Google My Business: the complete guide for your restaurant (+16 tips)

Digital showcase, customer magnet, SEO tool... A restaurant's Google business listing (formerly Google My Business, now called Google Business Profile) is essential to a successful digital communications strategy. How do you create a Google My Business listing? What are the best practices for optimizing it to attract customers? Discover Malou's 16 tips below.

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You've just opened your restaurant and don't yet have a listing?

Do you have a business card but it's not helping you attract customers?

Would you like to improve your Google rating and reviews?

Take advantage of our new comprehensive guide to the restaurant establishment sheet!👇

What is a Google My Business (Google Business Profile) or restaurant listing?

💡 A Google business listing is a free tool that allows a business to be visible online.

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A potential customer's first reflex? Search for your restaurant online!

That's why your Google My Business listing (Google Business Profile) is so important: it's the first point of contact between your restaurant and Internet users.

Because it displays your restaurant's average Google rating and customer reviews, it's THE showcase for deciding whether to choose you (or not).

Finally, itattracts and converts customers with "call", "book" and "route" buttons.

Below: our customer Kafkaf👇's Google My Business listing.

The aim of an establishment listing is to provide the best possible information to an Internet user.

This notion of "better information" is important to understand. The aim of the Google algorithm is to provide relevant information. So, for your restaurant to rise in the search results and be visible, you need to give as much and as accurate information as possible (opening hours, address, website, attributes, etc.).

Are you a restaurant owner? Take your SEO to the next level and rank first in search results with our guide!👇

What is the purpose of an establishment sheet for a restaurant?

A facility sheet is both :

1. A digital showcase to convince a customer to come to your restaurant;
2. A means ofattracting customers (via action buttons such as "call", "directions" or "booking");
3. A highly effective tool for boosting your local referencing.

The Google business profile has a huge impact on a restaurant's performance. That's what we've discovered in the new Malou 2024 study dedicated to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) based on over 300 restaurants.

Restaurants that optimize their Google listings have :

• On average, 2.3 times as many reviews as conventional restaurants, an increase of +128% in one year;
• A 15% increase in conversion actions on their page ("call", "route", "book" buttons);
• A 13% increase in their appearances on Google (while restaurant appearances dropped by 18% in 2024).

How to optimize your restaurant's Google My Business listing

1. Enter key restaurant information

You can easily create a Google business listing or claim an existing one.

Then fill in as much information as possible about your restaurant.

Name, address, current opening hours, website... Not forgetting the main activity of your business, in your case a derivative of "restaurant", according to your specialty.

2. Add categories

There are over 18,000 restaurants in Paris, and more than 170,000 in France. If you have your own concept and identity, let us know!

‍Addingadditional categories allows you to refine your status, differentiate yourself and thus position yourself more easily on specific searches by web users.

If you serve brunches, cocktails, tapas, etc., add them as secondary categories. You can add as many as you like, as long as they correspond to the services offered on site!

3. Specify all the restaurant's specific attributes on its Google My Business listing

The more information your visitors have, the more likely you are to attract them to your restaurant. It's also excellent for your restaurant's SEO, as the attributes correspond to specific searches (means of payment, WiFi, accessibility for people with reduced mobility...) For example: tourists who want to pay with American Express, people who want to watch a soccer match live...

This is where specific attributes come in. They allow you to highlight a large number of elements that your restaurant has to offer. Whether in terms of accessibility, clientele, services, health and safety, etc.

Note: these attributes change as the restaurant evolves, as the seasons change... In summer, for example, you'll add the "terrace" attribute if you have one.

4. Enter opening hours and exceptional closing times

🤯 This is the most important point of this article!

There are two reasons for this:

• Your referencing ;
• Your customers.

If customers don't know this information in real time, they may find your establishment closed. On the other hand, if your customers don't know you're open, you'll lose potential customers. This is why you need to specify on your Google My Business listing when you are closing or changing your opening hours exceptionally. On public holidays, for example, or in the event of technical problems.

If you don't indicate on your business listing that your opening times remain unchanged, or if you don't modify them, Google will display "opening times are subject to change" on public holidays.

This indication deters potential customers and signals to the algorithm that you're unreliable!

5. Update information on all platforms

Customers search for a restaurant on Google, but also on other platforms such as TheFork, TripAdvisor, Yellow Pages...

As for the Google algorithm, it will always highlight a restaurant that seems "popular", and therefore, referenced in the essential platforms.

It's essential that your restaurant's information page shows the same, up-to-date information on all the directories where it exists. So as not to create any doubt in the minds of Internet users, and not to let the Google algorithm decide that you're unreliable. If your hours or your name differ by a second or a comma from one site to another, including the Google My Business listing, Google will penalize your ranking.

6. Define your restaurant's keywords

But what do we mean by "keywords"? These are the terms used by Internet users to formulate their search on engines such as Google. For you, these words define your offer and location.

Examples: "italian restaurant paris 6" "best mafé paris" "open brunch wednesday" etc.

‍Tomake your restaurant stand out, you therefore need to position yourself at the top of search results on the words used by your potential customers.

How to choose the best keywords? Your keywords must vary to cover not only your restaurant category, offer, concept, specificities, type of cuisine, flagship dishes, but also your location, neighborhood, metro station, monuments... But they must also have a high search frequency to reach as many Internet users as possible.

