Module 3: Categories, services, and attributes

Picking your primary category

The primary category carries the most weight and unlocks category-specific features (restaurants get menus and reservations; hotels get check-in times). You can add up to nine secondary categories for your other services — a dental office might add "Cosmetic dentist" and "Emergency dental service." Add every secondary that genuinely applies, but don't add categories for work you don't do just to show up for more searches. Irrelevant categories dilute relevance and annoy the customers they attract.

Revisit categories once a year or when you add services. Google adds new categories regularly, and a more specific category sometimes appears that fits you better than the one you picked originally.

Spy on competitors' categories the honest way: search for their business, and Google often reveals their primary category in the knowledge panel. If three top-ranking competitors all use a category you haven't selected, add it (if it's true). Category choices are public information — learning from winners isn't cheating, it's research.

Listing your services and products

Under each category, Google lets you list specific services with names and descriptions — this is free keyword real estate. A plumbing profile can list "drain cleaning," "water heater installation," "leak detection," each with a one-sentence description. Think of every distinct thing a customer might search for and give it its own service entry.

Keep services current. When you stop offering something, remove it — a customer calling about a service you dropped is a one-star review waiting to happen.

Prioritize the services that make you money: list your highest-margin and most-requested services first, with the best descriptions and photos. Google shows only a few services prominently before "see more," so the top slots should go to your winners. Think of the services list as a menu — lead with the dishes you're known for, not the full inventory.

Attributes: the details that filter searches

Attributes are the factual checkboxes Google shows: wheelchair accessible, women-owned, LGBTQ+ friendly, outdoor seating, free Wi-Fi, accepts walk-ins, and hundreds more. They matter more than most businesses realize, because searchers filter by them ("wheelchair accessible restaurant near me") and Google highlights matching attributes right in the results.

Go through every attribute category Google offers for your business type and set each one honestly. Don't skip the ones that feel minor — "identifies as women-owned" or "has gender-neutral restrooms" is a deciding factor for real customers. Attributes you leave unset simply don't display, so an incomplete attributes section is invisible opportunity.

Also check the accessibility attributes with fresh eyes: entrance, parking, seating, restroom. Even if your building is older, mark what's true. Customers with accessibility needs plan around this information, and being the business that bothered to fill it in builds immediate trust.

Attributes also feed Google's search answers and voice results: when someone asks their phone for "a quiet coffee shop with Wi-Fi nearby," Google pulls from attributes to answer. Every attribute you set honestly is another query you can appear for. Spend twenty minutes on this section once, and it works for you indefinitely — one of the highest-ROI tasks in local SEO.