Google Implies Phone Number Formats Don't Matter

Jul 11, 2018 - 7:27 am 4 by

Google Phone Numbers

You've all seen it, how different web sites and email signatures format their phone numbers. Some do 212-555-5555, some do (212) 555-5555, some do 212.555.5555, some do 212 555 5555, some do 212_555_5555 and the most annoying do 2125555555 and other variations.

Someone asked Google's John Mueller if it matters and can Google pick it up? John basically said Google can figure it out. He said to require sites that they must use a single format would be "futile" and thus doesn't make sense. So I suspect Google can figure out many types of phone number formats based on your preferred style.

John responded on Twitter saying "I imagine it's futile for any directory to require phone numbers with specific separators."

Forum discussion at Twitter.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: January 8, 2026

Jan 8, 2026 - 10:00 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Hiring Very Senior PM To Fight Spam On Bing & Copilot

Jan 8, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Maps

PSA: Don't Create Separate Google Business Profile For Department Listings

Jan 8, 2026 - 7:41 am
Google Search Engine Optimization

Google's John Mueller Answers If You Should Invest In GEO

Jan 8, 2026 - 7:31 am
Search Engine Optimization

Tailwind CSS Lets Go 75% Of Engineers After 40% Traffic Drop From Google

Jan 8, 2026 - 7:21 am
Google Ads

Google Vehicle Ads Gains Call Assets

Jan 8, 2026 - 7:11 am
 
Previous Story: SEOs & Webmasters Visit John Mueller At Google Zurich