30-second summary:
- Although a business phone number isn’t as tough on your SEO as a complete rebrand, changing it can have an impact on your SEO.
- Preserving NAP consistency should be your primary goal when changing your phone number.
- Your marketing strategy can help make the transition easier for your customers, too, as you can notify them of the change ahead of time.
- The key goal in addition to retaining your ranking should be to not lose the trust of your customers by changing your information – hence the need to approach the process carefully.
Much like all other aspects of digital marketing and brand positioning, SEO is a constantly changing game. With so many moving pieces and evolving trends, it’s no wonder that brands aren’t quite certain which decisions will negatively impact their SEO[1], and which ones are safe enough to make.
One day, it seems that one kind of behavior is perfectly fine, while the next Google will penalize it because they’ve implemented algorithm changes. Add customer expectations into the mix, and it gets even more difficult to figure out just what’s worth the effort, and what should be left alone.
When it comes to your business details, including your name, address, and phone number (neatly packed into the notion of NAP information), change can be good. After all, entire companies have successfully rebranded without a hitch. However, changing a single piece of information such as your phone number can change the entire customer journey if not done right.
Here, we’ll tackle a few essential steps in the process to keep in mind, so that your phone number shift doesn’t impact your ranking or your brand perception negatively.
NAP it in the bud
Local search[2] is a vital