Secondary Category Additions & Changes

[JohnMarathonAir]

Hello. I have a question about GMB categories (not just for the business listed on my profile name - this is unrelated). 1) I've read articles saying that there is no dilution from choosing multiple categories -- can anyone verify that is definitely true? Seems like there might / could logically be. 2) If we changed *secondary* categories too often, and that caused a rank drop even in the primary / unchanged category (which I think it did), how long do you think to recover back to the original rank? 3) what else is there to know about changing categories? I would greatly appreciate any insight.

 

[Jannell Howell]

I've found that using the least amount of categories to describe the business works best, but I only manage Chiropractic and Dental client Business listings.

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

I've found that using the least amount of categories to describe the business works best, but I only manage Chiropractic and Dental client Business listings.

Thank you. This one is challenging bc they all could describe the business, from general to more specific. Do you generally choose the more specific over the general? I read another article saying that choosing the max (9) possible categories works best. However, at least so far, that doesn't appear to be the case. Then again, I have only tested this particular combo for a little over a week, which is why I wanted to ask.

 

[Jannell Howell]

Do you generally choose the more specific over the general?

It comes down to which keyword is searched more ... in my industry, the general categories are the ones searched more. Secondary categories are a good idea if that service is a large portion of the business as well.

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

It comes down to which keyword is searched more ... in my industry, the general categories are the ones searched more. Secondary categories are a good idea if that service is a large portion of the business as well.

Oh, of course! Duh! Thank you. I'm still wondering about the number of categories. There are a high volume of searches for general and at least 6 more specific (and maybe even the max of 9 total). I just don't want to dilute the primary with those secondary ones. Hmmm.... Do you think you've tested that fairly well? I've been bouncing around testing and have only gone down. My guess is that Google doesn't like the testing. Hoping now that will recover. And trying to make the "right" choice, once and for all, then leave it alone.

 

[Jannell Howell]

Do you think you've tested that fairly well?

No. I've not tested extensively. Only limited within the categories for our client types. Perhaps others in this forum have additional insight to share.

 

[hasesho]

Hello. I am a product expert in Japan. I have tested in several stores. One school had a primary category and 3 additional categories and was not ranking #1 in front of the store or in the top 10 in the category search. Removing the additional categories for this store resulted in an improvement: a large increase in rankings and showing up in the local pack. However, when we ran the same test on another esthetic salon with no ranking problems, there was no improvement in rankings. Although it does not seem to have an obvious effect, it is a worthwhile measure to try if your location is having ranking problems.

 

[mylang_org]

Changing secondary categories frequently can cause fluctuations, even for primary categories. Keep track of the impact on rankings and try not to overdo it.

 

[johnlavapie_SEO]

This article might answer some of your questions: 99 Problems But Category Dilution Ain't One - Sterling Sky Inc

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

This article might answer some of your questions: 99 Problems But Category Dilution Ain't One - Sterling Sky Inc

Thank you. Based on observation of listings & competitors over quite a couple of months (and making periodic changes), I wonder whether this is still true. The article was from 2020. I noticed a competitor ranking well with a bunch of related categories, which is why I started testing. Then maybe a couple of weeks after I started, coincidentally, the competitor with a long list of related categories dropped pretty hard. I initially noticed a bump but then site clearly went down across the grid. It might be that I changed too much, too often. But noticeable changes in rank from adding related categories, and nothing else has changed (nothing published and no negative reviews).

 

[JohnMarathonAir]

Changing secondary categories frequently can cause fluctuations, even for primary categories. Keep track of the impact on rankings and try not to overdo it.

Have you noticed "overdoing it" causing a rank decline? If so, about how long until you noticed recoveries?

 

[Marcin Karwowski]

From my observations, "overkill" and "dilution" only occur when you cram a category in by force and they are not strongly confirmed by information about your company. If the category is not precise, or there are several similar variations of the category, but they all describe your business well, it is fine and natural. But if the categories are crammed in by force, just to attract traffic and be classified in the listing, they will cause dilution, drops and suspension.

Personally, I believe that this is why different texts show different results, because it is an element that is difficult to check and is not always taken into account in monitoring the effects.