When setting up (or editing) your Google My Business Listing, choosing the right Primary Category for your GMB listing is very important.
It is one of the important factors that can affect your local ranking on Google, after your business name.
You want to be found for the most important search term for your business, when Google shows your GMB listing.
You should choose a primary category that best describes your business as a whole, or more precisely what you want to be found for.
For example you may run a beauty salon, so instead of choosing “Salon” you way want to opt for “Nail salon” if ‘nail saloning’ (is that the right term?) is a large part or most profitable part of your business.
Which GMB Categories Are Available?
Unfortunately you cannot create your own exact category, you have to choose from a drop down list of categories, that Google has chosen/setup, when you start to type in your category in to the Primary Category Box.
If the exact category you have in mind is not available, you will have to choose a more general category.
Google currently have over 4000 categories from which you can choose, and the list gets added to and changed all the time, so if your desired category is not currently available it maybe soon.
The good people at PlePer.com have a free tools that list all the current GMB Categories, that is kept up to date.
Pop along to https://pleper.com/index.php?do=tools&sdo=gmb_categories and you can see the list, to check to see if your desired category is available, if not it shows all the other categories that are available.
It is a very long list, but we advise looking through it to see what is available – you might be pleasantly surprised – who knew that there was a balloon_ride_tour_agency category!
What Are Additional GMB Categories?
Once you have chosen the most important primary category, then you can also choose more ‘additional’ categories.
Your primary category is believed to have the most influence on your rankings, so must be chosen with care.
The additional categories you choose should be relavent to your business – your hairdressers should not have a pizza restaurant category!
You should check back periodically to check the GMB Category Listings to see if your most suitable category has been added, or other categories that may apply to your business.
Can I Edit My GMB Categories?
You can go back into your GMB Listing and update/alter your primary and additional categories, but remember by doing so you can alter the rankings that are currently being shown by Google.
Can You Help With My Google My Business Listing?
Yes – setting up a basic Google My Business Listing fairly straight forward – if you have the time
Following Googles recommendations and advice, most people can do this – making the most of your GMB listing and getting the most benefit from it takes a bit more time and expertise that we can help you with.
Check out how we can help you with getting found locally on Google and making the most of your Google My Business Listing here: https://www.jspwebdesign.co.uk/google-my-business-optimisation/
We hope this helps you choosing the right Primary category for your GMB listing – if you have any queries click on the button below – we are happy to help you rank higher in the Google Local Listings.
