One of the most important components of a restaurant’s online presence is an accurate, up-to-date menu across all platforms, from your website to third-party listings like Google, Yelp, and Facebook. For restaurant operators, keeping menus current isn’t just a matter of convenience—it’s essential to attracting and retaining customers, improving search engine rankings, and enhancing overall discoverability.

In this post, we'll cover why accurate online menus are crucial, the role they play in Google ranking factors, and how restaurants like Deschutes Brewery have seen significant benefits by partnering with Marqii to automate and optimize their menu management.

Google Ranking Factors for Restaurants

When potential customers search for restaurants online, they typically turn to platforms like Google to find the best options near them. To make sure that your restaurant appears at the top of search results, it’s necessary to know what factors influence Google rankings, especially for local search. Here are Google’s recently updated primary ranking factors for restaurants:

1. Relevance

Google’s main goal is to present search results that are relevant to users’ queries. For restaurants, relevance is determined by how well your business information matches the search terms entered by potential customers. This is where having a complete and accurate online menu becomes vital to your listing’s success.

Complete Business Information

Your Google Business Profile should include all relevant details about your restaurant—name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and of course, your menu. When the menu is missing or incomplete, your restaurant may be considered less relevant by Google's algorithm, leading to lower search rankings.

Cuisine and Menu Categories

Filling out the cuisine and menu categories accurately can also boost relevance. Whether you serve Italian, Japanese, or American cuisine, make sure your menu is properly categorized. This ensures that customers searching for a specific type of food find your restaurant easily.

Menu Item Optimization

Recently, trends show that customers have begun searching for menu-specific items more and more. Searches for “gluten-free pasta” or “best turkey burger near me” are more common now than ever before. Take the time to optimize your menu for SEO by including descriptive names and keywords for your dishes. For example, instead of listing “Pasta,” you could use “Gluten-Free Spaghetti Bolognese” to make the dish more searchable and appealing to potential customers. The more detail you provide, the better Google can match your menu items to user searches.

2. Distance

Google also considers how far a restaurant is from the person searching. While you can't control the location of your customers, having your complete information and menu available helps ensure that when you do appear in local searches, you're a top choice because of your relevance and prominence.

3. Prominence

Prominence refers to how well-known and reputable a restaurant is. While this is often linked to factors like customer reviews and backlinks from other websites, having high-quality, up-to-date menu information also contributes to your prominence. If your restaurant is known for offering a consistent, easy-to-navigate online experience—complete with menu photos and accurate dish descriptions—Google is more likely to rank you higher.

Additional Factors That Influence Restaurant Discoverability

Beyond the core ranking factors, several other elements impact how customers discover your restaurant online. One of the most important is the presentation of your menu.

Images: The Power of Menu Photos

Humans are visual creatures, and a well-presented menu with high-quality images can be a game-changer for your restaurant. According to a study, restaurants that include photos of their dishes on their Google Business Profile see an average 30% increase in clicks and a 20% increase in booking requests.

Invest in high-quality food images to highlight your most popular or unique dishes. Not only will this attract customers scrolling through search results, but it also increases the chances of your menu standing out against competitors. By regularly updating your menu photos, you make sure that your restaurant stays visually appealing and relevant.

Website Quality: Why Menus Matter

The quality of your restaurant's website also plays a significant role in how it ranks on search engines like Google. A well-structured website that loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and includes an easy-to-read menu will be rated more favorably by Google's algorithm. Including your full menu on your website, with clear descriptions and images, enhances the user experience and shows Google that your website provides valuable, accurate information to customers. We say this a lot… no PDF menus! If search engines can’t crawl your website for your menu, your website quality goes down.

Additionally, Google prefers websites that are frequently updated. Regularly update your menu with seasonal dishes or specials to signal to Google that your website is active and relevant. This can help boost your search rankings.

Case Study: Deschutes Brewery

To show you the power of maintaining an accurate and optimized online menu, let’s take a look at how Deschutes Brewery transformed its online presence by partnering with Marqii.

The Challenge

Deschutes Brewery, a popular destination in Oregon, faced several challenges in managing their online presence. With limited time, their team struggled to keep their menus updated across multiple platforms. This resulted in inconsistent and outdated information on Google, Yelp, and other online listings. They also wanted to attract more new visitors to their brewery and increase their visibility on Google Maps.

The Solution

By partnering with Marqii, Deschutes Brewery was able to automate their online menu updates through direct integration with Toast. Instead of manually entering menu changes across various platforms, the brewery’s menu now automatically updates whenever changes are made in Toast. Marqii’s dashboard also allowed Deschutes to manage their listings and reviews from one central place, saving them time and ensuring consistency across all channels.

The Results

 Within just five months of using Marqii, Deschutes Brewery saw remarkable results:

• 1,000 hours saved through automated menu and listing updates.
• Monthly views on Google Maps increased from 1.1M to 2.1M, significantly improving their discoverability.
• "Get directions" requests doubled, indicating a sharp increase in new visitors.

Here’s what Kitra Musick, General Manager at Deschutes Brewery, had to say about their experience with Marqii: "We used to spend a full day on data entry every time we changed our menu. Now every time we have a menu change, it's automatically updated the next day. Marqii has saved our team so much time."

Deschutes’ success story is a testament to the power of automation and accurate online menus in boosting restaurant visibility and attracting new customers.

Conclusion: Stay Relevant, Stay Visible

Accurate and well-optimized online menus are no longer optional in the restaurant industry—they’re essential. By keeping your menu updated and relevant, you improve your chances of ranking higher on Google, attracting more customers, and saving valuable time.

Whether it’s optimizing your menu for SEO, using high-quality images, or automating updates through a platform like Marqii, the key to success lies in maintaining a consistent and compelling online presence. Take a page from Deschutes Brewery’s book and make your menu work for you, not the other way around.

Want to learn how Marqii can help you with your menu management? Schedule a demo with our team!