Important Warning Before Changing Categories
⚠️ Very important: Changing your Google Business Profile categories can trigger Google re-verification.
If you are a service business and your Google Business Profile is verified with a physical address, there is a high probability that Google may require you to re-verify your profile after you make category changes. This can sometimes cause your Google Business Profile to become suspended until Google verifies it again.
You should only make category changes if:
The categories are truly needed
The categories are 100% accurate
The categories clearly describe your real business
The address on your Google Business Profile is a real office address
Customers can actually visit you at that address
If your address is not a real customer-facing office, it may be very difficult or even unlikely to get your profile verified again by Google. Because of this, we strongly recommend only changing your business categories when the changes are necessary and completely accurate.
What Paige Looks At To Suggest Business Categories
Paige searches for all of your target keywords in your local area then looks at the top-ranking businesses for those searches and checks which Google Business Profile categories they are using.
Paige reviews both:
Primary business categories
Additional business categories
After that, Paige suggests categories based on how often they are used by your top-ranking competitors, putting more weight on the categories used by the top ranking businesses and frequency of category use in your local market.
What the Percentages Mean
The percentage next to each category is the confidence score. This is Paige's confidence in each of the categories being added to your Google Business Profile, with the highest score being your recommended Primary Business Category.
For example:
Category | Confidence Score | What It Means |
Plumber | 65% | This category is used by many top-ranking competitors as a primary category |
Drainage Service | 22% | This category is used by some competitors |
Water Damage Restoration Service | 13% | This category is used less often |
Higher percentages usually mean that category is more commonly used by businesses ranking well for your keywords. The categories with the highest percentages should usually appear near the top of the list.
Why Paige Includes Your Existing Categories
Paige will always include your current Google Business Profile categories in its suggestions. This helps you compare your existing setup against what top-ranking competitors are using. You may see some of your current categories listed even if they do not have the highest utilization rate.
How to Organize Your Suggested Categories
You can drag and drop the categories into the order you want.
Generally, the most important and accurate category should be listed first.
You can also remove categories that do not make sense for your business.
Only keep categories that clearly describe what your business actually does.
Why You Should Remove Inaccurate Categories
It may be tempting to add lots of categories, but more is not always better.
Adding categories for services you do not actually offer can hurt your rankings and create problems with your Google Business Profile. For best results, only choose categories that accurately explain your business. For example, if you are a roofing company but you do not offer gutter installation, you should not add a gutter-related category just because competitors are using it.
Best Practices
Before saving category changes, carefully review each suggestion.
Ask yourself:
Do we actually offer this service?
Is this a main part of our business?
Would a customer expect us to provide this service?
Is this category accurate for our Google Business Profile?
Are we comfortable making a change that may trigger Google re-verification?
If the answer is no, don't save Paige's suggestions.
Final Recommendation
Paige’s business category suggestions are designed to help you understand which categories are commonly used by successful competitors in your area.
However, you should only use categories that are accurate for your business.
Changing categories can be helpful, but it can also create risk, especially if your Google Business Profile may need to be re-verified by Google. If you are unsure, it is better to be careful and only make changes that are truly necessary.
Need help reviewing your categories? Please reach out to us through live chat. We’re happy to help!