16 Google tips: getting your restaurant listing to rank #1

46% of Google searches are local, and 55% of clicks go to the top 3 organic results. So, how can you position your restaurant in the top 3 search results related to your business?

Your restaurant’s Google My Business (GMB) listing represents its digital storefront. It’s the way to make your restaurant visible to many people searching for a place to eat. 8 out of 10 customers search online for a restaurant. If your GMB listing doesn’t appear to them, they won’t be able to know about you. This page not only allows you to attract customers for free, but also to provide them with information, interact with them, and improve your local SEO. So, how can you make your restaurant appear in the searches of your target customers and benefit from your Google My Business listing?

You need to work on your local SEO on a daily basis, but especially optimize your Google My Business listing. We give you 16 tips to increase your chances.

Good SEO largely depends on effective keyword research. For more details on what keywords are and how to use them, we invite you to check our 6th tip.

1. Provide key information about your restaurant

A restaurant cannot exist without an address, a name, and opening hours. It’s obvious, but providing this information on GMB is the basic step before going further. Also, add your professional phone number and website. Don’t forget to specify the main activity of your business, which in your case is a derivative of “restaurant,” according to your specialty.

2. Add an additional restaurant category

There are over 18,000 restaurants in Paris and over 170,000 in France. You have a unique concept and identity, so let people know. Adding additional categories allows you to refine your status, differentiate yourself, and therefore position yourself more easily on specific searches.

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

3. Specify all specific restaurant attributes on your Google My Business listing

The more information customers have, the more likely you are to convert them. If they can’t find what they’re looking for quickly, you risk losing them. This is where specific attributes come in. They allow you to highlight on your Google My Business listing many elements that your restaurant offers. Whether it’s accessibility, clientele, services, health and safety, etc.

Note: These attributes change with the evolution of the restaurant, seasons, etc. For example, in the summer, you will add the “terrace” attribute if you have one.

4. Provide opening hours and exceptional closures

As mentioned in the first point, your restaurant relies on its opening hours. If the customer doesn’t know this information in real-time, they may find your establishment closed. On the other hand, if your clientele doesn’t know that you’re open, you lose potential customers. Therefore, you need to specify on your Google My Business listing when you’re closed or have exceptional changes to your hours, such as on holidays or in case of technical problems.

Note: On holidays, if you don’t indicate on your listing that your hours remain unchanged or don’t modify them if necessary, Google will display “hours may differ” to users. A hesitant customer won’t come.

5. Update information on all platforms daily

Customers search for a restaurant on Google, but also on other platforms such as La Fourchette, TripAdvisor, Pages Jaunes, etc. The informational page for your restaurant must absolutely indicate the same information, updated, on all directories where it exists. This is to avoid creating doubt among users and not let the Google algorithm declare you unreliable. If your hours or your name differ from one site to another, including your GMB listing, Google penalizes your ranking.

6. Define the keywords for your restaurant

But what do we mean by “keywords”? These are the terms used by users to search on search engines such as Google. For you, these words define your offer and location. For example: “Italian restaurant Paris 6,” “best mafé in Paris,” “brunch open Wednesday,” etc. You must therefore position yourself at the top of search results for the words used by your potential customers.

How to choose your 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, landmarks, etc. But they must also have a high search frequency to reach as many users as possible.

Note: Searches vary depending on the season, key dates of the year, trends, etc. You must work on different keywords based on these criteria.

To choose them well, you need to put yourself in the customer’s shoes! Before summer, you should concentrate your SEO work on searches related to, for example, “restaurant terrace,” “aperitif,” “Aperol Spritz,” “rooftop,” etc. In winter, searches are more focused on “covered terraces,” “hot drinks,” “comfort foods,” “fireplace,” “raclette,” etc. The same goes for key dates of the year like Valentine’s Day, Halloween, or football matches, which trigger a surge in searches.

To be visible at the right time on keywords specific to a season, a period of the year, or a fixed date on the calendar, you need to anticipate your SEO work. You can’t just appear overnight on a keyword.

7. Strategically write the restaurant description visible on its Google My Business listing

On your Google My Business listing, you have the option to add a short description of your establishment and your offers. This description is important to attract internet users but also a strategic place for your local SEO. This expression space should contain the keywords that define your restaurant without becoming exaggerated, in order to rank higher in search results.

