Do LGBTQ+ attributes help your Google Business Profile?
Yes, in one specific way. They won’t lift your general rankings. They decide whether you exist for the people searching for you by that attribute.
Yes, but not the way most people think. The attribute won’t move you up for “hair salon near me.” It decides whether you show up at all when someone searches for an LGBTQ+ friendly hair salon, and it puts a badge on your profile that some customers use to choose between you and the place next door.
The three attributes
Google Business Profile has three that matter here:
- LGBTQ+ owned: an identity attribute, added in 2022. It sits in the same group as Black-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned.
- LGBTQ+ friendly: added in 2020. On some profiles it shows as a rainbow flag icon.
- Transgender safespace: also added in 2020.
Which ones you can pick depends on your country and your business category. Google says so plainly, and also says attribute names can change over time to match how people search.
What Google actually says
Google’s help page is short and careful: attributes appear on your profile across Search and Maps, and if you add certain attributes, your business might show up in searches for places with those attributes. That’s the whole promise. Not “ranks higher.” Shows up for searches that include the attribute.
What the testing says
Two of the most careful people in local SEO have looked at this, and they agree with Google.
Whitespark: attributes don’t affect rankings for general searches like “restaurants NYC,” but they do affect rankings when the search mentions the attribute. Their guide also notes that identity attributes can trigger icons and “justifications” in results, the little line under a listing that tells the searcher you have what they asked for.
Sterling Sky: in a ranking-grid test, adding an identity attribute (“women-led,” on a paralegal profile) produced a strong ranking improvement, but only for keywords related to that attribute.
Put together: the attribute is a filter, not a booster. It gets you into the right room. It doesn’t make you louder in the main room.
My test: how many people search this way?
I pulled US monthly search volume for the explicit versions of these searches. One API call, about eight cents.
That’s the honest headline. Most people don’t type the attribute’s exact wording. They use their own words, and whether Google maps those words to your attribute is Google’s call, not yours. So the explicit attribute searches are small, but they’re small and very intentional: someone typing “LGBTQ+ friendly doctor” has already decided what they’re looking for.
Three more things the data shows:
- Healthcare is where it’s worth money. “LGBTQ friendly doctors near me” carries a $5.82 cost per click, the highest in the set by far. If you’re a clinic, a therapist or a dentist and the attribute is true, turn it on.
- Pride Month is real. “LGBTQ owned businesses near me” jumped from about 140 a month to 390 in June 2026.
- Salons spike in summer. “LGBTQ friendly hair salon” went from 320 to 1,000 in July 2026.
Where it sits next to the factors that actually move rankings
| Factor | Moves general rankings? | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Yes. The strongest lever. | Sets which searches you’re eligible for at all. |
| Reviews: count, recency, replies | Yes. Heavily weighted. | Baseline visibility, and the biggest conversion factor. |
| LGBTQ+ attributes | No, not for general searches. | Gets you into attribute searches, adds a badge or icon, can earn a justification line. |
So don’t expect a ranking jump. Expect to stop being invisible to the specific people looking for you, and to win more of the comparisons where someone is choosing between two similar profiles.
How to add them
- Open your Business Profile from Google Search or Maps while signed in as the owner or manager.
- Choose Edit profile, then the business information section with attributes (Google moves this around; look for “From the business” or “Attributes”).
- Select the ones that are true, then Save. Google may review the change before it shows.
Two rules. Only add what’s true: an identity attribute tells everyone the business is owned by someone with that identity. And treat it like the flag in the window: it’s public, and you can turn it on or off any time.
What I’d do with it
If it’s true for your business, add it. It costs nothing and it’s the only way into those searches. Then say the same thing on your website, in plain words, so Google and the AI answers that pull from it see one consistent story about who you are. And if you want the ranking needle to move, spend the effort on your category, your reviews and your citations, because that’s where it moves.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help: Manage your business attributes
- Google Business Profile Help: Share your business identity attributes
- Search Engine Land: Google adds LGBTQ+ owned attribute to business profiles
- DAC: Google Business Profile adds new LGBTQ+ attribute
- Whitespark: Google Business Profile attributes
- Sterling Sky: Do identity attributes impact ranking?
- Search volume: Google Ads data via DataForSEO, United States, pulled October 20, 2026.
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