Which business details must match everywhere online (name, address, phone, hours, categories)?

Which business details need to match?

Four facts should agree in meaning everywhere:

• Name: the real-world name customers see.
• Phone number: one number that reaches your business.
• Address or service area: where you work from, or the area you serve.
• Regular hours: the hours customers can reach you.

Your primary trade should come through the same way too, within each platform's category list.

Google says it builds Business Profiles partly from "crawled web content (e.g., information from a business' official website)" and "Licensed data from third parties." Apple and Yelp both say your hours should match your website (see website vs Google Business Profile and Facebook). That's why your website should carry the same name, phone, service area, and hours in plain text (more on how to list the towns you serve).

No platform rule I found says "St." and "Street" have to match character for character. The facts have to agree.

How do the major platforms' rules compare?

Checked 10/20/2026. Details change; check the source.

What name should I use: legal name, DBA, or what's on the truck?

The one customers see. Google says your name should reflect "your business's real-world name, as used consistently on your storefront, website, stationery, and as known to customers," and lists "irrelevant legal terms (e.g. LLC, LTD, INC)" among things not to add unless they're really part of the name. Yelp includes LLC only "if it's consistently used in public-facing branding."

Don't add a town or a keyword to your name (more on ranking in a town without an office). Google says unnecessary information in a business name "could result in the suspension of your Business Profile."

What address do I list if I work from home?

Each platform handles this a little differently:

• Google: service-area businesses "should hide your business address."
• Bing: businesses that go to the customer, "like locksmiths, plumbers, and tutors, can hide their address," showing either the full address or just ZIP code and city.
• Yelp: local service providers "such as plumbers" need a ZIP code or service area, and "Residential addresses are discouraged" unless you want it public.
• Apple: its partner guidance says a location record shouldn't be created for a residential address or a mobile business, but since 2024 Apple lets every business, including service businesses without a physical location, create a brand identity. Apple doesn't spell out what a brand-only record shows in Maps for a home-based contractor.

None of them accept a mailing-only address you don't work from.

Can I use a cell phone or a call tracking number?

Be careful. Google requires a number "under the direct control of the business" and bans numbers that "redirect or 'refer' users" to other businesses. Bing says "Don't use a reseller or partner's phone number." Yelp "may not accept cell phone numbers (especially for unclaimed businesses) or tracking numbers for 3rd parties." Pick one main number you control and use it everywhere.

Do my hours and categories need to be identical?

Hours, yes in meaning: post the hours customers can reach you, the same everywhere, and add holiday hours. One wrinkle: Google says businesses that "operate only by appointment" shouldn't provide hours, while Apple says appointment-only locations should list the hours appointments can be made. Google doesn't say how that line applies to a contractor who takes calls during set hours.

Categories can't be identical. Google says "Use as few categories as possible to describe your overall core business," Apple allows one primary plus up to 19, and Yelp allows a maximum of three. Make your primary trade the same everywhere.

How do I fix wrong details that keep coming back?

Fix them at the source:

• Claim and correct your listings on Google, Apple, Bing, and Yelp.
• Check the free data aggregator records that feed other directories. Data Axle says listing management is free for 1 to 10 listings and that it sends your info to search engines, directories, and navigation apps. Paid services exist too; you don't have to buy one.
• Watch for duplicates. Bing says syncing from your Google profile "may create duplicate listings, especially if a listing already exists on Bing."

Getting found on Google and in AI answers

As for AI assistants: Bing says Bing Places keeps your info eligible for its AI-generated responses, and OpenAI lists Microsoft as a ChatGPT search provider. Anthropic and xAI don't say which listings Claude or Grok use (more on where ChatGPT, Claude and Grok get local business info). No AI company has said how it handles conflicting listings, or which data aggregators feed which assistants.

How 3Fold Labs helps

Checking these details is part of my search visibility work: I compare your name, address or service area, phone, hours and categories across your website and listings, then fix what doesn't match. Your website becomes the reference copy, the way this post suggests. That's ordinary local SEO, and it gives AI tools the same accurate facts. No one can promise a ranking, including me.

Here's more on my Getting found on Google and in AI answers.

Related reading

• How do I show up in the Google map results for my trade?
• How do I rank in a town where I don't have an office?
• How should I list the towns I serve on my website?
• Getting found on Google and in AI answers

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