It’s a simple task that some business owners might flub by accident: we’re talking about the all-important primary business category you select when claiming your Google Local page in the Google My Business Dashboard.
As part of the signup process, when visiting the Google My Business dashboard, you’ll be presented with an opportunity to choose a business category. This category can be changed later, so if you make a mistake, it can be corrected. Still, it’s important to get it right as soon as possible.
Google offers a tip when selecting from their pre-written list of categories: “Categories should depict what your business is (e.g. Hospital), not what it does (e.g. Vaccinations) or products it sells (e.g. Sony products or printer paper). This information can be added in your description.”
Google will offer a list of categories that it thinks fits your business, but if you think you should have a different one, you can start typing and Google will return different results.
It’s okay to choose specific categories (you can choose up to five), rather than broad ones. Just make sure the categories you choose are accurate descriptions of your business.
Not sure what categories to pick? Here are a few tips.
- Jot down several categories you think your business fits into. For instance, are you a “dentist” or a “pediatric dentist”?
- Use Google’s free Keyword Planner tool to identify strong search categories. If you are a baker who specializes in wedding cakes, make sure to try searches such as “bakery” and “your city” and then try “wedding cakes” and “your city.” Make note of especially strong search volume (local monthly searches) as well as search terms that aren’t getting a lot of attention. Be careful to stay away from jargon or industry terms the average consumer would probably not choose when searching online.
- Look over your research and choose a few categories that stand out. Hopefully, this simple exercise will narrow down your category selections.
Alex is Connectivity’s VP of Marketing.
