How Many Categories Does Your Google Business Profile Need?

If you’ve read Google’s guidelines, you’ve probably seen what they say: “Choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your overall core business.”

I’m gonna strongly disagree here.

Let me explain why loading up your profile with more categories can actually help your rankings, especially for those niche services you don’t want to miss out on.

You can pick up to 10 categories on your Google Business Profile (GBP).

More categories = more chances to show up for a variety of searches.

Take dentists, for example. There are actually MORE than 10 categories that apply to them. Why? Because their services are super varied – from “Dentist” to “Teeth Whitening,” to “Oral Surgeon,” etc.

If you took Google’s advice and only added “dentist,” you would be missing out on the potential to rank better for “teeth whitening” keywords. 

Real-World Case Study: The Landscaper Who Ignored Google

We recently worked with a landscaper who initially only used “Landscaper” as their category. Seems logical.

But we added these additional categories:

• Landscape Designer
• Landscape Architect
• Retaining Wall Supplier

The result?

They started ranking higher for searches like “landscape architect” and “landscape designer” – keywords they wanted to rank for and that are relevant to their services.

TL;DR: More categories can help you rank better. Don’t hesitate to use all 10 category slots to cover every niche you serve.

And make sure you check our Google Business Profile Category Changes & Updates list for the most up-to-date options for your business.