How to Rank Higher on Google Maps: Restaurant Edition

"Restaurants near me" is one of the most searched phrases on Google. Millions of times every day, hungry people ask Google to find them somewhere to eat. If you're not in the top 3 results (the "local pack"), you're invisible to most of these potential customers.

The Local Pack Reality

70% of searchers click one of the top 3 local results
28% of local searches result in a purchase within 24 hours
46% of all Google searches have local intent
Position #4+ requires clicking "More places" - most people don't

How Google Ranks Local Businesses

Google's local ranking algorithm considers three main factors:

1. Relevance: How well your business matches the search query. A search for "Thai food" won't surface your Italian restaurant.
2. Distance: How close you are to the searcher's location. You can't change this, but you can optimize for nearby suburb searches.
3. Prominence: How well-known and trusted your business is. This is where most of the work happens.

You can't move your restaurant, but you can dramatically improve relevance and prominence.

Step 1: Claim and Verify Your Google Business Profile

This is the foundation. If you haven't claimed your profile at business.google.com, do it today.

Verification usually requires Google to mail a postcard to your address with a PIN. Takes 1-2 weeks. Some businesses qualify for phone or email verification.

Step 2: Complete Every Section of Your Profile

Incomplete profiles rank lower. Period. Fill out every field Google provides:

Essential Information

✓ Business name: Exact legal name, no keyword stuffing
✓ Address: Exactly as it appears elsewhere online
✓ Phone number: Local number, not a tracking number
✓ Hours: Including special hours for holidays
✓ Website: Your actual domain

Attributes

✓ Outdoor seating, WiFi, wheelchair accessible, etc.
✓ Payment methods accepted
✓ Service options (dine-in, takeaway, delivery)
✓ Health and safety measures

Profile Completion Tip

Google tells you your completion percentage in the Business Profile dashboard. Aim for 100%. Profiles with all sections completed get 7x more clicks than incomplete ones.

Step 3: Add High-Quality Photos

Businesses with photos get 42% more requests for directions and 35% more click-throughs to websites. Quality matters.

Photo Types to Include

• Cover photo: Your best exterior or signature dish shot
• Logo: Clear, recognizable, sized properly
• Interior photos: Multiple angles, shows ambiance
• Exterior photos: Helps people find you
• Food photos: Your best dishes, professionally styled if possible
• Team photos: Humanizes your business

Photo Technical Requirements

• Format: JPG or PNG
• Size: Between 10KB and 5MB
• Resolution: 720px minimum on shortest side
• No stock photos, watermarks, or heavy filters

Step 4: Get More (and Better) Reviews

Reviews are the biggest ranking factor you can influence. More reviews + higher ratings = higher rankings. Simple as that.

• Quantity matters: Restaurants with 100+ reviews outrank those with 20
• Recency matters: New reviews signal an active business
• Rating matters: 4.5+ stars is the sweet spot
• Responses matter: Respond to every review, positive or negative

Read our full guide on getting more Google reviews for detailed strategies.

Step 5: Post Regular Updates

Google Business Profile has a Posts feature that many restaurants ignore. That's an opportunity for you.

Types of Posts

• What's New: General updates, new dishes, news
• Events: Live music, special dinners, holiday events
• Offers: Discounts, specials, promotions

Post at least weekly. Posts expire after 7 days (except events). Include a photo and call-to-action. This signals to Google that you're an active, engaged business.

Step 6: Manage Your Q&A

Google Business Profile has a Q&A section where anyone can ask (and answer) questions. This is often overlooked - and abused by competitors.

• Monitor it regularly - Get notifications when new questions appear
• Answer quickly - Before wrong information spreads
• Seed common questions - You can ask and answer your own FAQs
• Report spam - Competitors sometimes post misleading Qs/As

Step 7: Build Citations (NAP Consistency)

NAP = Name, Address, Phone number. Google cross-references your information across the web. Inconsistent information hurts rankings.

Key Citation Sources for Restaurants

• Yelp
• TripAdvisor
• Facebook
• Zomato (Australia)
• Yellow Pages / True Local
• Industry directories
• Local business associations

Ensure your NAP is exactly the same everywhere. "123 Main St" vs "123 Main Street" vs "123 Main St." - pick one format and use it consistently.

Step 8: Your Website Matters

Your Google Business Profile links to your website. Google crawls that website. A well-optimized website supports your local rankings.

✓ Local keywords: Include your suburb/city naturally in page titles, headings, content
✓ NAP on every page: Footer should have consistent name, address, phone
✓ Embedded Google Map: Shows Google you're legitimate
✓ Schema markup: LocalBusiness and Restaurant schema helps Google understand your business
✓ Mobile-friendly: 60%+ of local searches are mobile
✓ Fast loading: Slow sites hurt rankings

Local SEO Schema Example

Your website should include structured data that tells Google exactly what you are:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Restaurant",
  "name": "Your Restaurant Name",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "123 Main Street",
    "addressLocality": "Brisbane",
    "addressRegion": "QLD",
    "postalCode": "4000"
  },
  "servesCuisine": "Thai",
  "priceRange": "$$"
}

Step 9: Get Local Backlinks

Links from other local websites signal to Google that you're a trusted local business.

• Local food bloggers reviewing your restaurant
• Local news coverage
• Chamber of commerce listings
• Sponsorships of local events/sports teams
• Partnerships with local suppliers mentioned on their sites

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Keyword stuffing your business name: "Joe's Pizza - Best Pizza Melbourne CBD Cheap Pizza" will get your listing suspended
❌ Fake reviews: Google is very good at detecting these. Penalties are severe.
❌ Wrong category: Being in the wrong primary category tanks rankings
❌ Duplicate listings: Multiple profiles for the same business confuse Google
❌ Ignoring negative reviews: Response rate affects rankings
❌ Inconsistent hours: Especially holiday hours - leads to bad customer experience

Want Help With Local SEO?

DishROI optimizes Google Business Profiles and builds websites designed for local search. We'll help you get into that top 3 local pack.

Get Your Free Local SEO Audit

Action Checklist

✓ Claim and verify your Google Business Profile
✓ Complete 100% of your profile sections
✓ Upload 20+ high-quality photos
✓ Set up a review collection system
✓ Respond to all reviews within 24 hours
✓ Post weekly updates
✓ Audit and fix NAP consistency across the web
✓ Optimize your website for local SEO
✓ Add schema markup to your site

The Bottom Line

Ranking in the Google Maps local pack isn't rocket science, but it does require consistent effort. Most restaurants do the minimum - claim their profile and wait. That's an opportunity for you.

Complete your profile. Get reviews. Post updates. Build citations. Over time, you'll climb the rankings - and every position higher means more customers finding you instead of your competition.

Start today. Spend 30 minutes completing your Google Business Profile. That's the foundation everything else builds on.