What are the most competitive industries in Google?

How long will it take for your SEO campaign to see results? Is SEO the best way to market your company? These are a couple of questions whose answers should consider the competitive nature of your industry.

A few years ago, I researched how competitive many industries are on Google. I recently updated this information for 2025. Below is what I found.

Method

1. I took a list of all the Google Business Profile categories in the United States from PlePer. They update this list regularly- so it’s accurate through February 2025.
2. I collected keyword data from each. The data I collected was more than the “estimated searches” for each term. I combine several factors (in my secret, proprietary formula) to show the most competitive.
3. I sorted them by most competitive to least.

The 25 most competitive industries in the US on Google are:

1. hotel
2. photo shop
3. store
4. restaurant
5. plumber
6. bank
7. grocery store
8. insurance company
9. flower delivery
10. bathroom remodeler
11. moving company
12. electrician
13. casino
14. furniture store
15. honda dealer
16. locksmith
17. clothing store
18. dentist
19. playground
20. Toyota dealer
21. liquor store
22. psychic
23. jewelry store
24. financial advisor
25. gym

The chart shows how some of these industries compare with others in terms of competition. As I mentioned, I’m using a proprietary “Opportunity” metric to rank these. This metric considers the “Average monthly searches” and factors in competition and other paid search data. The theory here is that it’s one thing if people are searching for a topic but even more valuable if people are willing to pay for clicks (and how much they’re willing to pay for those clicks). That’s why some industries have high search volume but low “Opportunity” numbers- while people are searching for these industries, they are less willing to pay for those visitors.

This list differs from the top from 2024 in that:

1. Financial Advisors rose from the dregs to the 24th most competitive industry, and this industry gained the most in the last year. Could financial uncertainty be leading people to seek professional advice?
2. Store is a very broad category (not to be confused with “grocery store,” “furniture store,” “clothing store,” “liquor store,” “jewelry store,” and others not in the top 25). It was a big gainer, moving up to the #2 position. Are people looking to shop in person?
3. Restaurants have the most searches, but the opportunity number has moved them to fourth place (from second place).
4. Photo Shop has risen from the depths of data into the number two position. This data point surprises me- is film making a comeback?
5. Personal Injury Attorneys have dropped from the 4th position to outside the top 25—another surprise.

Would you like the entire list of competitive industries?

Does your industry not appear in the two 25? How does your industry compare to the most competitive industries? Before you begin your marketing efforts, take a moment and see.

I’ll be happy to send you the list (with data) so that you can perform your analysis.

How can your company compete with Google in the most competitive industries?

Set realistic expectations.

It will take a lot to compete against businesses similar to yours in SEO. It might take years. SEO is never a quick marketing channel. SEO for one of these industries will also be a significant financial investment. This investment is not only an investment over time. Everything is going to cost more. I see this regarding lawyers—getting listed on some of the most respected legal websites directly costs significant money. Unfortunately, some of these directories charge a lot but offer little value. Use caution when spending money, or you could waste a lot simultaneously.

In these cases, seeing significant results will take a long time. PPC campaigns might be a better solution if your company needs to ramp up fast. However, since these are competitive, the PPC campaign costs might also be significant. You can see this when you look at a couple of industries in the chart, especially “bathroom remodeler,” “moving company,” and even “financial advisor.” Notice that the Average Monthly Searches are significantly lower than the Opportuinity. That tells you that people are spending significant money to compete for a relatively small number of people searching for these service providers.

Pursue the long tail.

Companies that start an SEO campaign are sometimes obsessed with a particular keyword. This obsession hurts them in several ways. For one, they overlook the more achievable, long-tailed opportunities.

The long tail is a great way to compete against other flower delivery services. Sure, many people search for “flower delivery.” If you were to “rank” for that, you’d get a ton of traffic (and customers)! There are a lot fewer people searching for reasons you’d want to deliver flowers: a new baby, an apology, love, a funeral, a gift, etc. Of course, these phrases are also less competitive. The more specific and helpful content you can produce on your site, the more opportunities you’ll see. The long tail principle says many more customers are searching for an infinite number of specific terms than are searching for the broad phrase.

Create a unique selling proposition.

Why would someone choose your insurance company over another? Do you offer 24-hour support? Do you have an app that makes claims easier? What makes your insurance company better than the others out there?

Take, for example, a dentist. What would it look like for a dentist to focus on Millennials? They may offer free Wi-Fi and have a holder for their cell phone hanging right above their seat (of course, I’m speculating and stereotyping here). This strategy could attract many people who would otherwise not care about your dental practice. The StoryBrand framework can help you distinguish yourself from competitors in the same industry and prevent you from competing against them as just another dentist.

Is there any hope to compete in these industries?

I hope this isn’t discouraging. A successful campaign in one of these competitive industries is achievable. It will take a little more time and a little more work.

The competitive nature of these industries means you need more than just “an SEO” to help you reach your customers. You need someone with experience in a broad range of digital marketing. A fractional Chief Marketing Office (fCMO), like Reliable Acorn, is the key to success. A fCMO will help you look at the data to determine the best action to generate business. It might not be what you expect- and you need an outside expert to help guide you.