When someone writes NAPs (that is, Name, Address, Phone), should it also write postal code in the Address row?
On the way, you might want to share with the community how YOU write NAPs and if you came across any formal, or informal-but-beneficial documentation about this....
In the UK, a post code is part of an address and so should be included. This helps ensure that post which people mail to you will be correctly addressed and also helps people who might visit you as they can use the postcode in their sat nav devices for direction. I cant think of nay reason why you might omit the postcode.
As you know NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone and one of the major factors when ranking a business locally is correct and consistent data, since Google will have your full address with postcode adding citations without the postcode would be considered inconsistent which will be a huge negative. An address should always include a postcode or zip, an address without is considered incorrect for both local seo and real world mail delivery.
The way to present this to Google should be in the correct order but doesn't matter if its spread on multiple lines, for example these are all the same:
ASDA, St Pauls Rd, Bournemouth BH8 8DL
is the same as:
ASDA
St Pauls Rd,
Bournemouth,
BH8 8DL
However it is not the same as
ASDA, Saint Pauls Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH8 8DL
Additionally, the quality and volume of citations matter, Yelp, Yell, BT etc will not allow you to add an address without a postcode, at the end of the day, serious businesses use their full address, if you operate from your home address then click ‘I serve customers at their address’, this will least hide the address on Google.
I highly recommend that you look at the SEO local factors cheat sheet to avoid negative SEO.
If you are not ever going to send snail mail to the person you probably don't need to collect the postal code.
However it might be useful for cross checking that a suburb is spelled correctly, if you care. But again, if you aren't writing to the person...
On the other hand, are you issuing invoices? If so, perhaps having the postal code would be a good idea.
If not, why do we even collect the address of a person these days? For most purposes name and email address seem more than enough.
Good question worthy of some discussion.
After dealing with addresses for 30 years within databases, applications, creating and sending bulk mail, an so on, the postal code is key and in fact the only reliable data within an address. The reason is this. An address can be written any number of ways, but a postal code can only be written one way.
Why did I say this?
I wrote a CASS system years ago that validates postal addresses and certifies them for bulk mail. All bulk mail address must be validated as being 100% correct and certified before the U.S. Post Office will accept it. A major part of validating an address is the postal code. For example, how many addresses are on "Main Street" in the U.S.? How can I know that "this" Main Street has an address of 512? The postal code. It is impossible to validate any address without it. As well, from a DBAs perspective, since addresses can be written in a many variety of ways, the only key-able data that can be validated and trusted easily is the postal code. The remainder must either be trusted "as is" or validated using a CASS system or something similar.
So what does this have to do with SEO?
Do not think that Google is not validating names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. How does Google know that an address exists? Simple. The CASS system. CASS is the authoritative knowledge base of addresses all over the world and all of the global shipping industry relies upon it's accuracy every second of every day. If an address cannot be validated using CASS, it simply cannot be trusted.
If the postal code is missing from a address, the address is simply invalid and ignored. It cannot pass validation before being accepted as a critical part of branding. Google validates a sites address and creates a fact link within the knowledge base that ties the site to an address. The same happens with names, phone numbers, etc. As any knowledge base expands, a critical factor that allows a knowledge base to work is corroboration. All data must be validated before being accepted otherwise it is not a fact. If an address presented on a site cannot be validated, then a fact link within the knowledge base cannot be created. Going back, any address cannot be validated without a postal code. It is simply impossible.
It also is impossible to brand a site in Google without NAP, e-mail address, or other verifiable contact information. The site must be validated as trustworthy and being open about who you are is the largest part of trust. If your address, a critical part of NAP, is incomplete, then a fact link cannot be created within the knowledge base and branding and trust metrics as a result can not follow which are significant factors in search performance.
So in the end, not having a postal code as part of your NAP does effect search performance. If you are providing information on your site, make sure that it is valid, complete, and trustworthy. Otherwise, what is the point?
As for format?
There are several valid formats. Google has over the long many years perfected recognizing and reading different formats for the NAP. It is advisable to remain rather traditional as to be helpful. Since Google has studied how addresses and NAP are written globally, it is advisable to follow what is traditional in your area. Keep in mind that the knowledge base is used much like any CASS system's duplicate elimination algorithm base to validate an address, or other data element. DupeElim algorithms are highly effective and rather simple. They can ferret out just about any format of an address there is. Simply put, it is not rocket science and well understood. Much has been written on the subject and CASS has been around since the beginning of computerizing postal mail. Longer than many of us have been alive!
I will offer this.
There is a reason why schema.org mark-up exists. It makes passing data to search engines a more trustworthy process. Why? Because the data elements do not have to be parsed and guessed. They are defined. It is of a significant advantage to use schema.org mark-up for your NAP. In this way, you are partially eliminating the need for data parsers and duplicate elimination algorithms and format matters much less. Where-ever possible, it is highly recommended that schema.org mark-up be used for NAP.
Flat 1, Super Duper Grange, Poole Hill Road, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH1 4DD the super duper grange will not work negatively unless you build citiations without that.
– Simon Hayter
Feb 28 '16 at 16:13