Google controls a staggering 89% of mobile searches nationwide! Why is this important to a restaurant operator? Because, if someone is craving a burger in NYC, they will most likely perform a search similar to “burgers near me” and the odds are that person will end up visiting or ordering from one of the first few results that are populated.

In larger cities with numerous dining options, ranking well in these online searches can be the difference between making it or going under. For those without a marketing agency to help them achieve top standings, simply creating and properly managing a Google Business Profile can be a great first step. Setting up a Google Business Profile is not only free but following this guide, it's also easy.

Once set up, those looking for in-house dining, takeout, or delivery in your area will be able to easily navigate to your website, find your contact information, access reviews, get driving directions, and more.

How to create your restaurants Google Business Profile

 Visit the Google Business Profile website - https://www.google.com/business/

• Click the “Sign in” button and log in with the account that you use to manage your restaurant.
• Type in your restaurant's name into the search area.
  • If your restaurant shows up click on it to claim the existing listing.
  • If your restaurant does not show up, click “Add your business to Google”.
    
    

• Enter your restaurant's name and select a primary business category.
• • Take care to take your time and select the most relevant business category available. You’ll see options similar to “Lunch restaurant”, “Italian restaurant”, “Bar & Grill”, and other comparable options.
• Add your restaurant’s physical location (Allows you to show up on Google Maps)
  • Enter your restaurant's country, street address, city, state, and zip code.
  • If you run a virtual kitchen or delivery-only restaurant, don’t worry, you can skip this step for now and add your service area instead.
    
    

• If you provide delivery in-house or use 3^rd party delivery apps select yes to providing deliveries and enter the areas that you serve
  • This will help you get higher rankings locally by adding in multiple areas that you serve. Select the cities and areas that your customers will realistically order from.
    
    

• Add your restaurant contact information
  • Enter your websites phone number
  • Enter your website URL
    • “77% of diners visit a restaurant’s website before they dine in or order out from the establishment” - MGH. If you don’t have a website, try not to leave this blank. Add the link to your restaurant's Facebook, Instagram, or another comparable site instead.
      
      

• Verify your ability to manage and represent your restaurant on Google
  • While the most time-consuming step, it is important to complete. By default, Goggle will choose to send you a postcard that contains a unique verification code to your restaurant's address provided. These postcards typically arrive in about a week.
  • Once your verification postcard is received in the mail submit the code to finish claiming your new listing as your own. Should the postcard not be your preferred option, Google also offers several other ways to verify your account. Learn more at https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242
• For those able to do an instant verification or those that skip the verification step, for now, the next step will be customizing your profile starting with adding your business hours.
  • Enter the days/times that you are available so your customers know when you are open.
    
    

• If you’d like to be able to receive messages on Google via your Business Profile, turn on “Accept Messages”.
  
  

• Add the types of dining modes that you offer to your customers including dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup, drive-through, delivery, and no-contact delivery. This will allow people to find you when they are looking for specific attributes that you offer.
  
  

• Add a description of your restaurant to give a brief summary of who you are and let those looking for dining options in your area know what makes your restaurant unique.
  
  

• Add photos of your menu and dishes to catch your attention.

• Once you have verified ownership of your restaurant on Google, you and your customers will be able to see your Google Business Profile live.
  
  

Top Google Business Profile Features that restaurants should be aware of:

• Menus
  • Between managing allergies, picky eaters, and wanting to ensure that a restaurant meets their personal preferences – Skimming a restaurant’s menu before visiting has become quite common. At a minimum, make sure to enter the menu item names, images, descriptions, prices, and more for your top dishes.
    • 90% of guests research a restaurant online before dining—more than any other business type - Upserve
  • Reviews
    • Don’t let your customer's reviews get away from you. Make sure to engage positive reviewers by thanking them for their visit and try to resolve negative reviews. While you will not be able to resolve every issue, properly managing your Google reviews will help protect your restaurant's reputation, build loyal customers, and help identify ways for your restaurant to improve.
  • Photos
    • Food is often a visual experience - Add photos of your menu and dishes to catch your attention. Learn how to “Improve your food photography skills & create menus that sell”
      
      

ItsaCheckmate

ItsaCheckmate provides POS integration, simplifies digital menu management, and makes accounting reconciliation with your delivery apps easy. We eliminate the need for delivery tablets and our solution is proven to help restaurant operators improve their operations, eliminate manual order entry errors, and grow revenue from online orders (takeout/delivery).