What is it?
All Vendasta customers will soon have access to choose from over 4,000 business categories.
Why is it important?
Choosing the correct business category can significantly boost a local business' Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and search engine results page (SERP) ranking. This is especially true for Google Business Profile, as there are over 4000 categories to choose from that can either make it easier or harder for potential customers to find that business.
For example, a local Pizza Restaurant can set their primary category as "Pizza Restaurant" and may appear in search results for Restaurants, Italian Restaurants, or Pizza. It's important to choose a more specific category rather than a vague one whenever possible. Choosing a category like "Nail Salon" rather than just "Salon" is more likely to grab the attention of those looking for nail care rather than a haircut. If there is no suitable specific category, we advise you to choose a more general primary category.
How will it work?
These new categories will be available to set in Partner Center → Businesses → Accounts → Edit Account → Location → Categories.
These categories will also be accessible to change through the soon-to-be-released Business Profile tab in Listing Builder.
Clients should not see any changes to their current business category. We've mapped out the old categories to the new categories, resulting in a one-to-one match. The only noticeable difference will be significantly more categories to choose from when changing the business category.
When will it be available?
These new categories will be available for partners with Early Access on January 18th, 2023 and released to all partners in early February 2023.