How primary and additional Google Business Profile categories work
Google’s help page on managing your business category is the place to start, and it’s plain about why categories matter: “The categories you select affect your local ranking on Google.” Google says they can also affect which searches show your business, and that some categories add a label to your profile or unlock features, like booking buttons and service lists for health and beauty businesses.
There are two kinds:
- One primary category. Google says to “select a primary category that best describes your business.” This is the one that matters most, because it’s your answer to what kind of business you are.
- Additional categories. Google says these are for special departments or services, and to add a few from the provided list rather than one for every product.
Google’s guidelines for representing your business add the rule I use most. Describe what your business is, not what it has or sells. Google frames it as completing the sentence “This business IS a” rather than “this business HAS a.” The same page says to use as few categories as possible, make them as specific as possible, and “do not use categories solely as keywords or to describe attributes of your business.”
Two more limits. You can’t create your own category, so you’re choosing from Google’s list. And if a separate business runs inside yours, Google says it gets its own profile instead of a category on yours. Its example is a health club with an independently run cafe.
How to choose Google Business Profile categories for a contracting business
Google’s own example shows the approach. A grocery store with a bakery and a deli uses the grocery category as primary, and bakery and deli as additional. A nail salon picks the nail salon category, not the general salon one. The primary is what the business is as a whole. Additional categories cover real parts of the business.
For a trade, that turns into three questions, and I ask them in this order:
- What do most of your customers hire you for? That’s the primary. It’s the job you’d say if someone asked what you do. For most electricians, plumbers and roofers that’s the trade itself.
- Is there a more specific category in Google’s list that fits better? Type your trade into the category box in the profile editor and read every option it suggests. Google says to be as specific as possible while staying representative of your main business, so a narrower option that matches your main work beats a broad one.
- Which other parts of the business are real, regular work? Those can be additional categories. A plumbing company that runs a real drain cleaning crew can reflect that. A landscaper who plowed one driveway last winter shouldn’t add snow removal.
I don’t list exact category names for each trade here, because Google’s list changes and I’d rather you read the current options in your own editor than copy a name that’s been retired. The test is the same for an electrician, a plumber, an HVAC contractor, a roofer, a landscaper or a general contractor: pick the narrowest option that describes the whole business, then add only what the business also is.
Categories also shape your services list. Google’s page on managing services says the services editor suggests options based on your business type, such as “Install faucet” or “Repair toilet” for a plumbing business. With the right categories, the right suggestions show up.
How to check which categories your competitors use
Search Google Maps for your main service and your town, the way a customer would. Look at the businesses that show up first, and at the label Google shows with each one. Google says some categories assign a label to your business, so that label is a good clue to how Google sees them.
Write down what the top few use. You’re looking for patterns. If every business ranking for “water heater installation” in your town shows a plumbing label, a profile with a general contractor label is asking Google to make a stretch. If the leaders use a more specific option than you do, check whether that option fits your business too.
Don’t copy blindly. A competitor’s category is only right for you if it’s true about you. And a category is only one of the things Google uses to rank a profile. Its local ranking help page also names distance, reviews and links. My guide on how to rank higher on Google Maps covers those.
Questions to settle before you change your categories
Should I change my primary category to chase a bigger search?
Only if the new category describes your business better. Google’s rule is that the primary category describes your business as a whole, and its guidelines say not to use categories solely as keywords. A roofer who switches the primary to a general contracting category because more people search “contractor” is describing the business less accurately, and is now matched to searches for jobs they may not want.
There’s also a practical cost. Google says editing a category may prompt you to verify your business again. So decide once, based on what most of your work really is, and leave it. If you want to show up for a related search, add the service to your services list and build a page for it on your website.
What if my company does several trades?
If it’s one business, with one name and one crew, it’s one profile. Google’s guidelines say to have one profile per business, and its duplicate help page says to add multiple services to one profile rather than create separate ones. Pick the primary for the trade that brings in most of the work, add the others as additional categories if they’re real, regular parts of the business, and fill in the services.
If the trades are separately run businesses with their own names, Google treats them differently. Separately operated businesses get their own profiles, not extra categories on yours. Get this wrong in the other direction, two profiles for one business, and you’re into duplicate territory, which my guide on a suspended Google Business Profile covers.
Can I add a category for a job I only do once in a while?
I wouldn’t. Google says additional categories are for special departments or services, and to use as few as possible. A category tells Google what your business is. A job you take twice a year isn’t that.
Put occasional work in your services list instead, with a plain description. Google says listed services may be highlighted when customers search for them, which covers most of what you were hoping the category would do, without stretching what your business claims to be.
If you want a second opinion on your categories, or want them set up along with the rest of your profile, my $400 Google Business Profile optimization starts with the primary category and works from there. For trades that want ongoing Maps and website work, see my SEO for contractors page. Send me your profile link and I’ll tell you whether I’d change your primary category.