- Free forever
- No card required. Never.
- No account needed
- Built by local SEO specialists
Free GBP Category Optimizer
We pull the categories of the businesses ranking for your keywords, compare them with your profile, and score every missing category so you know what to add, what to consider and what to leave alone.
Part of our Google Business Profile optimization tools · ~20 seconds · Input: Business, city, 2–10 keywords
Opportunity
Category opportunity
Estimates based on how often the top-ranking competitors use categories you are missing — a direction, not a traffic forecast.
Your current categories
Primary
—
All categories on your profile
Recommended changes
Apply these yourself inside Google Business Profile. We never change your listing.
What competitors use
Categories observed across the top results for the keywords you entered.
| Category | Used by | Found via |
|---|
Next: fix the rest of your profile with the GBP Optimizer, then see where you actually rank with the Local Rank Checker.
How it works
How the category optimizer works
- 1
Tell us who you compete with
Enter your business, your city and the keywords customers actually search for.
- 2
We read the winners
For each keyword we look at the businesses Google ranks and collect their primary and secondary categories.
- 3
Every category gets a score
Frequency among competitors, keyword match, your services and what customers say in reviews add up to a 0–100 score with an add / consider / avoid verdict.
How categories are scored
Every category used by a competitor but missing from your profile gets a 0–100 score: competitor frequency is worth up to 40 points, a match with one of your keywords 20, being listed in your services 20, appearing in your business description 10, and being mentioned in your reviews 10. When there is no evidence you offer the service and only one competitor uses the category, we subtract 25 points. Scores of 60 and above are marked add, 35–59 consider, and anything lower avoid.
Category Optimizer — questions we get asked
Will this change my Google Business Profile? +
No. The tool is read-only. You review the recommendations and apply the ones that are true for your business inside Google Business Profile.
How many categories should a profile have? +
One primary category that describes your core service plus every secondary category you genuinely offer — most businesses land on three to six.
Why does it say "avoid" for a category competitors use? +
Because we found no evidence in your services or reviews that you offer it, and few competitors use it. Adding categories you cannot back up dilutes relevance.
Is the GBP category optimizer free? +
Yes, like every local SEO tool on Locan: free forever, no signup.
Keep learning
Guides that go with this tool
Google Business Profile Categories: How to Choose Primary and Secondary Categories
A practitioner's guide to Google Business Profile categories: what they control, how to research competitors, a decision framework, a Denver HVAC example and how to change them safely.
Read the guide →How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide
Every Google Business Profile field explained in the order we complete them for clients, from verification and categories to photos, posts and reviews, with a 30-minute checklist.
Read the guide →Google Business Profile Ranking Factors: What Actually Moves Local Rankings
Every GMB / Google Business Profile ranking factor grouped by profile, reviews, proximity, website, prominence and behavior: what Google says, what we observe, the effort, and how to check it free.
Read the guide →Local Pack Ranking: How to Get Into Google's Top 3 Map Results
What the local pack is, which searches trigger it, how Google assembles the top 3 (relevance, distance, prominence), the levers in order, a 6-week plan and a Google Business Profile worked example.
Read the guide →Google Business Profile Attributes: What They Are, Which Ones Matter, How to Set Them
What Google Business Profile attributes are, how your categories unlock them, how to set them under Edit profile and More, and why accurate attributes matter for Maps filters and AI answers.
Read the guide →More free local SEO tools
Next tool to run
Stay in the loop
Get every new free tool in your inbox
One short email when a new tool ships or a guide gets a major update. No drip campaigns, nothing to buy — unsubscribe any time with one click.