Copy Your Competitors' Google Business Profile Categories to Show Up for More Searches
Do this first
Open your profile's categories
Search your business name on Google while signed in, click Edit profile, and find Business category to see your primary and additional categories.
Summary
Your Google Business Profile categories decide which searches you can show up for on Google Maps. Most owners pick one primary category and stop. This quick local SEO move uses a free Chrome extension to reveal the categories your top competitors use, so you can add the relevant ones you are missing and appear in more local searches.
- Skill level
- Beginner
- Time to implement
- 15 min
- Cost
- Free
- Platform
- Tools
- Google Search
- Outcomes
- More leads
- Last verified
- Nov 15, 2026
Set upWhat you need
Owner or manager access to your Google Business Profile
Google Chrome with the GMB Everywhere extension (free to start)
Two or three competitors that rank well on Google Maps for your main service
About 15 minutes
Do thisStep by step
Open your profile's categories
Search your business name on Google while signed in, click Edit profile, and find Business category to see your primary and additional categories.
Install GMB Everywhere
Go to the Chrome Web Store and install the GMB Everywhere extension. Reel Playbooks addition: it is a third-party tool, not part of Google, and has paid tiers; the category viewer is available when you start for free.
Look up competitors on Google Maps
Search Google Maps for a competitor that ranks well for your main service. With the extension installed, their primary and secondary categories display beside the listing. Note them for two or three competitors.
Add the categories you are missing
Go back to your profile and add the relevant categories you do not have yet as additional categories. Reel Playbooks addition: only add categories that describe services you actually provide; Google's category guidance says to use as few as needed to describe your core business, and misleading categories can lead to suspension under the business representation guidelines.
Keep your primary category focused
Reel Playbooks addition: your primary category carries the most weight, so keep it as the one that best matches your main money service rather than swapping it to copy a competitor.
Heads upCommon mistakes & tips
Relevance beats volume. Ten loosely related categories can confuse Google; a few accurate ones help.
Reel Playbooks addition: edits can trigger a review or a re-verification request, so make changes in one batch.
Reel Playbooks addition: the reel promises "more free leads" in two minutes; category changes can widen the searches you appear for, but results depend on your location, reviews and competition, and we have not verified any specific lift.
The reel ends with an offer to comment SEO for help with your profile; you do not need it to follow these steps.
Zach P
Original strategy by Zach P. Watch the original on Instagram.
MeasureHow to know it worked
Your profile shows the new additional categories after Google reviews the edit, and over the following weeks the Performance section of your profile shows more searches, views and interactions for related queries.
ProvenanceSource & adaptation notes
Original
The reel says to go to your Google Business Profile, click Edit Profile and find your business categories, download the GMB Everywhere extension from the Chrome Store, search for a competitor on Google Maps and take their categories, then come back and add the ones you are missing so you show up for more searches, in about two minutes. The caption repeats the promise of ranking higher and getting more free leads.
Reel Playbooks additions
Reel Playbooks additions: the third-party tool and pricing note, the relevance rule and suspension risk with links to Google's guidance, the primary category advice, verification via the Performance section, the re-verification warning, and the flag on the unverified leads claim.
AttributionCredit
Original tip by Zach P (@zach_weup) on Instagram (watch the original reel).
Adapted from @zach_weup's video; steps expanded by Reel Playbooks.
Reel Playbooks credits and links to the original creator. See For creators to request changes or removal.