How Often Does Google My Business Add New Categories?

I have been tracking changes to the list of Google My Business categories since 2017, and we just recently launched the list of category changes on our website.

In the last year, we have noticed that Google adds new categories, or deletes old ones on a monthly basis.  In 2018 we saw 54 categories added and in 2019 there were 45 added.  You can see a full list of current Google My Business (GMB) categories using this tool.

Why Should You Care?

Being one of the first people to add a category to your listing can give you a competitive advantage.  We have found adding relevant categories to your listing to have a positive impact on ranking for a wider variety of keywords.

In this thread on our forum, Rich Owings shares that by adding the “escape room center” (a brand new category at the time) to a client’s listing, he was able to move him into the local pack overnight.

I will be updating the list of category changes monthly and will be sending out updates about what changed in our weekly newsletter.