The short version
- Pick one primary category that finishes the sentence "This business is a", such as Roofing contractor or Plumber.
- Add a second category only for a line of work you do every month, and put single jobs in the Services list.
- Google allows nine additional categories. Most contractors are better off with one to three in total.
Every Google Business Profile has one primary category, and Google lets you add up to nine more (opens in a new tab). The primary is the one that carries the weight. It is how Google files your business, and Google's own help page says plainly that the categories you select affect your local ranking (opens in a new tab).
When I set up a profile for a contractor, the category is the second thing I settle, right after the business name. The two mistakes I would fix first are a roofer listed as a general contractor to look bigger, and a remodeler with eight categories that each describe one kind of job. Both make the profile less clear to Google and to the homeowner reading it.
Primary and additional categories
Google splits categories into two kinds, and they do different jobs.
The primary category describes the business as a whole. Google asks you to pick the one that best describes what you do, and to choose a specific category over a broad one. In the editor, whatever sits in the first category field is the primary.
Additional categories cover other real lines of work. Google's own example is a grocery store with a bakery and a deli inside. Grocery store goes first, and Bakery and Deli go in as additional categories. For a contractor, that looks like a general contractor who also runs a steady remodeling side, or a roofer who hangs gutters on most jobs.
Two more rules from Google's category page shape every choice below.
- You cannot make up a category. You pick from Google's list. If your exact trade is not on it, Google says to pick a more general category that still fits.
- A category edit can trigger verification. Google warns that adding or editing a category might mean verifying the business again. That is a reason to get it right once and leave it.
The one sentence test
Google's guidelines for representing your business (opens in a new tab) give a test I use on every profile. The category should finish the sentence "This business is a..." and not "This business has a..."
Run your trade through it.
- "This business is a roofing contractor." That is a category.
- "This business has gutter guards." That is a service.
- "This business is a plumber." That is a category.
- "This business does water heaters." That is a job.
The same guidelines say to use the fewest categories it takes to describe the core business, and not to use categories as keywords or to describe features of the business. Google's category page adds that you should not pick a category for every product or service. The single jobs belong in the Services list on the profile, where a homeowner can read them line by line.
The guidelines also say Google fills in the broad categories for you. When you pick a specific category, Google includes the more general ones behind the scenes, so you can skip anything that only repeats a more specific choice you already made.
Categories by trade
These are the categories I start from for each trade. Every name below shows on live contractor profiles today, but the list in the editor is the final word. Type your trade into the box and pick from what Google offers.
| Trade | Primary category | Also add, if regular |
|---|---|---|
| Roofer | Roofing contractor | Gutter service |
| General contractor | General contractor | Remodeler |
| Remodeler, mostly kitchens | Kitchen remodeler | Bathroom remodeler |
| Remodeler, whole homes | Remodeler | Kitchen remodeler, Bathroom remodeler |
| Plumber | Plumber | Usually nothing |
| Electrician | Electrician | Usually nothing |
| HVAC shop | HVAC contractor | Usually nothing |
| Landscaping company | Landscaper | Tree service |
| Mover without storage | Moving service | Usually nothing |
| Mover with storage | Moving and storage service | Usually nothing |
| Concrete contractor | Concrete contractor | Masonry contractor |
Roofers
Roofing contractor is the primary, with nothing clever about it. If you hang gutters on most roofs you replace, Gutter service can go in as an additional category. Do not add General contractor to look bigger. It makes the profile less specific, which is the opposite of what Google's guidelines ask for, and a homeowner searching for a roofer wants a roofer.
Remodelers and general contractors
Decide by what most of your jobs are, not by what you would like more of. Pull your last twenty invoices and sort them. If most of them are kitchens, Kitchen remodeler is the primary, and Bathroom remodeler goes in only if baths are a regular part of the work. If the jobs spread across the whole house, Remodeler fits better as the primary.
General contractor fits a business that runs whole projects with several trades under it. Additions, new builds, major remodels with subs on the schedule. If that is you, General contractor goes first, and Remodeler can follow if remodels are a steady share of the work.
Plumbers, electricians, and HVAC shops
One category is usually right. The work splits into jobs, not into separate businesses. A plumber's water heaters, repipes, and sewer lines are services. An electrician's panel upgrades and electric car charger installs are services. An HVAC shop's heat pumps, furnaces, and duct work are services. Put them in the Services list and keep the category clean.
Movers
A mover without storage picks Moving service. A mover that runs storage picks Moving and storage service, which describes both halves of the business in one category. Local moves, long distance moves, and packing are services, not categories.
Landscapers and concrete contractors
Landscaper is the primary for a landscaping company. Add Tree service only if tree work is its own line, with its own crew and equipment, and not the occasional limb on a cleanup job. A concrete contractor who also builds block, brick, or stone walls as regular work can add Masonry contractor. Driveways, patios, and slabs are services.
How to set it, step by step
- Write the sentence. "This business is a ____." Fill the blank with the work that makes up most of your invoices this year.
- Open the category editor. Go to your Business Profile, choose Edit profile, then choose Edit next to Business category. Google's category page walks through the same steps.
- Pick the primary. Type your trade into the Primary category box and choose the closest match from the list that appears. If the exact trade is not there, choose the more general option that still describes you.
- Add a second category only if it passes the test. It has to finish "This business is a" on its own, and it has to be work you do every month.
- Save, then fill in Services. Every job you want a homeowner to know about goes in the Services list, one line each.
- Leave it alone. Google reviews changes before they show on the profile, and a category change can bring a request to verify again. One careful choice beats a new category every few weeks.
Five mistakes to avoid
Categories used as keywords
A roofer adds Gutter cleaning service without cleaning gutters, hoping to show up for more searches. That is exactly what Google's guidelines say not to do. The category has to describe what the business is, not a search you would like to catch.
Too many categories
Nine is the limit, not the target. Google's rule is the fewest categories that describe the core business. A profile with nine categories reads like a company that does everything, and a homeowner with a leaking roof is looking for a roofer.
A primary for the company you want to be
A roofer who wants more siding work does not become a siding contractor by changing the primary category. The primary describes the work you do now. If you want more of a certain job, show it on the site first, with photos and a page for it, and let the work catch up.
Changing the primary every few weeks
Each change goes through Google's review, and each one can bring back the request to verify the business. Every test costs you a review cycle and possibly a fresh verification. Your invoices already tell you what the business is.
Borrowing a category from the business next door
Google says not to use categories that belong to other businesses nearby or related to you, like a business that sits inside your building. A remodeler who shares a showroom with a cabinet shop keeps the cabinet shop's category off the profile. That business can have its own.
The website has to say the same thing
Google's guidelines note that it can also pick up category information from your website and from mentions of your business around the web. So the site and the profile should tell the same story. A profile that says Roofing contractor should link to a site where the home page, the service pages, and the town pages all say roofing.
DWV Construction, a Portland remodeler, has a site built around 129 project photos. A category can say remodeler. A site like that shows it. On every site I build, each town the contractor serves gets a page of its own, written for that town and that trade, so the site, the category, and the service areas all point the same way.
The full list of profile fields, in the order I fill them, is in my Google Business Profile checklist. If you want it done for you, map listings are $600 on their own and come with a Site with Tools. They cover your Google Business Profile, your Apple Maps listing, and your Bing listing, with photos, categories, service areas, and a review link.
