Beyond basic business info, your GBP profile signals relevance to Google through three key data layers: categories (what type of business you are), attributes (what features and amenities you offer), and services (what you specifically do). Getting these right is one of the highest-impact optimizations for your local search ranking.
These elements are part of your GBP Knowledge Graph — the structured set of business data that defines how your business appears and ranks on Google.
⚙️ Accessing These Settings
- Go to Local → GBP Projects → select a location → Scroll Down (if necessary) → Business Data Optimizations
- Or ask Atlas Brain to view or update any of these directly
🧠 Understanding Your GBP Knowledge Graph
🧩 Your GBP profile is structured as a unified data system that includes:
- Media
- Name
- Description
- Category
- Services
- Attributes
- Address
- Service Area
- Opening Date
- Open hours
- Special hours
- Website URL
- Phone number
- Social URLs (Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest)
- Language (Automatic Detection)
- Timezone
⚠️ Ensure all information is accurate. Any mistakes could lead to negative impact or prevent desired results.
🗂️ Categories
🗂️ Manage Google Business Profile Categories
Categories tell Google what type of business you are.
Your primary category has the strongest impact on rankings, because it signals your main service.
Additional categories help define secondary services your business also offers.
Go to: Local → GBP Projects → Select location →Scroll Down → Business Assistant Pending Tasks → Add Additional Category
🗂️ View current categories
🤖 Using Atlas Brain
You can ask:
- “What categories does my GBP location have?”
- “Show me the categories available for my location type”
🔁 Change the primary category
Your primary category is the most important category on your profile. It should reflect your main business offering as accurately as possible.
🤖 Using Atlas Brain
You can ask:
- “Change my primary GBP category to ‘Italian Restaurant’”
- “Update my main category to ‘Digital Marketing Agency’”
Important: Changing the primary category will replace the one you currently have.
⚠️ Your primary category is the strongest ranking signal for your core service, so make sure the new one matches your business closely.
🖥️ Using the UI
Go to:
Local → GBP Projects → Select location →Scroll Down → Business Data Optimizations → Category → Edit
🗂️ Add additional categories
Additional categories help Google understand other services your business provides beyond your main one.
🤖 Using Atlas Brain
You can ask:
- “Add ‘Catering Service’ and ‘Event Venue’ as additional categories”
Adding additional categories does not change your primary category, and it does not remove your current secondary categories.
🗂️ Remove categories
You can remove categories that no longer match your services or are no longer relevant to your business.
🤖 Using Atlas Brain
You can ask:
- “Remove ‘Fast Food Restaurant’ from my GBP categories”
⚠️ You cannot remove your primary category directly. To change it, you must replace it with a new primary category first.
✅ Best practice
Choose categories based on what your business actually does, not just what you want to rank for. The closer your categories match your real services, the more accurate and effective your profile will be.
🧩 Attributes
Attributes are business features that help customers understand what to expect from your location. These may include things like accessibility options, amenities, accepted payment methods, or service features. Available attributes depend on your business category.
🧩 View current attributes
Using Atlas Brain You can ask:
- “What attributes can I add to my GBP listing?”
- “Show me which attributes my location currently has”
Using the UI
Go to:
Local → GBP Projects → Select location → Edit Profile → Add Attributes
🧩 Add or update attributes
Using Atlas Brain
You can ask:
- “Enable wheelchair accessibility for my location”
- “Set my GBP listing to show that we have free Wi-Fi and outdoor seating”
💡 It is best to check which attributes are available first, since not every attribute is supported for every business category.
🧩 Remove attributes
You can remove categories that no longer match your services or are no longer relevant to your business.
Using Atlas Brain
You can ask:
“Remove ‘Fast Food Restaurant’ from my GBP categories”
⚠️ You cannot remove your primary category directly. To change it, you must
replace it with a new primary category first.
✅ Best practice
Choose categories based on what your business actually does, not just what you want to rank for. The closer your categories match your real services, the more accurate and effective your profile will be.
📋 Services
Services describe the specific things your business offers. They help clarify your business scope beyond categories alone and can improve how clearly your profile matches relevant searches.
🧰 View current services
Using Atlas Brain
You can ask Atlas Brain to show the services currently listed for your location.
Using the UI
Go to:
Local → GBP Projects → Select location → Edit Profile → Services
🧰 Add or update services
Add services that accurately reflect what your business actually provides.
Using Atlas Brain You can ask Atlas Brain to add or update service items for your location.
🧰 Remove services
Remove services that are outdated, unavailable, or no longer relevant to the business.
Using Atlas Brain You can ask Atlas Brain to remove specific services from your location profile.
🔗 Links & Social Profiles
You can add links that connect users directly to your business across platforms and actions.
These include:
- Website URL
- Inventory search URL
- Place an order link
- Texting number (SMS)
- Social URLs (Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest)
📍 Service Area
Service Area defines the geographic area your business serves.
Using the UI
Go to:
Local → GBP Projects → Select location → Edit Profile → Service Area
🤖 Using Atlas Brain
You can ask Atlas Brain to update your service area.
📸 Media
Media plays a key role in both your profile and your content strategy.
When you upload images to the Media Library:
- Images are analyzed automatically
- Keyword-optimized descriptions are generated
- Files are renamed using your selected keywords
- Images can be reused for posts
⚠️ To ensure best results, make sure the images are new to your GBP profile.
📊 Optimization & Completion
Your profile includes a completion score that reflects how optimized your GBP listing is.
You can:
- Click Pull Latest Data to sync with Google
- Click Refresh Optimization Tips to update recommendations
🛠️ Business Assistant
The Business Assistant highlights actions you can take to improve your profile.
Examples include:
- Add Attributes
- Add Missing Social Media Profile
- Add Additional Category
- Add a Cover Image
- Add minimum 50 images
- Add your Business Logo
- Add Opening Date
- Add Phone Number
- Add Services
- Add a Website URL
- Enable Automated Posting
- Enable Automated Reviews
🤖 Automation
You can automate GBP posting and review workflows from your profile.
Options include:
- Post frequency (OTTO optimized or custom)
- Start date
- Image source (AI or Media Library)
- Approval settings
- Review publishing
- Social sharing
🔒 Data Protection
Your GBP data can be secured to prevent unauthorized changes.
When locked:
- Your GBP information is safeguarded
- Unauthorized changes are prevented
- Your rankings are protected from external edits
Use categories, attributes, and services to reflect the real structure of your business as accurately as possible. These fields should describe what you genuinely offer, not just what you want to rank for. The more closely your profile matches your actual business, the more useful it becomes for both Google and potential customers.
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.