The Right Google Business Profile Categories for Electricians

Your Categories Decide Which Searches Find You

When someone in your town types "electrician near me" into Google, the results they see are not random. Google uses a set of signals to decide which businesses to show, and one of the strongest signals is your Google Business Profile categories. Pick the right ones, and you appear for the searches that matter. Pick the wrong ones — or worse, leave them on the defaults — and potential customers will never know you exist.

For electricians across the UK, category selection is one of the quickest wins available. It takes five minutes to update, costs nothing, and can immediately change which searches your profile is eligible for. Yet most electricians we audit have either picked a single category or chosen ones that do not reflect their actual work.

This guide covers every relevant category, how to decide between Electrician and Electrical Contractor, what specialists should choose, and the real-world impact on your local search visibility.

The Full List of Relevant Categories

Google maintains a fixed set of categories. You cannot invent your own — you must choose from their list. Here are the categories that apply to electrical businesses.

Primary category options:

  • Electrician — The most common choice and the one that matches the highest volume of searches. "Electrician near me," "electrician [town name]," and "local electrician" all trigger this category.
  • Electrical Contractor — This leans more toward commercial, project-based, or larger-scale electrical work. It matches searches like "electrical contractor" and tends to attract more commercial enquiries.

Secondary category options:

  • Lighting Contractor — For businesses that specialise in or offer lighting design, installation, and upgrades. Matches searches for "lighting installation near me."
  • Electrical Engineer — This is a slightly misleading category in Google's system. It can attract queries from people looking for design or consulting engineers, not just installation work. Use it only if you genuinely do electrical design or engineering.
  • Electric Vehicle Charging Station Contractor — A category that barely existed a few years ago and is now one of the fastest-growing search terms in the trades. If you install EV chargers, this is essential.
  • Solar Energy Contractor — For electricians who install solar panels or battery storage systems.
  • Security System Installer — If you install CCTV, intruder alarms, or access control systems, this category picks up a significant volume of searches.
  • Home Automation Company — Smart home installations — smart lighting, smart thermostats, integrated control systems.
  • Fire Alarm Supplier — Fire alarm installation and maintenance. Particularly relevant for commercial electricians.
  • Generator Installer — Standby and backup generator installation and maintenance.
  • Home Theater Installation Service — AV installations, surround sound, projector setups.

Electrician vs Electrical Contractor: Which Primary?

This is the most common question we get from electricians across North Wales and the surrounding areas. The answer depends on your customer base.

If most of your work is residential — rewires, consumer unit upgrades, fault finding, extra sockets, garden lighting — then Electrician should be your primary category. It matches the highest volume of consumer searches by a significant margin. When a homeowner needs electrical work, they search for an "electrician," not an "electrical contractor."

If most of your work is commercial — office fitouts, industrial installations, new-build electrical packages, maintenance contracts for businesses — then Electrical Contractor might serve you better. Commercial customers and other trades looking for electrical subcontractors tend to use this term.

If you do a mix of both, go with Electrician as your primary and add Electrical Contractor as a secondary. Residential search volume is higher, and you can still appear for commercial searches through the secondary category.

We reviewed profiles of the top-ranking electricians in Llandudno, Bangor, and Colwyn Bay and found that 80% of the top-three map pack results used Electrician as their primary. The data is clear.

Categories for EV Charger Installers

The demand for EV charger installation has surged. If you are OZEV-approved (or working toward it), adding Electric Vehicle Charging Station Contractor as a secondary category is one of the highest-value changes you can make to your profile.

Search volume for "EV charger installer near me" has increased dramatically year on year. The competition is still relatively low compared to generic electrician searches because many electricians have not updated their profiles to include this category. That means there is a window of opportunity to establish yourself in this space before it gets crowded.

Pair the category with specific services listed under it: "home EV charger installation," "commercial EV charging points," "OZEV grant installations." This combination of category plus detailed services gives Google strong signals about your relevance for these searches.

