How to improve a restaurant's Google Business Profile

For a restaurant, local search is almost always the most valuable source of traffic, because it reaches people who are already nearby and have already decided to eat out. The Google profile is the shop window for that search. It is worth treating it with the same care as the restaurant's entrance.

First, what is not negotiable#

1. Claim and verify the profile. Without this, you do not control what is on it.
2. Choose the right primary category. It is the decision that carries the most weight in the whole listing.
3. Confirm the address and the exact position of the map pin, especially on streets with repeated numbers.
4. Use a phone number someone actually answers, not an old one.
5. Fill in the opening hours, including public holidays and annual closures.
6. Link to the website, and to the right page, not to a social network.

Consistency between the profile and the website#

Name, address and phone number should be exactly the same on the profile, the website, social media and any directory where the restaurant appears. It is not a technical trick: contradictory information forces any system, human or automated, to decide which version to believe.

• The same trading name, without adding words to try to catch searches.
• The same address, written the same way.
• The same main phone number.
• The same opening hours, updated in both places at the same time.

Photos#

Photos are the part of the profile that most influences the decision, and usually the part in the worst shape. The reasonable minimum:

• The façade, in daylight, as someone arriving on foot sees it.
• The dining room, in real light, without an exaggerated wide angle.
• Five to ten dishes that represent the menu, not just the desserts.
• The team, if they are comfortable with it.
• No stock images. It always shows.

If the photos are also used on the website, it is worth getting them right once. Google's guidance on images in search explains why the context around an image counts as much as the image itself.

Menu and services#

• Fill in the menu on the profile, or link to the menu page on the website.
• State correctly what the restaurant offers: dine-in, takeaway, delivery, terrace, bookings.
• Mark accessibility, if it exists. Many people look for it and almost nobody fills it in.
• Keep the attributes true. Ticking things you do not have brings bad reviews.

Reviews#

Two simple rules and one prohibition.

• Ask happy guests for reviews, naturally and without a script.
• Reply to all of them within a few days, in one or two sentences.
• Never buy reviews or ask friends to write them without having been there.

The reply to a negative review is not meant to convince the person who wrote it. It is for the dozens of people who will read it before deciding. Written that way, it is much easier to get right.

What is not worth it#

• Stuffing the business name with keywords.
• Posting updates every week with nothing to say.
• Creating duplicate profiles for slightly different addresses or names.
• Paying for promises of first place. Nobody can guarantee them.

Review checklist, in order#

1. Profile claimed and verified.
2. Correct primary category and few secondary ones.
3. Correct address, pin, phone number and website.
4. Complete opening hours, with public holidays.
5. A description written for people, without padding.
6. Real photos, organised by type.
7. Menu filled in or linked to the menu page.
8. True attributes and services.
9. Review requests under way and replies up to date.
10. Check everything every six months, or whenever something changes at the restaurant.