Choosing your Google Business Profile categories

Quick summary

• Short answer: Pick one primary category that says what your business is, as specifically as Google's list allows. Then add only the few additional categories that cover the rest of your core business.
• Why it matters: Google says the categories you select affect your local ranking and help connect you with customers searching for what you offer.
• How many: One primary and up to 9 more. Google's guidelines ask you to use as few as possible.
• Mistake to avoid: Using categories as keywords, or adding one for every product or service. Google says not to, and your services have a section of their own.
• Where the names come from: Google's own list. You can't create your own category, so look up the exact names in your profile or in our free GBP Category Finder.
• Key takeaway: Each category should finish the sentence "This business IS a", not "This business HAS a".

Primary and additional categories

A Google Business Profile category is a label from Google's fixed list, such as Plumber or Nail salon, that tells Google and your customers what kind of business you are. Google uses it to connect you with customers who search for your products or services.

The first category you choose is your primary category, and it should be the one that best describes your business. Additional categories cover special departments or services. Google's example: a grocery store with a bakery and deli picks Grocery store as primary, then adds Bakery and Deli.

How Google says to choose them

1. Be as specific as the list allows

Google's example is to choose Nail salon, not Salon. You don't lose the broader searches by doing so: when you pick a specific category, Google implicitly includes the general ones, so Golf Resort also counts as Resort Hotel, Hotel and Golf Course. If nothing specific fits, pick the closest general category.

Google's guidelines make the same point with Papa John's, which offers takeout and delivery but no dining in: its categories are Pizza Takeout and Pizza Delivery, not Takeout Restaurant or Delivery Restaurant.

2. Describe the business, not what it sells

Google's test is to choose categories that complete the statement "This business IS a" rather than "this business HAS a". Don't use categories solely as keywords or to describe attributes, and don't add a category for every product or service.

3. Leave out businesses that aren't yours

Don't add categories for a business inside yours, or for one you're inside. In Google's example, a Starbucks operated inside a bookstore uses Coffee Shop, and the bookstore doesn't add it. An independently run cafe inside a health club needs its own profile, with Cafe as its primary category.

4. Use the same primary category at every location

All locations of a business must share the one category that best represents it. If you run different kinds of locations, such as retail stores, a distribution center and offices, the rule applies within each group.

How many categories to use

Nine additional categories is a ceiling, not a target. Google wants the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your overall core business.

A practical test for each one: would you turn down a customer who found you under it? If so, leave it out. You can also skip any general category that a more specific one already covers, since Google adds those behind the scenes.

Where services and amenities go

Most of what you offer belongs in the Services section of your profile, not in extra categories. Businesses in some categories, such as service businesses, get a services editor that suggests options for their type: a plumber might see "Install faucet" or "Repair toilet". You can add custom services too, with descriptions and prices, and Google says a service may be highlighted on your profile when someone searches for it.

To add them, go to your profile and select Edit services. Google automatically rejects custom services that violate its policy, and asks you to keep prices, phone numbers and personal information out of custom service names.

Features such as outdoor seats or Wi-Fi go in attributes, and Google says certain attributes can help you show up in searches for places that have them. Hotels list their services and amenities under Hotel attributes.

Finding the exact names

Category names have to come from Google's list, so the wording matters. In your profile, select Edit profile, then edit Business category, start typing in the Primary category box and pick from the list that shows up.

To shortlist names before you open the editor, search your trade in our free GBP Category Finder. It suggests a primary category and additional ones to consider, from dentists to driving schools. The editor has the final word, so confirm each name there before you save.

You can also see what competitors chose. Search your main service on Google Maps and open the profiles near the top: the category under each business name is its primary one. Additional categories aren't listed on the profile, so you'll only ever see part of a competitor's choice.

Examples by trade

Two patterns hold across trades. When one specialty brings most of your work, make it the primary: a firm that mostly handles injury cases is better described as a Personal injury attorney than a Law firm, and it doesn't need Lawyer or Law firm as extras, since the specific category covers them. And add a general trade only for separate work you really do, such as Dentist on an orthodontist's profile only when the practice offers general dentistry.

Checking whether a change helped

Once a change is live, open your profile, select Performance and pick a time period (the report is for verified profiles only). The report shows the searches people used to find your business, along with views, calls, website clicks and direction requests, though only the metrics that apply to your business appear. Compare a stretch before the change with one after it.

Give it time. Google updates the searches metric at the start of each month, and it can take up to 5 days to show up. The figures also include Google Ads, so keep any ad changes in mind when you compare.

Rather not run the profile yourself? Our Google Business Profile service can manage it for you.

Categories on other directories

Google isn't the only site that asks for a category, and each directory has its own list and its own limits. Google also looks beyond your profile: it says it can detect category information from your website and from mentions of your business across the web.

When you list the business elsewhere, pick the nearest match to your Google primary category on each site, so every listing describes the same business. The wording won't always match, and it doesn't need to. Your name, address and phone number are a different matter: our NAP consistency guide covers why they should match everywhere.

New to listings on other sites? Start with what local citations are and how many you need.

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