8. Include all Call to Action to convert through your Google My Business listing

You need to make your Google My Business listing a conversion lever. And to do that, making the customer’s purchase process as easy as possible is essential. You need to make the path as short as possible to what they’re looking for before they change their mind: reservation website, takeout ordering interfaces, delivery, etc. Your restaurant’s Google My Business listing invites you to include links that lead the user to convert into a customer.

9. Add your updated menu

Google My Business has developed a feature dedicated to the restaurant menu. Because a large portion of internet users want to know the Food and Beverage offerings of the establishment before going there. So, integrating your menu, through this special tab, once again allows you to keep the customer on your page and facilitate their conversion.

Note: How to optimize your restaurant menu? Lightspeed provides free and customizable templates here.

10. Opt for instant messaging and create a contact point on your Google My Business listing

In addition to specifying the restaurant’s phone number, you can activate a new contact point with customers through your Google My Business listing. Don’t miss out! This contact button allows users to ask you a question, make a special reservation, and for you to create a connection with them. Customize your welcome automatic message to make it as attractive as possible.

Note: An interesting function provided that the message volume remains reasonable!

11. Regularly post on your Google My Business listing

It is important to regularly update your Google My Business listing with posts. For several reasons: you show Google’s algorithm an active presence, which it rewards by improving your position. These posts also represent a strategic place to include keywords and work on your local SEO. Posts that inform users of your news and encourage them to make decisions.

Note: GMB posts allow you to feed your restaurant’s image content on Google. Decisive images in the selection process for internet users

12. Vary the types of GMB posts

Are you posting an offer, a new item, or an event? Choose the goal of your post to refine your content and meet the expectations of consumers. For each type, certain call-to-action buttons are necessary. The Offer post type automatically includes the “View offer” button. These posts appear in the Updates tab, while Event posts appear in the Overview of your Google My Business listing.

13. Share visual content

Visual content is still the most convincing, especially for the restaurant industry. Photos and videos attract more attention from consumers, pique their curiosity, make them want to try your restaurant, and transport them there mentally. It is also the most prominent element on your Google My Business listing. The restaurant logo, which is important for anchoring your brand in the minds of consumers, as well as its cover photo, are located at the top of your page.

Note: 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 offerings without being a professional? We provide our tips accessible to everyone in this article.

14. Respond to all customer reviews collected on your Google My Business listing

You should respond to all of your customer reviews. Responding to both positive and negative reviews is essential to show your gratitude, understand the customer’s experience, and reflect a positive image of your establishment. This is because 82% of Internet users read customer reviews before making a decision, and 93% of them read the responses. You will also improve your local SEO. Responding to all of your reviews sends positive signals to the Google algorithm.

15. Invite customers to leave a review

As mentioned above, reviews are decisive for your local SEO. The more reviews you receive, the more the algorithm considers your restaurant trustworthy, and the higher your Google My Business listing appears in search results. So don’t hesitate to implement certain techniques to encourage your customers to leave a review. Generate a QR code that redirects directly to the “Leave a review” section, place it in your restaurant or on your digital menu, send an SMS or email after your customers’ visit…

NB: To generate a QR code, log in to your restaurant’s GMB page, copy and paste your link here, and print your customer review QR code! (Note: click on download and wait without creating an account)

16. Track Your Performance

Google provides you with information on the performance of your Google My Business listing. You can track how customers discovered or searched for your restaurant, which call-to-action button was used, the number of times your photos were viewed, and more. These are essential elements for working in-depth and improving the effectiveness of your listing.

And what if managing your GMB listing became child’s play?

Today, it’s not enough to just have an online presence, but also to work on that presence. Simply creating a GMB page for your restaurant is not enough. You need to make it appear at the top of search results to make yourself known to customers. This requires time and knowledge of the Google My Business tool.

To help you out, we have developed MalouApp, an all-in-one solution that guides you at every step and on a daily basis to position your GMB listing in the top search results for your keywords. MalouApp not only helps with your local SEO but also helps boost your visibility on social media. We detail all the features of this unique solution here.