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Back in 2019, I tested the theory that having unrelated additional categories in your listing impacts rankings. The results of my experiment showed that this was true: After adding some bizarre categories to my Whitespark listing, my rankings dropped significantly.
However, what was once true in 2019 doesn’t necessarily apply to 2022, so I decided to test this theory again.
This time, the results were way different…
Hey everybody!
Back in January 2019, I had heard that if you have a weird category in your listing, it could cause your local rankings to drop, so I wanted to test it.
I added some really bizarre categories to my Whitespark listing: gazebo builder, flamenco dance store, colorectal surgeon… And back then, it actually had an impact – look at what happened to my rankings.
I added some really bizarre categories to my Whitespark listing: gazebo builder, flamenco dance store, colorectal surgeon… And back then, it actually had an impact – look at what happened to my rankings.
When I added all the categories, my rankings totally plummeted.
And when I removed all the categories, my rankings came right back up.
This was very interesting. I tweeted about it and it became a thing in the industry. People realized that you have to be careful, and that if you’re going to add additional categories to your listing, they should be related to your business.
However, something that existed in 2019 does not necessarily exist in 2022. Google is always updating their algorithms, so I decided to test this again.
And I’ll give you the spoiler right now: IT’S NO LONGER A THING.
In my current test, I did not see anything negative.
On November 1st, 2021, I added all the following categories to my Shaw Electrical listing: neurosurgeon, horse stable, stud farm, plumber, bird shop, monastery… They’re totally unrelated.
Now, if we look at my rankings in the Whitespark Local Rank Tracker, we do not see that same impact (typically, with Google, you’ll find that rankings are impacted on the same day or the next day, or maximum two days later). My rankings all stayed the same for these primary key phrases that I’m tracking – all electrician-related keywords.
Want to track your rankings in the tool local search experts say they “can’t live without”? Check out the Whitespark Local Rank Tracker.So, with this Rank Tracker, we can see that adding these additional categories to my listing had no negative impact on my rankings.
This is great news! This means that you don’t have to worry about the concept of category confusion anymore. It may have been a thing back in 2019, but it’s not a thing anymore.
Therefore, if you see some categories that your competitors are using, go ahead and put those on your listing, too; because when you add more additional categories to your listing, you cast a wider net, and you rank for more key phrases.
Breathe a sigh of relief. Category confusion is a thing of the past. You don’t have to worry about it anymore. 🙂
