The rule (don’t break this) Your NAP must be 100% consistent everywhere that builds trust. That means: - Google Business Profile - Core citations (Yelp, BBB, Apple Maps, etc.) - Your main website (footer/contact page) 👉 These should ALL use your real business phone number (primary number) 👉 NO tracking numbers here Where tracking numbers ARE safe Use tracking numbers ONLY on: - Landing pages (paid traffic) - Google Ads call extensions - Facebook ads - Email campaigns - SMS campaigns 👉 These do NOT affect your core entity trust The correct setup (this is how pros do it) 1. Pick a PRIMARY number (this is your NAP number) This goes on: - Website footer - Contact page - Google Business Profile - All citations 2. Use Dynamic Number Insertion (DNI) on your site Instead of hardcoding tracking numbers: - Keep your real number in the code - Swap it dynamically based on traffic source Tools: - CallRail - Twilio - WhatConverts 👉 Google still sees your real number 👉 Users see tracking numbers 👉 You get attribution without breaking NAP 3. Google Ads (special case) Use: - Google forwarding numbers (inside Ads) These: - Don’t replace your real number on your site - Don’t mess with SEO or maps 4. Citations strategy (non-negotiable) ALL citations must have: - Same Name - Same Address - Same PRIMARY phone No variations. No call tracking

Normally, it’s always in the beginning of a campaign. I once had a dental site jump from page 3 to page one, then dipped to page 5 or six for several weeks before being glued to the top three positions for all major keywords. (This is rare and it’s the only instance it’s been stuck that long for so low on a dip.) Once you start building an establishing trust by running the entire process, things level out.

@James Johnson welcome to the show

welcome bro!

Good question. Our citation packages don’t include every individual directory, and that’s intentional. What matters most is getting your business data distributed through the major citation networks and data feeds. When the primary layer (Yext-level distribution) and the secondary citation layer are deployed, your business ends up with hundreds of consistent listings across the web, which is what Google and AI systems use for entity validation. Because of that, one or two stray directories like Clutch won’t affect rankings. If you specifically want that listing corrected, you have two options: 1. Fix it manually by claiming and editing the listing directly on that site. 2. Push updates through the main data aggregators, such as: • Data Axle (Infogroup) • Neustar Localeze • Foursquare Just keep in mind that aggregator updates can take several months to fully propagate across directories. From a ranking standpoint, the priority is large-scale citation consistency, not fixing every single directory individually.