The Google Business Profile checklist every restaurant should run today
6 min read
Google is the #1 driver of first-time diners walking through your door — but only if your profile is clean.
Here's the checklist we run on every discovery call:
1. **Business name** — exactly matches your storefront. No "— Best Pizza in Town" keyword stuffing (Google penalizes this). 2. **Primary category** — the most specific one that fits. "Neapolitan pizza restaurant" beats "Pizza restaurant" beats "Restaurant". 3. **Secondary categories** — up to 9. Add every service you offer (delivery, catering, private dining). 4. **Hours** — including holidays. Wrong hours = a bad review waiting to happen. 5. **Address + service area** — matches your other listings exactly (down to the "St" vs "Street"). 6. **Phone number** — the one you actually answer. 7. **Website** — HTTPS. Fast. Mobile-first. 8. **Menu link** — direct to your live menu, not a PDF from 2019. 9. **Ordering link** — direct to your own ordering, not DoorDash. This is a fee difference of ~$8 per order. 10. **Photos** — 20+ recent, well-lit, real. Not stock food shots. 11. **Attributes** — outdoor seating, kid-friendly, dogs welcome, LGBTQ+ friendly, etc. 12. **Q&A** — answer the top 5 questions yourself before someone else does.
Bonus: post to your profile weekly (specials, events). It's basically free ad space Google rewards.