Top Business Categories in Google My Business for Remodeling Contractors
Business categories in Google My Business are a key element to making the most of your listing and improving your local ranking. According to the Moz 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors, a company’s categories are the 3rd most important factor in whether a company shows up in the local pack. Why? Your “primary” and “additional” categories signal to Google what searches your remodeling company should show up for.
I’ve compiled a list of categories that remodeling contractors use in Google My Business. Use this as a resource to choose the most relevant categories and add / update your GMB listing.
Primary Category
Google states that your primary category should reflect your business as a whole, not one of many services. For that reason, I would suggest choosing a category that encompasses all you do, such as “remodeler” or “general contractor”. However, if you are a remodeler that is focused on attracting more of a particular type of project, such as kitchen remodels, then you might choose “kitchen remodeler” as your primary category. Keep in mind that you can change your primary category, which allows you to test which one gives you the best results.
I’ve looked at hundreds of remodeling companies’ Google My Business listings. The following are my top recommended categories for remodeling contractors:
General contractor – If you also offer a service such as electrician or concrete, then consider this.
Remodeler – This is a good choice if all you do is remodeling and offer no other standalone services.
Kitchen Remodeler - If you’re a remodeler and primarily focused on attracting kitchen remodels (vs. bathroom remodels), then use this category.
Construction company – If you also do home building or offer services such as landscape design and construction services, this could be a good fit.
Primary category choices that aren’t the best fit for remodelers include:
Contractor – In my opinion, this category is just too vague and doesn’t convey that you do remodels.
Home builder - Unless this is your primary service offering and you don’t want to be found online as a company that does remodels, you should choose something broader, such as general contractor or construction company.
Additional Categories
You are encouraged by Google to add several of these to match specific services you offer. Additional categories don’t show up to the public in your GMB listing, but they work behind the scenes, showing your company in search results that match your additional categories. For example, if you are listed as a general contractor for your primary category and have added “bathroom remodeler” as one of your additional categories, then you have a chance of showing up in local search results for someone who does a search such as “bathroom remodelers near me”. If you don’t add the additional categories, Google is far less likely to show your company in that type of local search.
Finally, add in moderation since you don’t want to attract business that you’re not focused on. For example, a remodeler offers handyman services to past clients. Therefore, they shouldn’t add “handyman” as an additional category since they aren’t interested in getting inquiries from the public about small fix it projects.
The following list includes additional categories I have seen when looking at the page source for remodelers’ GMB listings. Use this as a start to choosing the additional categories that best match the type of work you’re looking to attract. And keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive; you may offer services not listed here.
Bathroom remodeler
Kitchen remodeler
Contractor
General contractor
Remodeler
Home builder
Custom home builder
Building restoration service
Fire damage restoration service
Water restoration service
Concrete contractor
Design engineer
Electrician
Handyman
Interior design
Landscape designer
Painter
Structural engineer
For more information on categories in Google, go to https://support.google.com/business/?hl=en#topic=4539639.