What 1.8M Google Business Profiles Reveal About Local SEO

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By NewSunSEO September 4, 2026

A new analysis of 1.8 million Google Business Profiles across 4,209 categories, conducted by Whitespark, shows that specific primary categories, well-chosen additional categories, and fully completed Profiles are the strongest predictors of stronger local rankings on Google. The dataset covers a wide range of industries and includes measured rankings, top-10 appearance rates, and a custom completeness index, giving local marketers a clear picture of what actually moves the needle on Google Maps and local search.

Why does category specificity matter for local rankings?

Google matches a business’s primary GBP category to the searcher’s query, and exact-match categories win that match almost every time. For example, in a search for “hair salons,” the “Hair salon” category posted an average rank of 49.9 with an 11.3% top-10 appearance rate, beating “Hairdresser” (56.9 rank, 6.0%), “Beauty salon” (60.0 rank, 3.2%), “Barber shop” (79.5 rank, 1.3%), and “Nail salon” (81.3 rank, 0.0%). The same pattern repeats for “plumbers” and nearly every other category in the dataset.

Specificity, however, is where the bigger gains appear. The study compared 1,664,733 businesses using specific primary categories against 55,091 businesses using generic ones. Specific categories averaged a rank of 45.8 with a 12.5% top-10 rate, compared to 50.0 rank and 9.2% top-10 rate for generic categories like Restaurant, Store, Contractor, and Attorney. That works out to roughly a 36% higher presence in the top 10 for businesses that pick a specific primary category.

Three industries illustrate the gap:

Attorneys: Criminal justice attorney ranks 44.7 with a 13.4% top-10 rate, and personal injury attorney ranks 48.4 with 12.2%, while the generic “Attorney” category ranks 57.1 with 12.9%.
Contractors: Electrician (48.6 rank, 11.2%), Roofing contractor (53.1, 12.6%), Plumber (53.2, 10.4%), and HVAC contractor (53.2, 12.4%) all beat generic “Contractor” at 57.7 rank and 8.0% top-10 rate.
Restaurants: Tapas (28.8, 32.1%), Hawaiian (28.4, 27.1%), New American (30.4, 28.9%), French (37.0, 15.8%), Spanish (40.1, 18.5%), and American (41.8, 17.8%) outperform generic “Restaurant” (49.7, 10.1%). Mexican (66.7, 2.7%), Pizza (74.8, 1.6%), and Chinese (73.2, 0.6%) show that oversaturated specifics can also drag rankings down.

Specific primary categories often face less competition and match more precise searcher intent, which can translate into better rankings. Selecting a generic category divides ranking strength across many queries and reduces its concentration in any one of them.

Which primary and additional category combinations rank the highest?

Data shows that adding specific additional categories alongside the primary one is associated with higher rankings.

Veterinarian + Emergency veterinarian service: average rank 33.9, versus 51.2 with no additional category and 75.6 versus “Service establishment.”
Electrician + EV charging station contractor: 38.2 rank, versus 47.5 and 63.5.
Gym + Athletic club: 34.7 rank, versus 43.3.
Plumber + Drainage service: 47.3 rank, versus 54.0 and 62.3.
Roofing + Gutter service: 47.1 rank, versus 52.1 and 70.3.
Personal injury attorney + Business attorney: 40.8 rank, versus 51.4.
Dentist + Cosmetic dentist: 47.6 rank, versus 57.6 and 53.7.

Specific additional categories improved rankings by 6 to 17 positions compared to profiles with only a single primary category. Broad, generic additions like “Service establishment,” a category nobody actually searches for, showed no ranking benefit and in some cases correlated with worse results.

The study notes an important caveat: correlation is not causation. Businesses that add thoughtful additional categories also tend to invest more broadly in local SEO, including review generation, citation building, and on-site optimization. Still, the consistent correlation across categories makes specific additional categories a clear best practice.

Does Google Business Profile completeness predict better rankings?

To measure Profile completeness, the researchers built a 0-5 GBP Completeness Index awarding one point each for a website, business description, hours of operation, photos, and a claimed status.

How does completeness vary by industry?

Industries with strong local search competition run the most complete Profiles. Home services averaged 4.4 on the index with 55% of Profiles fully complete (5 of 5), followed by professional services (4.3, 52%), automotive (4.2, 48%), beauty and personal care (4.1, 45%), legal and financial (4.1, 46%), retail (3.9, 40%), real estate (3.8, 38%), and travel and tourism (3.6, 33%). Community and organizations categories, including churches and nonprofits, scored lowest at 3.0 with just 22% fully complete, since these groups typically do not depend on local search for customers.

Does completeness predict ranking?

Yes, and the relationship is strong. Profiles scoring 0 averaged rank 62 with a 4% top-10 rate; score 1 reached 58 and 5%; score 2 reached 54 and 7%; score 3 reached 50 and 9%; score 4 reached 47 and 11%; and score 5 reached 43 with a 13% top-10 rate. Moving from a 0 to a 5 improved average rank by roughly 19 positions and tripled the rate of appearing in the top 10.

Correlation does not imply causation. A complete Profile usually signals a business that also invests in Google Posts, reviews, website SEO, and citation management.

Local rankings checklist from the data

Pick a specific primary category rather than a generic one.
Add all relevant specific additional categories, and skip “Service establishment.”
Fill out every GBP field, including website, description, hours, photos, and claim the Profile.
Maintain the Profile over time: request reviews regularly, upload photos and videos, and publish Google Posts.
Go beyond the Profile with website SEO, citation building, social presence, and emerging AI search optimization.

Whitespark’s full category report is forthcoming and will expand on these findings with deeper breakdowns across industries.

FAQ

What is the best Google Business Profile category for local rankings?

The most specific category that accurately describes the business. Whitespark’s study of 1.8 million Profiles found that specific primary categories averaged a 12.5% top-10 appearance rate versus 9.2% for generic categories like Restaurant, Contractor, or Attorney.

Do additional Google Business Profile categories help rankings?

Yes, when chosen carefully. Specific additional categories such as Emergency veterinarian service paired with Veterinarian, or EV charging station contractor paired with Electrician, correlated with 6 to 17 position ranking improvements over single-category Profiles.

How much does Google Business Profile completeness affect local rankings?

Profiles with a perfect 5-of-5 completeness score (website, description, hours, photos, and claimed status) averaged rank 43 with a 13% top-10 appearance rate, compared to rank 62 and 4% for Profiles scoring 0. That is roughly a 19-position average rank improvement and a threefold lift in top-10 appearances.