Searches can also vary according to the season, key dates in the year, trends... Work on different keywords according to these criteria.

To make the right choice, you need to put yourself in the customer's shoes! Before the summer, you should focus your SEO work on searches related to, for example, "terrace restaurant", "aperitif", "aperol spritz", "rooftop"... when in winter searches turn more to "covered terraces", "hot drinks", "comfort food", "fireplace", "raclette"... The same goes for key dates in the year, such as Valentine's Day, Halloween or soccer matches, which trigger a spike in searches.

As our latest Malou study shows, there is a seasonal pattern to keyword searches. To be visible at the right time on keywords specific to a season, a period of the year or a fixed date in the calendar, you need to anticipate your SEO work. For example: work on "terrace" as early as March.

7. Write a strategic restaurant description

On your Google My Business page (Google Business Profile), you can add a short description of your establishment and your offers. This description is important not only for attracting visitors, but also for your local SEO.

The description must contain the keywords that define your restaurant, without becoming exaggerated, in order to move up in search results.

8. Include all Call To Actions to convert via Google My Business

You need to turn your Google My Business listing into a conversion lever. To do this, it's essential to facilitate the customer's purchasing process. You need to make the path to what they're looking for as short as possible, before they change their minds: reservation site, takeaway or delivery interfaces, etc. Your restaurant's Google My Business listing invites you to include the links that will lead the surfer to convert into a customer.

9. Add your updated menu

Google Business Profile has developed a feature dedicated to restaurant menus. After all, a large proportion of Internet users want to know about the restaurant's Food and Beverage offer before they visit. Integrating your menu, thanks to this special tab, keeps customers on your page and facilitates conversion. To optimize your restaurant's menu, Lightspeed provides free, customizable templates here.

10. Opt for instant messaging and create a point of contact

In addition to specifying the restaurant's telephone number, you can activate a new point of contact with customers via your business card. Don't miss out!

This contact button allows visitors to ask you a question, make a special reservation, and you to create a link with them. Personalize your automatic welcome message to make it as attractive as possible. An interesting feature, provided the message volume remains reasonable!

11. Publish regular Google posts

Still little-known among restaurateurs, Google posts are an excellent way of boosting the visibility of your establishment. 

In this way, you demonstrate an active presence to the Google algorithm, which rewards you by improving your position. These posts also represent a strategic place to include keywords, and thus work on your local SEO. Last but not least, they inform Internet users of your news, and invite them to make decisions.

12. Vary post types

Are you publishing an offer, a new product or an event?

‍Choosethe objective of your publication to refine your content and best meet consumer expectations.

For each type, certain action buttons are required. The Offers post type automatically includes the "Display offer" action button. These posts can be found in the Updates tab, when the Event posts appear in the Overview of your establishment file.

13. Share visual content

Visual content is still the most convincing, especially in the restaurant sector. Photos and videos attract consumers' attention, arouse their curiosity, make them want to visit your restaurant. It's also the most obvious element on your Google My Business listing (Google Business Profile).

Did you know? Your menu photo is the most consulted of all photos on your Google carousel! So add a regularly updated photo of your menu.

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The restaurant's logo, important for anchoring your brand in consumers' memories, and its cover photo are located at the very top of your page.NB: Renaming your photos with your keywords before including them in your GMB posts benefits your SEO. But how do you take attractive photos of your venue and its offerings without being a professional? In this article, we give you our tips, which are within everyone's reach.

14. Reply to all customer reviews

Whether positive or negative, you must respond to all your customer reviews!

Learn how to your customer reviews in our comprehensive guide.

Because 82% of Internet users read customer reviews before making their decision, and 93% of them consult the responses. You'll also improve your local referencing.

And yes: responding to all your customer reviews sends positive signals back to the Google algorithm.

The latest Malou study, carried out in 2024, shows that restaurants that work on their establishment sheet have 2.3 times more customer reviews.

15. Invite customers to leave a review

As mentioned above, reviews are decisive for your local SEO. The more reviews you collect, the more reliable the algorithm considers your restaurant to be, and the higher your Google My Business listing will rise in the search results. So don't hesitate to implement certain techniques to encourage your customers to leave you a review.

Example: generate a QR code that redirects directly to the "Leave a review" section, to be displayed in your restaurant (on tables, in restrooms, etc.).

NB: To generate a QR code, log on to your restaurant's GMB page, copy and paste your link here and print out your Customer Reviews QR code! (Please note: click on download and wait, without creating an account).

👇 The whole process is explained on video in our latest webinar "How to reach your first 1,000 customer reviews"!

16. Track your performance

Google keeps you informed of the performance of your Google My Business listing (Google Business Profile). You can track how customers discovered or searched for your restaurant, which action buttons were used, how many times your photos were viewed, etc.

Essential elements for working in depth and improving the effectiveness of your form.

How easy would it be to manage your company file?

Today, it's important not only to have an online presence, but also to work on it. It's not enough just to create a listing for your restaurant, you also have to get it to the top of the search results to make yourself known to customers! It's a job that takes time and knowledge. To help you, we've developed the MalouApp, an all-in-one solution that guides you every step of the way, day after day, to position your GMB listing in the top search results for your keywords. The MalouApp not only supports you in your local SEO, but also helps you boost your brand awareness on social media. We'll show you all the features of this unique solution here!