What are Google Business Categories?
Google Business Categories are specific classifications that businesses can select when setting up or optimizing their Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business). These categories tell Google what your business does, helping the search engine understand where and when to display your business in relevant search results and maps.
Google offers thousands of categories covering virtually every type of business, from "Restaurants" to even "Zoo." Each category precisely defines the nature of your business, allowing Google to match your profile with relevant customer searches. Categories range from broad classifications like "Restaurant" to specific niches like "Vietnamese Restaurant" or even "Pho Restaurant."
Why Are the Right Google Business Categories Important?
Selecting the right Google Business categories impacts your online visibility and customer reach in several key ways: Enhanced Local Search Visibility: The right categories significantly improve your chances of appearing in local searches related to your products or services. Google primarily uses your categories to determine relevance to search queries.
- Targeted Customer Traffic: Accurate categories help attract customers who are specifically looking for what you offer, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
- Competitive Edge: Proper categorization allows you to compete effectively against similar businesses in your area by ensuring your business appears in the same search results.
- Feature Access: Certain Google Business Profile features are only available to businesses in specific categories. For example, restaurants can add menus, hotels can display class ratings, and service businesses can use booking buttons.
- Algorithm Alignment: Google's algorithm heavily weighs category selection when determining local pack rankings and map visibility.
Thoughts from our customer success manager, Diana: It might be tempting to change your Google Business category to get more visibility, but more visibility doesn’t always mean more customers.
Imagine you run a Japanese restaurant, but you change your category to "Italian Restaurant" to attract more searches. Someone craving pizza might see your profile, but once they realize you serve sushi instead, they’ll just keep scrolling.
That’s why we always recommend carefully choosing your Google Business categories. Let’s dive into how to do it right!
Which Google Business Categories Should You Choose?
Selecting the right Google Business categories requires strategic thinking to avoid the situation we have just stated above.
Consider the following tips when selecting a business category:
- Be Specific: Always choose the most specific category that accurately describes your core business. For example, if you run a pizza restaurant, select "Pizza Restaurant" rather than just "Restaurant." If you only offer breakfast, choose “Breakfast Restaurant,” and if you offer breakfast but your main business is brunch, you will choose “Brunch Restaurant”.
- Consider Your Primary Services: Focus on categories that reflect what you primarily offer, not occasional services. A dental office that occasionally provides teeth whitening should still choose "Dentist" as its primary category, not "Teeth Whitening Service."
- Research Competitors: Check what categories successful competitors in your area are using. This can provide insights into effective categorization strategies in your industry.
- Think Like Your Customers: Consider how potential customers might search for your business. What terms would they use? This can guide your category selection.
- Use Google's Category Suggestions: When typing in categories, Google will suggest relevant options. These suggestions are often valuable as they represent common search associations.
If you are struggling with choosing the right category or if you think you are not getting the results that you want with your current choice, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
How Many Google Business Categories Should You Choose?
Google allows businesses to select one primary category and up to nine additional secondary categories. Here's how to approach this:
- One Primary Category: Every business must select exactly one primary category. This is the most important classification and should represent your core business function.
- Multiple Secondary Categories: You can add up to nine additional categories to expand your visibility. However, quality over quantity—only add relevant secondary categories that accurately describe the services you actually provide. Otherwise we end up again at the worst case scenario from above!
- Strategic Limitation: While you can add multiple categories, it's often better to use fewer, more relevant categories than to select the maximum number with less relevant options. Irrelevant categories can dilute your profile's focus and may negatively impact your visibility.
- Regular Review: Regularly assess your categories as your business evolves or as Google adds new, more specific category options that might better describe your business. If you have a restaurant and you change your menu, it might be time to check your categories again!
Which Primary Google Business Category Should You Choose?
Let’s have a closer look at how to select really the best primary category!
This is how we would approach the selection process:
- Core Business Focus: Select the category that most precisely describes your main business function or the service that generates most of your revenue.
- Specificity Matters: Choose the most specific applicable category. If you're a personal injury law firm, select "Personal Injury Attorney" rather than "Attorney" or "Law Firm."
- Search Volume Consideration: For businesses with multiple possible primary categories, consider which services potential customers search for most frequently. Your main source of income should reflect your primary category.
- Local Relevance: Consider which category would make you most visible in your particular location based on local competition and demand. However, remember that visibility is not everything! In the end, we want conversions. Thus, only select a category that really fits your core business.
