brick-and-mortar store. Consistent NAPU information becomes crucial at this stage, as users rely on accurate details to progress in their journey. Customers can even discover dealerships they wouldn’t know about through online portals, including popular directories that build citations and listings
Local SEO & Automotive
The automotive industry is inherently local, with customers often seeking nearby dealerships, service centers, or automotive solutions. This makes local SEO a potent tool for dealerships wherever they are. When a user searches for “auto dealerships near me” or “car services in [location],” search engines rely on NAPU information to deliver accurate and relevant results.
Consistent NAPU data across online platforms ensures that search engines can confidently associate your business information with specific regions and locations. This increases your chances of being prominently featured in local results. These citations act as signals to search engines, reinforcing the relevance and authenticity of a business in a particular location. This can significantly help boost visibility and drive targeted traffic to your dealership website.
Dealerships can actively manage and optimize their local citations by ensuring that NAPU information is consistent across automotive business directories, review sites, and other online platforms.
Consistent citations contribute to better search engine rankings and enhance overall online visibility. As more reputable sources validate the business’s information, it becomes more likely to appear in search results in local map packs and other prominent positions.
NAPU Inconsistency: A Couple Examples
Let’s imagine your dealership’s official name, physical address, phone number, and web address read as follows:
- Crestline Cars Inc., 477 W. Imaginary Road, Columbus, OH, 43215, 111-222-3333, www.crestlinecarsinc.com.
Three years ago, you submitted a business listing to an online local directory with this information:
- Crestline Cars Inc., 477 Imaginary Road, Columbus, OH, 43215, 111-222-3333, www.crestlinecarsinc.com.
And four months ago, you verified your business with Google as:
- Crestline Cars, 477 W. Imaginary Road, Columbus, OH, 43215, 111-222-3333, www.crestlinecarsinc.com.
Due to slight variations in each listing, Google and other search engines have a higher risk of perceiving all three as distinct entities.
AutoSweet Helps Dealerships Achieve NAPU Consistency
AutoSweet helps dealerships ensure NAPU consistency and maximize the impact of SEO to grow business.
- Online Platform Audits: AutoSweet conducts consistency audits for dealership websites, social media profiles, and other platforms where dealerships are listed. Our team updates any outdated or inconsistent NAPU information.
- Google My Business (GMB) Listings: GMB is a powerful tool for local SEO. To make sure that Google associates the right NAPU information with the right business, AutoSweet helps claim and optimize client GMB listings.
- Standardized Formatting: We help dealerships maintain a standardized format for NAPU information across all platforms. Consistency in how information is presented helps search engines accurately identify and index businesses.
- Customer Review Monitoring: Our team can quickly respond to reviews that mention incorrect NAPU information to fix the issue.
While just one part of an effective SEO strategy, NAPU consistency bolsters your business’s online presence, reputation, and searchability. But getting all these details right can be hard without a team of digital marketing experts to help.
AutoSweet can help your dealership harness the power of SEO by prioritizing and maintaining your dealership’s NAPU information online. Reach out to our digital marketing team today to ensure customers can find you!
To learn more about enhancing SEO and improving your online visibility, download AutoSweet’s free playbook, Digital Marketing For Dealerships!
