How To Change Primary & Secondary Google My Business Categories
Whether you’re making optimizations or business goals have changed, you may want to change your primary and secondary Google My Business (GMB) categories. Because these categories have a strong impact on rankings, it’s important to get them right.
Here’s how to change primary and secondary Google My Business categories:
- Sign in to Google My Business
- Select your listing in Google Business Profile Manager
- Select the Edit profile button
- Choose the edit Business category option
Pro Tip: You can perform a complete Google My Business audit using this template and checklist, and view the complete list of Google My Business categories online.
Sign in to Google My Business
To change your primary and secondary business categories, you’ll need to sign in to Google My Business with the email used to manage your listing.
Once signed in, you’ll the see Google Business Profile Manager dashboard…
Select your listing in Google Business Profile Manager
If you have multiple listings or location groups, you’ll see a screen like this…
If you just have a single Google My Business listing (now called Google Business Profile), you’ll automatically be taken to the listing and can move on to the next step.
Select the Edit profile button
Select the Edit profile option to add or update business information (including business categories).
Update: This reflects the most recent update where Google Business Profiles are now managed (and edited) in Google Search and Google Maps. The Google Business Profile Manager dashboard is no longer used to directly add or update business categories.
Choose the edit Business category option
Here you find your primary Google My Business category (and secondary categories if applicable).
To make changes, select the Business category option, and you’ll see the following fields to change your primary business category and additional categories…
Afterwards, you’ll be able to search categories and make updates to your primary and secondary GMB categories.
Pro Tip: You can use this guide to learn how to find competitor categories and use that information to inform your own category selection.
Many businesses have products or services that are relevant to multiple categories. You’ll want to choose the primary category that encompasses your main products / services and is most applicable to your target keywords. Afterwards, you can select additional or secondary categories that might be relevant to other services.
For example, a general practice law firm might have additional that encompass specific practice areas like Divorce lawyer and Employment attorney. Similarly, a plumbing company is likely to have Plumber as their primary category and Drainage service as their secondary category.
No matter your niche, these categories should align with business goals and reflect the target keywords.
Once done, you should be well on your way to ranking.
Happy SEO-ing 🙂