Andrea AbbondanzaCreating a Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business, or GMB) profile for your restaurant is essential to achieving local SEO success.
Google Business Profile profiles provide customers with essential information about your business and allow you to connect directly with them online.
In this article, we’ll explore the best practices for maximizing your GMB profile so you can get the most out of it. With the right approach and effort, you can maximize your presence on Google and reach more potential customers in no time. Let’s get into it!
What is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile (aka Google My Business, GMB) is a free tool that allows businesses to create, update, and manage their online presence across Google, including Google Search, Google Maps, and Google+.
Google Business profile helps customers discover your restaurant online and provides them with essential information such as hours of operation, phone numbers, photos, menus, and reviews. By creating a profile on GMB, you can ensure customers understand what your restaurant offers when they visit it. Therefore, having a GMB profile is crucial for restaurants to gain customers.
Benefits of Google Business Profile
Google Business Profiles are a great way for your restaurant to get its business name out there online and reach more customers. Here are some of the key benefits:
- Increase visibility: Google Business Profiles appear in all relevant Google searches, meaning your restaurant is more likely to be noticed and attract new customers.
- Reach more customers: With Google’s global customer base, your restaurant has a higher chance of reaching millions of potential customers. Moreover, with the help of local search engine optimization, there’ll be no out-of-reach customers in your dictionary.
- Showcase products/services: With the ability to enter product and service descriptions and relevant pictures into your restaurant profile, you can ensure that potential customers know the details of your offer.
- Build reputation: Reviews from satisfied customers help build trust with potential ones, ensuring that they know they can rely on your services before deciding to visit your place. Hence, reputation management for restaurants is important.
- Boost SEO ranking: As people search keywords related to your business, having an up-to-date Google Business Profile will help you rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- Analyze website performance: Use analytics tools provided by GMB to track website performance and understand customer needs better over time. This way, you can optimize visibility and engagement with your audience.
How To Create a Google Business Profile?
It’s quick and simple to set up a new GMB profile for your marketing strategies for restaurants, requiring just a few simple steps. Here’s how to do it:
Make Sure You Qualify for a Listing
Before creating a GMB Profile, ensuring your restaurant meets the requirements for a Google Business Profile listing is essential. Generally speaking, businesses need to have a physical address and must be able to verify the identity of the owner or representative. In addition, certain categories may require additional certifications to be approved.
For most businesses, this means they must offer services or products that customers can physically interact with or purchase in person. Online businesses or affiliate marketing will typically not qualify for GMB profiles.
Well, your restaurant will easily pass this part if it meets all the requirements.
Verify Your Google Business Profile
The next step in creating a GMB business is to verify it. To verify your business for a GMB profile, you must provide evidence that clearly belongs to your restaurant.
The verification methods include mail, email, phone number, video, or the Search Console if your restaurant’s website already exists. However, the most widely used method is verification by postcard. For this to work, you need an actual, physical business address to which Google can send the verification letter.
Choose the Right Business Categories
Selecting the right Google business categories is crucial in setting up your profile. You will be required to pick a primary and up to nine secondary categories that represent your restaurant in the simplest terms.
Remember that the primary category you choose will affect which restaurant keywords you rank for when searching locally. Thus, make sure it’s an accurate depiction of your restaurant.
For example, Karen’s Diner would likely select ‘Food and drink’ as its primary category and ‘Entertainment’ as a secondary one.
Finally, the most important part is to ensure not to include any irrelevant business categories that don’t apply to your restaurant since relevance matters most in Google!
Set Your Restaurant Locations
To optimize your restaurant’s Google Business Profile, it’s important to focus on accurate and detailed information. Start by checking the box on your profile indicating that you have a fixed address.
When entering your restaurant’s address, ensure it is as specific as possible rather than just a general location. This is particularly crucial if your restaurant is in a multi-story building or strip center in a major city.
By providing accurate information, Google can direct potential customers to your restaurant’s right search results page, improving their overall experience. Remember, accuracy is key in Google Business Profile optimization for restaurants!
Add Your Services Area
Every business is different; some only offer services at their customers’ locations. For example, a lawn maintenance and landscaping company provides services in person but not necessarily from one location.
However, this case rarely happens with restaurants with fixed addresses since customers are the ones who visit the place.
But you can also add service areas and a direct address to Google to ensure that customers aren’t directed to the wrong location and can enjoy an improved user experience instead. Service areas are important!
Add Your Opening Hours, Website URL, and Phone Number
Google rankings require regular maintenance and attention. There’s a possibility that your restaurant’s opening hours may become shortened over time for different reasons. To avoid customers arriving at a closed store, it is important to ensure the business hours are clearly stated and up-to-date.
Next, add a phone number to your listing for easier customer contact. It is important to realize the value of having a phone number on your listing, especially if you allow your customers to contact yours directly.
If you don’t have a website, it’s time to get one. If you already have one? Then it’s a good thing — add it to your listing!
In fact, Google considers several elements when determining search engine ranking positions (SERPs). Owning and operating a website has the potential to positively impact your reputation in ways that can’t be predicted. Plus, having an online site boosts your business rankings on local searches.
Point Customers to Your Appointment URL
People love easy, practical things, including simple restaurant appointments — lining up at a waiting list line is bothersome! Therefore, it is important to include an appointment URL in your listing.
An appointment URL is an additional way to contact your restaurant via the Google Business profile. Ensure the URL is openly visible to allow customers to book appointments, make reservations, or simply send messages via the contact form.