- Features Needed: Some categories unlock specific features in Google Business Profile. If a particular feature is important to your business, ensure your primary category supports it (e.g. attributes, option to add a menu, etc.).
Which Secondary Google Business Categories Should You Choose?
Secondary categories expand your visibility without diluting your primary focus.
This is how we would select secondary for our Google Business Profile:
- Complementary Services: Add categories that represent significant additional services your business provides that aren't covered by your primary category.
- Different Customer Perspectives: Include categories that capture different ways customers might think about your business. A store selling outdoor equipment might add "Camping Store," "Hiking Store," and "Fishing Store" as secondary categories.
- Semantic Categories: Select categories that are essentially subsets of your primary category. If your primary category is "Italian Restaurant," you should also add "Restaurant" as a secondary category.
- Location-Specific Services: If certain services are particularly relevant to your location, include those categories even if they're not your primary focus.
- Seasonal Offerings: Consider adding categories for significant seasonal services, especially if they drive substantial business during certain times of the year.
Important: Once again, only add categories of services you really provide. If you own an Italian restaurant, don’t add “Japanese Restaurant” as a category unless you also serve sushi or other Japanese cuisine.
What Influence Do Google Business Categories Have on Your Online Visibility?
Yes, we get it - how can something as simple as a category have such a big impact on your search visibility? Trust us, though, it plays a major role in how many customers find you through your GBP. Let’s dive into why that is!
- Search Ranking Factor: Categories are among the strongest ranking factors for local SEO and Google Maps visibility.
- Search Query Matching: Google uses categories to match businesses with relevant search queries, even when the search doesn't include your business name.
- Map Pack Inclusion: Proper categorization increases your chances of appearing in the valuable "Map Pack" (the map and three business listings that appear at the top of local search results).
- Industry-Specific Features: Your categories determine which special features are available to your business profile, such as appointment booking, menu displays, or hotel amenities.
- Voice Search Optimization: Categories play a crucial role in voice search results, where specificity is especially important as users typically ask for specific types of businesses.
- Discovery Potential: Well-chosen categories help your business appear in discovery searches where customers are looking for a type of business rather than a specific company name.
What to Avoid When Choosing Google Business Categories
1. Choosing Too Many Categories
- Selecting too many categories can confuse Google and dilute your profile’s relevance.
- Focus on categories that genuinely represent your main services.
- More categories do not necessarily mean higher visibility—accuracy is key.
2. Adding Categories to Your Business Name
- Google can flag or suspend your profile if you add multiple categories to your name.
- Example to avoid: “Lori’s Garden - Italian, Pizza, Pasta Restaurant & Brunch Restaurant Open 7 Days a Week”
- If your business is legally named “Lori’s Italian Restaurant” and that name appears on official documents, signage, and branding, then it is acceptable.
3. Selecting Categories Just for Visibility
- Choosing categories unrelated to your actual services can harm your credibility and rankings.
- Stick to categories that best define what your business offers.
- Google prioritizes relevance, so misleading category choices will backfire.
4. Not Choosing Any Secondary Categories
- If you skip secondary categories, you miss opportunities to rank for related services.
- Secondary categories help Google understand your business better and show your profile in additional search queries.
Example: A nail salon could add "Beauty Salon" or "Spa" as secondary categories to capture broader search interest.
Key Takeaways
- Primary categories matter most – Pick the one that best describes your business.
- Be specific – Avoid broad categories when more precise options exist.
- Use secondary categories strategically – Only add those that accurately represent additional services.
- Avoid keyword stuffing and unnecessary categories – Google penalizes spammy or misleading category usage.
- Stay compliant – Ensure your business name and category choices follow Google’s guidelines to avoid suspensions.
- Review regularly – Google updates its category options frequently, so stay updated.
Did you know? We frequently hear from clients wondering why certain attributes suddenly disappear when they change their business category or manage multiple businesses under different categories. We get the confusion! As mentioned above, certain categories unlock certain GBP features. Attributes belong to this list. When you change your primary Google Business category, the available attributes might change as well!
By carefully choosing your Google Business Categories, you lay a solid foundation for local SEO success. Selecting the right primary and secondary categories can greatly enhance your visibility to potential customers actively searching for your products or services. If you're unsure about the best categories for your business, we're here to help! As part of scaling up your local SEO, we’ll ensure your Google Business Profile is set up correctly—helping you boost your search rankings and attract more customers effortlessly.
