Adding your business category to your business profile plays an important role in how customers find you online. Choosing the right category helps Google match your business with relevant customer searches. For example, if your primary category is "pizza restaurant," Google may show your business in searches for "restaurant," "Italian restaurant," or "pizza", but not for "Greek restaurant". This leads to increased visibility and helps you attract your target audience.

Consistency is key. Use the same category across platforms like Google Business Profile, Facebook, and other directories. This improves local SEO and builds customer trust. Inconsistencies can confuse users and damage your credibility.

With rankingCoach, choosing the right business category ensures seamless synchronization of your profiles across platforms, eliminating discrepancies.

If rankingCoach's AI doesn't automatically onboard your project, you'll need to enter your business details manually. rankingCoach provides a list of 4,000 categories aligned with Google's options. This allows you to choose

Enter relevant keywords associated with your business and select the suggestion that best describes your business. If you already have a Google Business Profile, it's recommended that you use the same categories you added there. Please note that it is not possible to manually add new business categories to our existing list. If your desired category is not available, try typing synonyms or related categories into the search bar and select a more general category that still accurately describes your business.

If your business offers a variety of services or products that fall into different categories (e.g., a café that also sells books), carefully consider which category best represents your core business. This should be your primary category. Use subcategories to highlight your additional offerings.

Not all online directories support the same categories as rankingCoach, which can lead to discrepancies. To avoid errors, it's important to limit your categories to those that accurately describe your services or products. Overloading your profile with irrelevant subcategories can cause directories to display inconsistent or incorrect information and attract irrelevant customers.

To review your directory listings in rankingCoach, navigate to "Online Presence" and then to "Listings and Publishing". Scroll down to see a list of all directories. For most directories, you will find a hyperlink labeled "View Listing". Clicking this will open the listing and allow you to verify the accuracy of your business profile. If you find a major category mismatch that has nothing to do with the categories you selected in rankingCoach, please contact our support team and send us the link to the directory entry in question so we can investigate.

In addition, a distinction is made between businesses that have a physical location and those that provide services without a physical address. For example, categories like "Restaurant" or "Hotel" require a physical location, while "Digital Marketing Agency" or "Personal Trainer" are appropriate for businesses that provide services without a storefront. Mismatched categories, such as selecting "Fitness Center" for an online-only personal trainer, can cause Google Business Profile synchronization issues. Always match your categories to your business type to ensure accurate representation across all directories. For more information about selecting the right business type, read this article.

If your project is already onboarded and you need to adjust your business category, follow these steps:

Updating your business category in rankingCoach will trigger a banner stating that you have unpublished business information changes. If you don't re-synchronize your profile, the information that people see online may be out of date and can negatively impact your online presence.

Choosing the correct business category is a key step in building and maintaining a strong online presence. With rankingCoach, you can ensure your business is accurately represented on all platforms, helping you reach your target audience more effectively.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our support team - we are here to help!