Select business categories carefully
Selecting business categories for your Google listing gets hyped as daunting. In reality it’s fairly simple — the only catch is you have to do it right, because getting it wrong affects your visibility. If you’ve already picked wrong categories, you can log in to your Business Profile and modify the selection.
What are local business categories?
Categories are tags that Google associates with your listing: one primary category plus a set of additional categories. If you own a restaurant that serves pizza, your categories can relate you to Italian restaurants, pizza, and restaurants generally. Note that right categories alone don’t boost your local SEO — they’re one more signal to the crawlers.
How do I select the right categories?
- Pick only the categories that make the most sense for your business — the ones that describe your brand best. Selecting categories for the sake of specific keywords is a practice Google condemns.
- If no category fits perfectly, use a slightly more general one. You cannot create a new category.
- Don’t pick categories that describe attributes of your business rather than the business itself. A shopping mall that houses a cafe shouldn’t be categorized “Cafe” — that confuses Google and customers alike.
- Know that the engine isn’t stupid: pick “Nail salon” and you’re automatically covered under “Salons” too.
If you add or edit categories later, Google may ask you to re-verify your listing to confirm accuracy.
How do I pick additional categories?
Additional categories must be in accordance with your primary one. An Italian restaurant serving pizza with takeaway and delivery can add “Pizza Delivery”, “Pizza Takeaway”, and “Pizza Restaurant”. Don’t stray from the primary choice — the objective is enhancing the listing and making it useful for customers. Categories are one small aspect, but one of the efforts that collectively moves your local SEO.