Choosing Google My Business Categories | Vicinus.ai

Google My Business is such a useful tool when it comes to local SEO. From posts and alerts to images and business details, there are so many factors that play in the influence of GMB listings in search results. However, how useful are Google My Business categories?

A State of Local SEO Industry in 2020 found that:

‘of all factors, GMB elements (which include categories) have the greatest impact on local pack rankings.’

This means that optimising GMB listings are imperative to be found in ‘near me’ searches. 

Do Google My Business Categories Affect my GMB profile?

Yes. This is because Google My Business Categories determine the individual features available to you in your listing. 

This isn’t to suggest certain features that are necessary for you won’t be available. Rather, certain features more specifically designed for your business will be able to be used.

For example, if your business is categorised under ‘restaurant’, GMB will give your business listings the opportunity to add a menu section. This is the same for other business categories too, for example, if your business is part of the beauty industry, there will be an option to add appointments to your GMB profile too. 

What this means is that Google My Business categories play a part in how Google understands how your business operates. So you should definitely be choosing the most relevant category for your business.

How do I choose my Google My Business Categories?

If you’re creating a new GMB business listing, this will be one of the first steps when you’re setting up your profile. It will ask you to: ‘choose the category that fits your business best’.

However, if you have already set up your GMB profile, you can always add, or change, your categories at a later date. 

Follow the steps below to know how to change your Google My Business categories:

1. Access your GMB account
2. Click the ‘info’ tab in the left menu
3. Under your business name, there will be a pencil icon (this will allow you to change/edit your GMB categories)
4. You can select up to 10 different categories
5. Top Tip: Your primary category has the most influence on your local rankings in searches so make sure you choose the most relevant category for this section.

You may be thinking about how many Google My Business categories you should be using. Well, this really depends on how many categories are relevant to your business.

Obviously, only using one category will restrict how your business shows up in local searches. However, using multiple categories that aren’t relevant to your business can also diminish your business showing up in local searches too. 

Basically, choose however many categories are truly relevant to your business.

How do I choose the best Google My Business categories for my business?

The easiest way to do this is to determine a few different factors before choosing your categories. 

For example:

• Find your most crucial search phrases
• Research which categories your competitors are using

Use category suggestion software such as PlePer’s GMB Category Helper

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