Categories for Solar and Renewables Specialists

The same logic applies if you install solar panels, battery storage, or other renewable energy systems. Solar Energy Contractor as a secondary category opens up an entirely different set of searches — "solar panel installer near me," "solar panels [town name]," and related terms.

Again, list specific services underneath: "solar PV installation," "battery storage systems," "solar panel maintenance." An electrician in Wrexham with this category and detailed services will appear for renewable energy searches that a competitor without the category will never see.

NICEIC and NAPIT: Do They Matter for Categories?

Your accreditations do not directly affect your categories, but they absolutely affect your overall ranking and credibility. Google considers your website, reviews, and other signals alongside categories. If your website mentions NICEIC or NAPIT registration and your reviews reference "Part P certified" work, that reinforces the categories you have chosen.

Where accreditations intersect with categories is in the services section. If you are NICEIC-approved for specific types of work — domestic installation, commercial, or industrial — list those accredited services under the relevant categories. It builds a consistent picture for both Google and potential customers.

Some electricians add their accreditation to their business name on Google (e.g., "Smith Electrical — NICEIC Approved"). This technically violates Google's naming guidelines, which state your business name should match your real-world name. We have seen profiles penalised or suspended for this. Keep accreditations in your description and services, not your business name. Our article on GBP suspension explains what can go wrong.

How Categories Affect Which Searches Show Your Listing

To illustrate the difference categories make, consider two electricians in the same town.

Electrician A has one category: Electrician. They appear for "electrician near me" and "electrician [town]." That is about it.

Electrician B has five categories: Electrician (primary), Electrical Contractor, Electric Vehicle Charging Station Contractor, Security System Installer, and Lighting Contractor. They appear for all of the searches Electrician A does, plus "EV charger installer," "CCTV installer near me," "lighting installation," and "electrical contractor."

Electrician B is visible for three or four times as many relevant searches. Over a month, that translates to significantly more profile views, more calls, and more jobs.

This is exactly why category selection matters so much, and why it is one of the first things we look at during our free audit for electricians.

Real Examples From North Wales

We recently audited an electrician in Rhyl who had been trading for fifteen years and had an excellent reputation. His GBP had one category: Electrician. He also installed EV chargers and CCTV, but neither of those services was reflected in his categories.

After adding Electric Vehicle Charging Station Contractor and Security System Installer as secondary categories — along with specific services under each — his profile views increased by 35% within six weeks. He started receiving enquiries for EV and security work that had previously gone to competitors.

No other changes were made. Same photos, same reviews, same description. The categories alone made the difference.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using Electrical Engineer when you mean Electrician. These are different things in Google's eyes. Electrical Engineer tends to attract enquiries from architects and project managers looking for design engineers, not from homeowners needing a rewire.

Ignoring specialist categories. If you do the work, add the category. It is as simple as that. Every category you are eligible for but have not added is a set of searches you are invisible for.

Adding categories for work you do not do. If someone calls expecting a solar installer and you cannot help, that is a wasted lead for them and a potential bad review for you. Only add categories for services you genuinely offer.

Never reviewing your categories. The electrical trade is evolving. EV chargers, battery storage, and smart home technology are all growing markets. If you added your categories three years ago and have not looked at them since, they probably need updating.

Your Category Audit in Two Minutes

Answer these questions for your own profile:

  1. Is your primary category the right choice for your main customer base?
  2. Have you added secondary categories for every type of work you offer?
  3. Have you listed specific services under each category?
  4. Have you checked what the top-ranking electricians in your area use?
  5. If you do specialist work (EV, solar, security), do your categories reflect that?

If you want us to check for you, grab a free Google Business Profile audit. We will look at your categories, your local ranking, your reviews, and your overall profile strength — then tell you exactly what to change. It is free, it is specific to your business, and most electricians find at least two or three quick wins they did not know about.

Your categories are the foundation of your local visibility. Get them right, and everything else works harder for you. For more on how Google ranks local businesses, read our full breakdown.