Google Maps: 7 features for restaurants!

Google has recently announced new features for its popular Maps application. The conclusion is clear: the most famous of maps is taking on the appearance of a social network. It is becoming a more indispensable platform than ever for restaurants and local businesses in their customer acquisition strategy.

Today, 86% of people search for a business location on Google Maps. With over a million integrations of its Maps on third-party sites Google has succeeded in making its tool ubiquitous on the web. While the most famous of maps has long been used to help Internet users find their way around, in recent months it has undergone an unprecedented transformation, adding several new strings to its bow. At a time when Google has just announced the closure of Google+ to private users, Google Maps is taking on more and more the appearance of a social network. In a world dominated by just a handful of players (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and LinkedIn), Google seems to be banking this time on a tool with an already sizeable audience. So, whileInstagram has developed a shopping function within its platform, and Facebook has enhanced local business pages and created a platform enabling brands to find influencers, Google Maps is surfing on this trend and is also working to encourage exchanges between businesses and potential customers. The goal? So, what changes have been announced or already implemented that make Google Maps a more interesting platform than ever for this type of establishment, especially restaurants? What codes do they borrow from social media ? 7 new Maps features have been announced by Google. They have two main aims: some of them are designed to make it easier for Internet users to discover places, and thushelp restaurateurs acquire new customers ; while others are designed to enable customers to keep up to date with news about their favorite places, and thus, at the same time,help restaurants retain customers they've already won over.

I) Acquire new customers with new Google Maps features

Before looking at the latest news from Google Maps, let's take a look at how it works. This tool is used by both private individuals and professionals. Individuals have direct access to the map, on which they can navigate with ease, and on which they can find geolocated businesses near them or in an area they plan to visit, such as restaurants, bars or stores...For these places to be visible on Google Maps, their managers had to create what's known as a Google My Business listing, in which they provided all the information a customer would need: opening hours, address, telephone number, photos, menu... It's these listings that web users unknowingly consult when they click on a location on the map, such as Les Pinces below.

These listings have several advantages: not only do they enable businesses to be visible on the most famous of maps, they also, when well optimized, enable them to appear in the first results of Google queries associated with their keywords. For example, when an Internet user searches for a tapas restaurant in San Francisco, the first result to appear is the Google My Business listing for our client Bask. To understand this SEO logic, take a look at this this articleIn otherwords, optimizing this listing is essential for good visibility on the Internet. But it's becoming even more important with the changes Google is making to Google Maps, which tend to make the tool more useful than ever for restaurants, and which will make these listings even more visible than they are today. Let's find out why:

1) A new "for you" tab that borrows codes from Tinder

The application has redoubled its efforts to help users find places that match their expectations. An exciting new tool has been introduced: the "for you" button. This new addition to Google Maps allows users to check at a glance whether the place they're looking for is likely to be of interest to them. To achieve this, Google Maps uses machine learning: the platform gathers information from comments / reviews / ratings previously left on places the user has visited, as well as from answers to a questionnaire the visitor is invited to complete on first use. The user is then asked to give his or her opinion in a single click on the places described (do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there, do they make him or her want to go there? Does he like seafood? Does he eat meat? ...). All this information enables Google Maps to get an idea of the user's tastes, and to indicate the potential for satisfaction of each restaurant whose details are consulted.

In other words, Google Maps indicates whether or not there is a "match" between the user and the location consulted. In the example above, users consulting the Google My Business listing for Souvia restaurant are told that the restaurant has a 98% chance of meeting their expectations. The user is even told the reasons for this high rate: according to the information gathered by the platform, the user likes healthy food and Greek cuisine.

This new feature goes even further: a "for you" button displays a list of nearby restaurants likely to meet the user's expectations. In the example above, we can see that the user is invited to give his opinion on the personalized recommendation made by the application: has he already been there? Do they want to go at a later date? Has the algorithm found the wrong match (not interested)? In short, the "for you" button enables restaurateurs to attract customers who already have an appetite for the type of cuisine they offer. By having a presence on Google Maps and properly optimizing their Google My Business listing, restaurateurs will find this tool to be an additional way of attracting their core target audience (although we'll see at the end of this article that Maps can't stand alone).

2) Share your wishlist with friends and reproduce Spotify's codes

Internet users now have several options on Maps for indicating that a place interests them: when they click on the "save" button, they are offered the choice of including it in a list of places "to visit", in their "favorites" or in personalized lists they have previously created. Once a place has been registered in one of these three categories, users can share these lists with the people of their choice, just as they would with a Spotify playlist . They can also add places of interest to their own lists by consulting them. It is also possible to make a list public, and thus share good addresses with all users of the platform.

Sharing, at the heart of the social media logic, becomes one of the essential values of Google Maps. Internet users are encouraged to share and recommend their good addresses to the Maps community.

