RESTAURANT MARKETING
Get more from your restaurant on Google
From being found to a booked table: 7 practical ways to make your Google profile work harder for your restaurant.
Published by team FRANK • 8-minute read
“A nice restaurant for tonight.” A short search. But behind it is someone about to make a decision. Where should we eat? Does it suit the occasion? What’s on the menu? And can we still get a table?
Your Google profile helps answer those questions. Often before someone has even visited your website.
Yet many restaurants only give their profile attention when a review comes in or their opening hours change. Even though it’s an important first introduction to your restaurant.
How do you turn that introduction into a reservation? By getting three things right: being found, giving guests a reason to choose you, and making booking easy.
Make it clear who your restaurant is right for
A guest looking for a quick lunch needs different information from someone planning a long dinner. Your profile should therefore say more than simply that you’re a restaurant.
Start with your primary business category. Choose the most specific category that accurately describes your restaurant. Only add extra categories if they genuinely match what you offer.
Then use your description to make your concept clear.
“A unique culinary experience in an inviting setting” sounds fine, but says very little. Guests can picture something more clearly with: “A neighbourhood bistro in Rotterdam-West serving seasonal dishes, with an extensive wine list and a sunny terrace. Join us for lunch, drinks or a leisurely dinner.”
Mention your cuisine, location and what makes your restaurant distinctive. Add relevant attributes too, such as outdoor seating or vegetarian options, where Google makes these available.
Google bases local search results partly on relevance, distance and prominence. Complete, accurate information helps Google understand which searches your restaurant is relevant to. It does not guarantee a higher ranking.
Read your description without your restaurant’s name. Is it still clear what makes your place special? If not, make it more specific.
Remove uncertainty before a guest has to call
You can have an appealing menu and beautiful photos. But if someone doesn’t know whether you’re open on Sunday, there’s still a reason to look elsewhere.
Check the information guests use to plan their visit:
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Are your address, phone number and website correct?
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Are your regular and special opening hours accurate?
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Is it clear when guests can have lunch or dinner?
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Do your menu and reservation links work?
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Does the information match your website?
Pay extra attention to public holidays, holidays and changes to service times.
A restaurant that appears open on Google but is closed when guests arrive starts the experience with disappointment.
Google advises restaurants to list the hours when guests can actually sit down to eat.
Take action: ask someone on your team to look up your restaurant as if they were visiting for the first time. Give them one task: “Plan dinner for this Sunday.” Where do questions arise?
Use your photos to show the experience you offer
Your guests are booking more than a dish. They’re choosing an atmosphere too.
Is your restaurant right for a date? A business lunch? A relaxed evening with friends? Your photos can make that clear without anyone having to read a long description.
Put together a small, carefully chosen selection of images:
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The space: show what it feels like to spend time in your restaurant.
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The dishes: show what guests can actually order.
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The people: bring your hospitality and team into the picture.
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The exterior: make your entrance easy to recognise.
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The terrace: show it if it’s part of what you offer.
Google recommends interior, exterior, and food and drink photos, among others, to help guests get a feel for your restaurant.
What you can do right now
Our tip: assess your photos by the expectations they create. An empty room under bright cleaning lights tells a different story from the same room during a warm, lively dinner service.
And a dish that hasn’t been on the menu for months won’t help a guest make today’s choice.
Take action: look at the first photos that appear on your phone. Do they reflect the experience you want to offer your guests? Add what’s missing.
Give your menu a clear place
A guest has found your restaurant. They like the atmosphere. Then comes the next question: what can we eat, and how much does it cost?
Make that information easy to find.
Google gives restaurants ways to add menu information, including dishes, descriptions and prices. The options available depend on your profile and how your menu is managed.
At the very least, provide an up-to-date menu link that works well on mobile. Link directly to the menu so guests don’t have to search through your homepage first.
Pay attention to practical details. Are the prices easy to read? Is it clear which menu applies to lunch or dinner? Is a temporary menu still online even though it’s no longer available?
Make your concept clear too. Do you only serve a set menu? Say so. Do you offer both à la carte dishes and a set menu? Help guests understand the difference.
Take action: open your menu through Google on your phone. Can you easily decide what you’d like to order and roughly how much you’ll spend?
Make reviews part of your guest communication
Reviews give future guests a glimpse of other people’s experiences. Your response then shows how you treat your guests.
Ask for honest feedback at a consistent point after the visit. Make your responses personal.
Does someone mention a great wine recommendation? Respond to that. Was the wait too long? Acknowledge their experience and, where relevant, explain how you’re addressing it.
What you can do right now
Read reviews as feedback for your restaurant too. Repeated comments about the welcome, pace of service or explanation of the menu may highlight something that needs attention.
Take action: agree on who checks reviews and when. That makes responding a regular task, rather than something that depends on whoever happens to see the notification.
Turn searches straight into reservations
Your profile has done its job. The guest wants to visit.
Now you want them to be able to book immediately.
With Reserve with Google, guests can book directly through Google at participating restaurants. Google supports this through connected reservation providers.
With FRANK’s Google integration, guests choose their date, time and party size through Google. The reservation appears automatically in FRANK.
For guests, that means a short journey from searching to a confirmed table. For your team, it means the booking appears alongside your other reservations.
This makes Google a place where guests can both discover your restaurant and book their visit.
Measure what your profile delivers
The number of times your profile is viewed only tells part of the story. You also want to know what actions follow.
Depending on the available features, your Google Business Profile performance data can show searches, website clicks, direction requests and completed bookings. A click on the call button does not prove a conversation took place, and a direction request does not confirm a restaurant visit.
Review the same figures each month and record what you’ve changed. For example, a new selection of photos, an updated menu or the activation of your booking integration.
Then compare periods, taking holidays, public holidays and seasonal demand into account. More bookings after a change are interesting, but don’t prove that the change caused the increase.
Where possible, also look at the number of guests behind those reservations. Ten bookings for two people mean something different for your service than ten bookings for six.
Take action: create a simple monthly overview of profile views, available guest actions and bookings. Note the improvements you made alongside the figures.
Where should you start?
You don’t have to tackle your entire profile at once. Start with the biggest obstacle for your guests.
Is your information incorrect? Update that first. Is your menu hard to find? Make it easy to access. Do your photos give little sense of your restaurant? Add better images. Can guests find you but still not book directly? Review your booking options.
A strong Google profile makes choosing easier. It shows guests what to expect and helps them take the next step.
Being found is great. Getting booked straight away is even better.
With FRANK’s Google integration, guests book directly through Google. Their reservation appears automatically in FRANK.
