Blog / November 13, 2020
How to Optimize Your Restaurant’s Ranking in Google Maps
Mikayla Walzog
One of the most common ways that customers find nearby restaurants is by running the following search: “X restaurant near me”, where X stands for a type of cuisine. Search volume numbers back this up. Here are the following average monthly volumes in the United States of “near me” searches for some of the most popular types of cuisine: “Mexican restaurant near me” – 114,000 monthly searches “Chinese restaurant near me” – 85,000 monthly searches “Italian restaurant near me” – 60,000 monthly searches “Indian restaurant near me” – 58,000 monthly searches While a searcher’s location and proximity to certain restaurants partially determines what restaurants come up for a “near me” search, there are other determining factors that a restaurant owner can control. Here is a rundown of what you can do to rank your restaurant well for “near me” searches.
What does Google display for “near me” searches?
Before we go into how to rank well for “near me”, we must first look at what the search engine displays when someone makes this type of search. Here is what is shown when someone searches: “Indian restaurant near me” (in this instance the searcher is in London).Claim and Complete your Google My Business Listing
When Google displays its map in response to a search, the embedded features that it displays are the Google My Business profiles of relevant businesses. This means that if your restaurant does not have a Google My Business profile, then you have zero chance of appearing on the map. Claiming your Google My Business listing is a necessity to have any presence in a “near me” search. Here is how you do it:- Set up a Google account – this is the same process as setting up a Gmail account.
- Go to the Google My Business setup page.
- Fill out your restaurant’s name, address, phone number, and any other details that are asked.
- Google will send a postcard to your location with a numerical code on it to verify your location. When this arrives, use the code to complete your listing.
- A link to your website
- A link to your menu
- A link to your reservation and ordering platforms
- Photos of your restaurant and food
- A bio of your restaurant
- Tags and keywords that describe the type of food you serve
Create citations of your business and ensure these are consistent
To further confirm that your restaurant is at the location stated on your Google My Business profile, Google’s algorithm looks for other instances on the internet of its name, address and phone number (NAP). You should therefore try to create citations of your NAP where possible. The best places to create these citations are on directory sites, like Yelp, Foursquare, and Zomato. When creating these, you must ensure that the instances of your NAP are consistent across the various platforms. Google will treat “Albert Street” and “Albert St” as different locations, creating confusion as to where your restaurant is located, and making it less prominent on the map. Older citations should be reviewed for inconsistencies. This is as important as creating new ones. Some directories require a small annual payment in order to be listed. It’s generally well worth paying for these to get an additional NAP citation, particularly if there are lots of other restaurants in your local area competing for online visibility.Maximizing the click-through rate of your map listing
Click-through rate refers to how often your restaurant’s profile is compared to the other profiles in the map listing. You should look to maximize your click-through rate for two reasons.- If your profile is clicked more often than your competitors’ for a specific search, Google will see this as a signal that your profile is the most fitting result for that search and it will then be given more prominence.
- Maximizing click-through rate will allow you to have more visitors (and business) from the same amount of traffic.
- Add links to your menu, reservations and online ordering platform to your Google My Business listing. These will show up in a search and will make it as easy as possible for a searcher to find what they are looking for.
- Collect as many Google Reviews as possible. These reviews are shown on your listing, and a higher number of good reviews will attract more people to click on your listing.