Drive Consumers from Phone to Fork with Google Menus

For brands in the restaurant business, Google just got even more influential.

Starting today, you'll be able to show up in Google's search results, not only when consumers look for your brand, but when they look for a type of food you offer on your menu (pancakes, anyone?).

Rank For "Pancakes" — But How?

With this update, you're no longer limited to information like business name, business description, and business attributes for keywords. So if you offer pancakes on your menu, it's possible to rank for an unbranded food search like "pancakes near me" in the Local Pack.

This new capability lends your brand more real estate in the SERP, and actually allows consumers to**tab through your menu without ever leaving Google's search results.

My Menus Are Already On My Website. Isn't That Enough?

Hungry diners need information fast (otherwise they become hangry diners). Consumers search online for food services more than any other business category (a lot more, actually), and they're often choosing between multiple options. In fact, 84% say that when deciding between restaurants, the amount of information online has "some" or "significant" influence on the destination they ultimately choose.

You need to give consumers as much information about your restaurant, and what you're serving today, as possible — no matter which digital service they're using to search. So now that Google lets menu items serve as unbranded search terms, it's important to make sure that your menu is crawlable and up to date.

Add photos of your menu items to give consumers a peek at what it's like to dine with you.

With Yext's Google integration, you can now control and publish your brand's menu information that appears in Google's search results and Google Maps listings — directly from your Yext dashboard. These menu details optimize your brand with the exact search terms consumers are using to decide where they want to eat next.

How Do I Set up Yext to Power My Menus on Google?

The first step to controlling your menus on Google is syncing your Google My Business Account with Yext. By doing so, you'll be able to gain access to Google's API enhancements like this one the moment they're available. Google often makes updates available through the API before they appear in the standard Google My Business dashboard — so if you're still managing your GMB account manually, you may miss out on new functionality, like this, that your competitors can leverage right away.

If you're already synced with Google My Business, make sure your menus are complete and up to date by logging into your Yext Account, and heading over to the "Menus" tab in the Knowledge Manager. Or reach out to your Yext representative to get started.

*Hungry for more? **Register for our webinar***and learn how to you can start ranking for food searches like "pancakes near me."