3) Local Guides: Google Maps influencers borrowing logic from Instagram

This notion of community is more relevant than ever on Google Maps, where we're seeing the development of influencer groups. As address lists can be made public, it's logical to see the emergence of influence logics on Maps. The people who are most active on the platform, i.e. those who regularly give their opinion or write comments on the places they have visited, create recommendation lists, answer questions from web users... are highly valued by the tool.

How can we help? The platform has set up a certification system and developed a concept called "Local Guides". A points system enables it to recognize the most productive people on the platform, and to set them up as Maps guides. Thus, as shown below, a review is worth 10 points, a rating is worth 1 point, posting a photo is worth 5 points, posting a video is worth 7 points, adding a location is worth 15 points, and so on...

The various actions carried out on the map therefore have a value, and counting them enables users of the platform to reach levels of certification. Like the little blue "V" granted on Instagram to the accounts of well-known personalities, Google awards badges of different grades (eerily similar to Instagram certification) to those who become its "Local Guides". This gives them a higher profile in the Google Maps community: their opinions are pushed and have a greater impact on the app's users than others.

But the platform has gone even further: once they have reached level 4, Local Guides are given a space open to the public which resembles a Facebook profile. Here, they can write reviews of the places they've visited, post photos... These are veritable integrated mini-blogs that Google Maps has created.

Google has already created Google Guide Connect, a social network, named Forum by the platform, which enables Local Guides to exchange ideas, meet each other and share their best addresses... Users are invited to give their opinion on the publications of other members, by liking, commenting, voting for their favorite ideas... Discussions are also possible between the various participants, who are also invited to organize events to meet outside the platform.

So who knows, maybe in the near future these Guides will be paid in the same way as influencers on Instagram. Perhaps restaurateurs will be encouraged to invite them to test their restaurants and share their experience (positive or negative) with the Google Maps community. To be continued...

4) Announcement of upcoming openings

Until now, Google Maps didn't allow businesses to advertise their upcoming openings. Places under construction had to create Google My Business Listings in order to be listed on Google, but were obliged to indicate that they were closed, which wasn't entirely fair.The famous map has now remedied this:it is possible to create a Listing for a restaurant, specifying that the place has not yet opened its doors. This will let local residents know that a new space will soon be available near them, and give them the option of subscribing to it if they wish to be kept informed of its opening (see point 7).

II) Build customer loyalty with Google Maps

5) Hashtags Hashtags similar to Twitter and Instagram logic in reviews

Google announced it to Techcrunch just a few days ago: it will soon be possible to integrate hashtags into Google reviews. These clickable hashtags will make it easier to find places. For example, if a user wants to find a pizzeria, he or she will be able to search for the most relevant # for that search, and discover all the places that have been tagged in that category.It's interesting to note that Google Maps is here taking the opposite tack to Instagram, which wishes to hide the hashtags integrated within users' posts. This is due to the difference in logic between Instagram hashtags, which are most often posted by the authors of posts, and those developed by Maps, which are integrated into users' comments. The difference lies in the fact that Google Maps hashtags can be considered more authentic, because they categorize content that has not been written by the author.

6) Messenger-style messaging on Google Maps

A new "message" button will soon appear on the Google My Business listings of local businesses, alongside the "call" and "website" tabs. When Internet users click on a location, they'll see this button appear within the listing of the establishment they're visiting.

The main aim of this new feature is to enable Internet users to get in touch directly with businesses, such as restaurants, without having to leave the application. Like Messenger, they'll be able to ask any questions they like to the places they visit, and get answers quickly and easily. While this new feature will facilitate dialogue between potential customers and restaurants , it will also require a high degree of rigor on the part of the latter, who will need to ensure that any messages sent to them are not left in suspense.

7) The appearance of a "follow" button similar to Facebook's "like

Internet users can now subscribe to their favorite places to keep up to date with the latest news. Schedule changes, menu modifications... The posts published by local businesses on their Google My Business listing will therefore take on an added dimension.In addition toimprove the restaurant's of the restaurant, they will also help to maintain a dialogue with customers who have already been won over.

III) An indispensable tool... but not sufficient in itself

Updating your Google My Business listing every day has become indispensable

Optimizing a restaurant's Google My Business listing is therefore more important than ever. It's the key to gaining visibility on Google, attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. Regularly updating the information on your listing (opening hours, menu, etc.) is absolutely essential to achieving your Google Maps objectives. Respond daily to reviews left by Internet usersand respond as quickly as possible to messages sent by potential customers are just some of the reflexes that restaurateurs will have to adopt in the coming weeks.

Optimize your visibility by capitalizing on your presence on other media

But Google Maps can't stand on its own. For proof of this, just take a look at the restaurants' Google My Business listings. La Pizza d'Anita, for example, includes ratings from other platforms such as La Fourchette and Facebook.

Optimizing your Google rating won't be enough to convince potential customers, who will also be checking the ratings obtained on the main referencing platforms.Finally,to build customer loyalty and acquire new customers, it's important to position your restaurant as a modern, dynamic player.An active and thoughtful presence on social media will complement the social logic implemented on Google Maps.