What started out as just another search engine has now become one of the most important online tools for any restaurant owner. If you haven’t already, creating a Google Business profile should be your next step in getting started with your restaurant online. Just like Yelp and other review sites, Google provides an easy way to showcase your restaurant, gain new customers, make reservations online, and so much more. In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the steps you need to create your profile and make google work for you!
Finding your business on Google
If you’re not sure how your restaurant looks when it appears in a search on Google, you can look at your company page. When you’re logged into your business account, follow these steps: Sign in to Google My Business. Search for and select your restaurant from the list of results. If your restaurant isn’t found, click Add or edit. Update any information that needs updating and submit changes for review by clicking Save and continue > Save & continue edits. It typically takes less than 48 hours for Google to verify an update. After your updates are verified, make sure your profile is claimed by clicking Edit next to Claimed next to This business is owned by… below Location details. Once again click Save & continue > Done editing (note: after claiming, new businesses will be reviewed within 24-48 hours). Once verified, click Actions dropdown menu in top right corner of screen.
Creating your Google Business Profile
Before you can start ranking on local search engines, you’ll need to create a free Google My Business page. Note that if you already have an existing website or presence online, some of these tasks may be done by your web designer. In fact, most of them should be! To make people aware of you and encourage customers to come in for dinner, consider adding functionality such as reservations online or links from social media sites. This will help build your brand identity and show customers that you are committed to creating value for them throughout their entire experience with your restaurant. If you want to track customer reviews or receive recommendations from fans, then using third-party applications is a great way to do so. These apps can also report back valuable information about consumer trends in your market area that you might otherwise miss out on—allowing you to fine-tune your marketing strategies even further. Whatever system works best for you, remember: without trying it out first, there is no telling how well it will work in practice!
Optimizing your Google Business profile
You can’t just sign up for a Google My Business account and call it day. To stand out on local search results pages, you need to optimize your business information so that it matches your business name and includes details like hours of operation and specialties. This is also where you can attach images, give detailed descriptions and even link your social media accounts so that users who want to stay in touch with you online can find easy ways to do it. Add as much or as little information as you have time for; when in doubt, there’s always room for improvement.
Let Google do the Work for you
A lot of work happens behind the scenes to ensure things are running smoothly. Google’s small business tools can help you work smarter — saving you time and helping you learn about your customers so you can serve them better. Use Google’s professional tools to measure your success, stay informed about what is going on in the restaurant industry, and create surveys to learn about your customer’s behavior.
Do you know where to begin? Does this feel overwhelming? Let The Marketing Kitchen help you! We can attract new customers with a robust and active profile. Visit me at here to check out how I can help with your Google Business Profile and for a free consultation.
Comments are closed