Choose your categories

Why categories matter most

Google states that local results are ranked on relevance, distance and prominence, and that relevance is how well a profile matches what someone searched for. Categories are the field Google reads first for that match. A business whose primary category is “Contractor” is a weak match for “plumber”; one whose primary category is “Plumber” is a strong one. No amount of work elsewhere on the profile compensates for the wrong primary category.

Choose the primary category

Pick the most specific category that describes what the business mainly does and what most customers come for. Google's list is long and specific; “Emergency plumber” exists, and so does “Bathroom remodeler”. Do not pick a broad category to cover more ground; a broad category matches more queries weakly and the specific ones strongly. If the business has two equal halves, pick the one that brings more of the outcomes you named in the baseline and make the other a secondary category.

Add secondary categories

Secondary categories tell Google what else the business does. Add one for each real, distinct service the business would want to appear for. Do not add categories for services the business does not offer in the hope of appearing for more queries; Google's guidelines prohibit it, and a customer who arrives for a service you do not do leaves a review. Fewer, accurate categories beat many.

Check the competition

Search each target query from the business's address and look at the three businesses in the pack. Their primary categories are visible on their profiles, and they are the categories Google is matching to that query. If all three share a primary category the business does not have, that is the category to consider. This is an observation, not a rule: the pack also reflects distance and prominence, and a competitor's choice may be wrong.

Change with care

Changing the primary category re-describes the business to Google and can move it in the pack in either direction. Make one change, record the date, and watch the measurements for a few weeks before changing again. Category changes may also trigger a re-verification request.

Illustrative example. A firm that does bathrooms and general plumbing, and gets most of its enquiries for bathrooms, sets “Bathroom remodeler” as primary and “Plumber” as secondary. Its competitor, which gets most enquiries for emergency call-outs, does the reverse. Both are correct for their own businesses. That is a description of the choice, not a result.

Output

A written note of the primary category, the secondary categories, and the reason for each, dated. Then set the address or service area.