NAP Citations for Osteopathy Clinics: Key Quebec Health Directories

This article is part of the complete series: Google Local Pack for Osteopaths — The 5 Levers.

What Is NAP Consistency and Why Does It Matter

Every time your clinic's name, address, and phone number appear online — in a directory, on a social media profile, in a press mention, or in a partner's website — that is a citation. Google's local algorithm reads these citations to assess your clinic's prominence and trustworthiness.

Inconsistency is the problem that affects most osteopathy clinics without their knowledge. A clinic may have been listed on Yellow Pages with one phone number format, registered on Yelp with a slightly different address abbreviation, and appeared in a local health magazine with yet another version. To Google, these look like different entities — diluting rather than reinforcing the Local Pack signal.

The solution is to establish a single canonical NAP standard and apply it to every directory and web presence, then audit existing listings and correct inconsistencies.

Step 1: Define Your Canonical NAP

Before submitting to any directory, decide on the single authoritative version of your clinic's information:

• Clinic name: exactly as it appears on your signage and legal registration. Example: "Clinique d'ostéopathie Rosemont" — not "Ostéopathie Rosemont" or "Clinique Rosemont Ostéopathie".
• Address: decide on the abbreviation standard. "123 Rue Masson" consistently — not sometimes "123 Rue Masson" and sometimes "123 rue Masson, Apt 101" (include suite numbers consistently or not at all).
• Phone number: choose a single format. "+1 514-XXX-XXXX" or "514-XXX-XXXX" — and use it everywhere identically.

Document this canonical NAP in a file that everyone managing your clinic's online presence can reference. Use it as the definitive source for all future directory submissions and website updates.

Priority Directories for Quebec Osteopathy Clinics

The following table lists the directories with the greatest influence on local SEO for health businesses in Quebec, ordered by priority tier:

Step 2: Submission Process

For each directory in your priority list:

1. Search for an existing listing before creating a new one. Many clinics already have auto-generated listings from data aggregators.
2. Claim the existing listing if one exists. This is faster than creating a new one and prevents duplicate listings.
3. Verify ownership via the directory's process (email, phone, postcard).
4. Update all fields to match your canonical NAP exactly. Add a description, website URL, hours, and photos where available.
5. Log the submission in your tracking spreadsheet: directory name, URL, date submitted, date verified, current status.

Step 3: Audit and Correct Existing Citations

To find existing citations, search Google for: "your clinic name" in quotation marks, and separately for your phone number and address in various formats. Review the first 2–3 pages of results. Create a list of every instance where your information appears.

For each found citation, compare the listed NAP to your canonical standard. Flag any discrepancy for correction. Contact the directory directly (or use their edit interface) to submit the corrected information. Some directories (especially older ones) have a slow correction process — allow several weeks to a few months for changes to propagate, depending on the directory.

Frequently Asked Questions