Why Do You See Categories in Google Search That Don’t Exist in Google My Business?

Categories are used to describe your business and to bring you in front of the users looking for the services you or your business offer. For instance, if your primary category in Google My Business is “pizza restaurant,” Google may show your business in local search results to searchers who are searching for “restaurants,” “Italian restaurants”, or “pizza” around their nearby location. Remember that your category is only one of numerous elements that can influence your local pack rankings on Google. But what should you do if you notice any category in the search results that don’t even exist in GMB?

To answer this question, you need to understand the concept of Global Category ID or GCID.

What is Global Category ID or GCID?

Each category has a GCID that doesn’t change and a category name that varies based on a country. It has been researched and found out that Google sometimes shows the GCID in its search results, which can be genuinely confusing if you’re attempting to find out why your competitor is using a category that you don’t have as an alternative the Google My Business dashboard.

How to Find GCID?

In case you don’t know what the GCID is, you can find it in the list of categories for your country here.

Check Your Language Settings

As clarified above, there is one Global Category ID for every category in Google’s database; however, the categories have various names in various countries (because of language contrasts). For instance, “Valeting Service” in Canada is precisely the same class as “Car Detailing Service” in the USA. In case you’re seeing a category on Google that doesn’t match anything you find in the GMB dashboard, it’s very likely that your language settings for Google are inaccurate. See this page to affirm what your settings are and modify them.

Why Should You Even Consider What Category Google Changes?

If Google adds, changes, or removes a category (which it regularly does) related to your business, it can have a drastic impact on your local search rankings. It is advisable to check your Google My Business listing now and then for categories to make sure that you’re using the right one and not missing out on any important update.