Top 9 Benefits of Having A Google My Business for Your Restaurant
Google has become an integral part of our lives. For anything to everything, the dependency on google has increased tremendously. For all the unanswered questions, we rely on “google” for the right guidance.
Google Maps, Google Pay, Gmail are some of the most common services that are availed by many. When you include Google My Business (GMB) to spread the word about your restaurant, the profile gets integrated with the rest of the google apps.
When you “Google It” to find more benefits about listing your profile on Google My Business, you will find that five billion searches happen on Google every day. For sure, it has become the one-stop destination for all the needs of advertising and marketing business.
For all the new restaurant owners who are thinking about where to start advertising their services, the online medium has taken over word-of-mouth advertising. To gain popularity, you may consider investing your time and ideas for visibility using Google My Business.
Why Create Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free online tool that helps small businesses set up their listings on Google Maps. You need to register or create a Google My Business page wherein all the details about your restaurant are keyed in. This helps in the keyword search.
When diners search for nearby restaurants, your restaurant pops up in Google Search with an integrated Google Maps option. This helps in better informing customers about key details of your restaurant.
What can Google do for Your Restaurant Business?
- It helps you to engage with diners online
- Helps form a loyalty club
- Increased online presence of your business
- And, ultimately, attract new diners to your restaurant
9 Reasons Your Restaurant Business Should be on GMB
The millennials have started searching and ordering good food with their smart devices. The restaurants listed on the internet are flashed the very moment their keywords are searched on Google. GMB helps your restaurant to be seen on the digital platform.
You may find the list of benefits that Google My Business offers:
1. Cost-Effective:
Google is a free service portal that has so many features to rely on. And the icing on the cake is it offers all these high-end services for free. Many websites charge you a rental on a monthly or yearly basis for showcasing your products and description.
The Google My Business (GMB) profile helps your customers have an insight into your business without any charges. Your basic details such as phone number, address, business hours, reviews, ratings, and more are displayed online. This helps the customers access various aspects of your restaurant, and thus they decide on their pickup. All these details are shared with a click. GMB helps your business grow as it improves visibility and increases accessibility through the digital world.
2. Visibility on Google Maps:
The widespread use of Google Maps for navigation has helped many locals and travelers reach their destinations quickly and safely. This is also practiced while planning for an eat-out. The restaurants that are easily accessible with easy navigation are the most preferred ones. Thus, giving your details on GMB can help the diners locate you while they key-in searches.
3. Get Listed on Google’s Local “3-pack”
The major attraction of owning a GMB profile is the attention that you garner. The profiles created on GMB appear in the local “3-pack” area and on the Google Maps search results too.
For example, when you search for a restaurant on Google, the first three listings are reserved for Google Adwords, otherwise known as “paid search.” Next, you will see a map with three local results highlighted (hence the name “3-pack”), followed by “organic” results.
Get your GMB profile listed under the local 3-pack of search terms which will help you get new customers. Getting your restaurant listed on a 3-pack is affordable when compared to paid promotions on various websites. A highly optimized GMB profile will make your business appear in the top Google searches.
4. Live Chat with Customers:
Google my business has introduced a new feature that lets you chat with your clients who find your business online. This helps the customer to interact with you, and you get the opportunity to help the customer in every possible way.
It is very simple to get this feature added to your GMB profile. Once the feature is turned ON, you are connected and start receiving messages. These messages can be received through SMS or via Google’s messaging app, Allo.
5. Video:
Videos are the best way to establish authority and have a more practical approach in delivering your message. You can connect on an emotional level with your audience. It has far superior results when compared to the content messages.
Videos can quickly showcase your services and food items. The video can be a random one shot in your restaurant by your diners or you. This gives more weightage as it shows how your customers are enjoying the place.
Don’t forget to upload the video to your GMB profile and ensure the video holds relevance to your business. Google pulls down the video in case it doesn’t sound relevant to your restaurant. It’s good practice to read through Google’s business video guidelines to ensure a safe upload.
The guidelines to follow while making a video in Google my Business;
- The video length should not exceed 30 seconds.
- The Max File size of Video: 100 MB
- Min Resolution of Video: 720p
- Videos are included in your Google Posts, Events, Offers, and Products.
6. Menu Listing:
Every restaurant is known for the food it has to offer. Millennials keep a tab on the restaurants that provide unique and exciting food. Updating your menu consistently may seem like a herculean task!
Fret not; the GMP profiles make it more straightforward as you can edit your menu on the go. With the help of the menu editor, you can create and edit the menu. It also allows you to add and edit titles, descriptions, and price-list.
You may also list the menu under different categories such as desserts, beverages, appetizers, and more.
7. Menu Highlights:
You may advertise the weekly menu highlight that you plan to offer your diners. Including a video or a photo can make it more appealing. You may also consider giving a 100-300 word description and call to action button on the items listed on menu-highlight.
8. GMB Heat Map Insights
This feature of GMB offers more transparency to the restaurant owners. It shows the most popular areas from where people ask Google Maps for directions to your address. The map provides the total number of requests which can be broken down by city or nearby area. It also lets you zoom in and out. This helps you in planning your restaurant expansion in the future.
9. Google Offer Posts:
Google post was introduced in May 2018 and allows you to do an array of things like sharing promotional offers, events, news, updates, etc. These updates are seen in Google search and can reach your customers with ease.
The google posts are free, and hence you are free to share as many posts as you like. This is an excellent opportunity for you to take advantage of this free feature, which otherwise would be paid like Pay-Per-Click Ads.
Points you can add in your offer posts:
- Promotion Title
- The date and time
- A Call to Action button such as “View offer”
- Photo or video
- Coupon Code
- Link
- Notifications
- Terms and conditions
Try using high-resolution images to grab the attention of your customers. Choose a title that is catchy and resonates with the diner. Have a short description where the length is not more than 150-300 characters. Include the call to action like “Call,” “Order Now,” “Reserve,” etc.
Bottom Line
The online presence of your restaurant has become the most crucial aspect of the business. You can avail the best results by incorporating the benefits mentioned above. Make the most of the features available on GMB profile to get your business swinging. Hungry diners will have all the information they are looking for and place an order by clicking on their device.