Insert Google Business Profile Description
An accurate Google Business profile description is a powerful tool for representing your business to potential customers. To truly make the most of your business description, aim to have around 700-750 words, taking advantage of all available space.
Get to the nitty-gritty details about your company — don’t save up for advertising messages or other promotional information. All Google really needs is quality information; nothing more, nothing less. Hence, make sure to edit and proofread before posting your description in your listing profile.
Add Restaurant Products and Services
Avoid providing incomplete information about products and services in your Google Business profile — as it’s a common blunder. Instead, you should list everything you provide to give customers a good understanding of what they’re getting from you.
Currently, Google has options for businesses to showcase their products and services through both Google posts and mobile platforms, giving you an advantage over your competitors.
When listing your services or products, make sure to go into detail about each one and only include those relevant to your business — don’t add any that you don’t offer.
Google Business Profile Highlights and Attributes
When it comes to Google Business Profiles, highlights and attributes can be used to showcase the unique offerings of your restaurant.
Many businesses do this, actually. For example, a bakery could feature its free Wi-Fi facility, while an apartment complex might choose to list the availability of pools, and a car repair shop could opt for oil change services. All of these highlights and attributes will show up on their GBP page.
Therefore, it is important to add a complete list of the facilities and features at your restaurant.
Menu & Booking Items for Restaurants
The entire process involves providing an accurate representation of your restaurant. For example, if you own an American restaurant, make sure to include as many menu items as possible on Google.
Also, take the time to create stunning images of the most popular dishes that tell stories about your restaurant. This way, customers will know exactly what is available when they come in.
Remember that restaurants with great food will hardly go anywhere without exposure. So, without letting people know about everything you have to offer, it’s unlikely they’ll make their way to your place.
Add Company Pictures and Videos to Your Google Business Profile
Giving your customers a visual tour of your restaurant is an excellent way to engage with them on Google. Include pictures and videos that include your restaurant’s logo, the products and services you have to offer, and your restaurant’s work environment.
This helps give people an idea of what they can expect if they visit your restaurant, adding value to their experience.
Ensure all images are high quality and accurately reflect the kind of service you’re providing, as this will help build customer trust in your brand.
Enable the Google Business Profile Messaging Feature
Adding a messaging feature to your Google Business Profile can be useful for restaurant owners. This allows customers to ask questions directly, and you can offer timely responses that may encourage them to visit your restaurant.
If you have a page on Facebook or Twitter, link them to it so customers can message there as well. This also helps in managing customer reviews, which will help build trust in your brand.
Ensure your messages are friendly and helpful, as this will give potential guests the best possible impression of your business.
Respond to Reviews
Responding to customer reviews on both GMB and other restaurant review sites in Australia can help you build a relationship with your customers and maintain the trust they have in your business.
You can do this by acknowledging both positive and negative reviews and thanking customers for their time — or apologizing when there’s a problem. If there are any questions, answer them timely and accurate. Also, make sure that all responses are professional and prioritize customers’ POV.
If possible, offer some kind of resolution or compensation where appropriate. This builds customer loyalty as well as a good public perception of your restaurant.
In fact, taking the time to respond to reviews shows you care about what the public thinks and acknowledges their feedback. Moreover, it is important that you stay consistent when responding to these comments — no matter negative or positive — as this reflects positively on your restaurant and demonstrates respect for customers.
Consistently Create and Publish Posts
Google has recently added a new feature that allows businesses to post updates to their profile page. This is an invaluable tool for promoting special events, offers, and new product launches at your restaurant in an engaging manner.
Although it doesn’t have to be a literary genius, your posts must be free of grammar errors and misspellings. Clarity is number one if you want your ideas to be clearly stated without rambling in circles.
Show Google that your business is active — they love fresh content! Try incorporating images or videos into your posts for more traction with users. The goal behind this feature isn’t to generate sales but rather to build relationships with customers.
Think of this feature as a social media platform, and you’ll do just fine!
Showcase Your Opening Date
Google is a great tool for businesses of all sizes — but it can be especially beneficial to newly established companies. Showcase your restaurant’s opening date in your Business Profile to receive the “recently opened” badge on your listing, which will last for 90 days after you open.
If you have run your restaurant for years, it will look even more promising as customers tend to think of your restaurant as a reliable place to visit due to the long operational duration.
Take Advantage Of Google’s Business Site
If you don’t already have a domain, Google offers a free Business Site under “Website” in the left sidebar. You only need to make your changes and click the Publish button at the top right corner to get your website run.
On the flip hand, if you already have your own domain, using Google’s Business Site can help you create a GBP backlink to your original restaurant website. All it takes is some editing, adding a link, and pressing Publish. Voila!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I optimize my Google Business Profile listing to improve my visibility on Google Maps and search?
To improve your restaurant’s Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business, or GMB) listing visibility on Google Maps and search engine results, you have to enter complete data, verify your location, keep your hours accurate, manage & respond to reviews, add photos, and add in-store products.
Can I have multiple locations for my business on Google Business Profile?
Yes, you can have multiple locations for your restaurant business on Google Business Profile (aka Google My Business, GMB). You can do this by using Business Profile Manager and selecting the “Add Location” option.
Conclusion
So there you have it — a few key tips to help get your restaurant’s GMB profile in fighting shape and improve your chances of local SEO success.
Creating and maintaining a strong GMB profile is essential for any business that wants to rank high in search results and attract more customers, including restaurants. Afterward, you can utilize SEO for Restaurants to enhance the results.
By following the tips in this post, you should be able to take full advantage of everything Google Business Profile has to offer potential diners who are looking for a great place to eat in their area.
