Google Business Profile: a 12-step restaurant audit

Guests use your Google profile to check kitchen hours, read the menu and find a booking link. Incorrect information can interrupt that journey. Start the audit with the details guests rely on.

These twelve checks expand our restaurant guide. The sequence and worksheet are OzyCore Studio’s editorial recommendations. The linked Google pages explain platform rules. Available fields depend on factors such as category and region.

Contents

• 1. Ownership and access
• 2. Duplicate listings
• 3. Business details
• 4. Categories and description
• 5. Hours
• 6. Menu
• 7. Action links
• 8. Facilities
• 9. Photos
• 10. Reviews
• 11. Posts
• 12. Final check and measurement

How to carry out the audit

Have the approved business details, current menu and website ready. Check the management view and the public profile in Search and Maps on a phone. Saved edits can differ from what guests see.

Record checked, open or unavailable for each step, with a finding, responsible role and deadline. Uninspected points stay open. Prioritise wrong entrances, incorrect opening hours and unusable ordering pages.

1. Confirm ownership, access and verification

Confirm that the restaurant controls primary ownership and a current responsible person has access. Give outside support an appropriate role through a separate account. Keep passwords individual. Secure continued management access before removing former staff or suppliers.

Check the verification status as well. Google determines which verification methods are available for each profile. Resolve missing access through the official ownership process. Google’s guidance on ownership roles and verification explains the current options.

Audit result: The business has secure management access, with responsibility and verification status recorded. Keep login credentials out of the audit file.

2. Identify duplicate or outdated listings

Search for the restaurant’s name, address and former names. Check each questionable result: it may identify the same business, a previous location or a separate business sharing the address.

Do not create another listing to solve an access problem. Do not delete or merge profiles just because they share an address. Google generally allows one profile per business; distinct eligible businesses can share a location. Its duplicate-profile guidance explains the distinction.

Audit result: The correct profile URLs are recorded. Any suspected duplicate has a reasoned next step, preserving existing reviews while the issue is investigated.

3. Compare the name, address, map pin and phone number

Compare public details with the restaurant’s signage, website and legal notice. Use the name the business actually trades under. Extra search phrases should not be added as an artificial extension of the name. Google’s business representation guidelines explain the rule.

Check that the map pin directs guests to the entrance, rather than the back of the building. Confirm that the displayed number reaches the intended contact. Keep each restaurant’s location details separate.

Audit result: Guests can recognise the business, find the right entrance and use the appropriate number. Resolve factual contradictions; do not present harmless differences in wording as proven ranking problems.

4. Match the categories and description to the business

The primary category should describe the restaurant’s main activity as closely as possible. Choose from the categories currently offered, adding only relevant secondary activities. A separate category for every dish or search phrase is not useful. Category changes may prompt verification again, as Google explains in its category guidance.

Check that the description explains the cuisine, concept and lasting features. Remove outdated statements. Google prohibits links and price promotions in this field; the representation guidelines in step 3 apply.

Audit result: The category and description reflect the restaurant as it operates today. Changes have a clear reason and have been agreed with the responsible person.

5. Check regular, service-specific and special hours

Compare normal opening hours with actual operations. Where the available fields allow it, distinguish dining in, collection and delivery. Guests should be able to understand when kitchen service ends, even if the restaurant remains open later.

Next, check public holidays and known exceptions. Google offers special hours and additional hours for certain services. For longer closures, check the appropriate profile status against the current help guidance. A post cannot correct an inaccurate hours field.

Audit result: The next known exception has been accounted for. The website, booking service and profile communicate a clear, consistent schedule.

6. Inspect the menu guests can actually see

Open the publicly visible menu. Compare sample dishes, prices and availability with the restaurant’s approved menu. Check old photographs and additional sources for conflicting information.

Google’s menu editor is not available in every configuration. Inspect the current menu on a phone, without signing in. PDF text must be legible; a maintained web page is usually easier to update when menus change frequently.

Audit result: The visible menu source and its update date are known. Any discrepancies have a named responsible role.

7. Follow website, booking and ordering links to their destinations

Open every available action link from the profile. Does it lead to the right location and language? Does “Book” open the table booking service, and “Order” the correct restaurant branch? Check errors, unnecessary detours and mobile usability, stopping before a binding transaction. Avoid placing an unintended order.

Review connected providers and, where available, the preferred link. Turning off all food ordering options can hide both your own links and third-party links. Check the intended customer journey before changing that setting. Google explains the options in its local business links guidance.

Audit result: Each visible action has a recorded destination URL, location and test result. Broken or unwanted provider links are identified individually.

8. Confirm facilities and service details on site

Check the attributes the profile offers, such as outdoor seating, payment options, collection or access features. Available fields and editing permissions vary. Some details also come from customer contributions; Google’s attributes guidance explains these limits.

Have someone confirm the details on site. A step-free entrance does not establish toilet or seating accessibility. Confirm only checked, existing features. Include seasonal differences for outdoor seating.

Audit result: Public attributes match the situation at the restaurant. Unconfirmed features remain open rather than being selected for promotional reasons.

9. Review photos for accuracy and usefulness

Compare entrance, dining room and food photographs with today’s restaurant. Check whether refurbishment or a changed collection area requires new images.

Use accurate original images with the necessary usage rights. Resolve permissions before publishing identifiable people. Google requires photos to represent reality, and choosing a cover photo does not guarantee it will always appear first. Its photo guidance explains both points.

Audit result: Missing images and misleadingly outdated photographs are identified. Images of another kitchen or an artificially generated dining room are not presented as photographs of the restaurant.

10. Request reviews fairly and respond to the issue raised

Check the review link or QR code and the wording of the invitation. Ask guests voluntarily for an honest account of their experience, without offering a reward. Do not screen out dissatisfied guests first. Google prohibits incentives and selectively soliciting positive reviews in its review policies.

Read unanswered reviews and existing replies. Address specifics without exposing booking records, invoices or personal details. Assign recurring criticism internally. Report negative reviews only for a reasoned policy violation; removal cannot be promised.

Audit result: The invitation, response process and responsibility have been checked. Operational problems raised in the audit are assigned for internal follow-up.

11. Review posts and time-limited statements

Check visible posts for past events, old offers and unsuitable landing pages. Where posting is available, use it for specific current information, such as a dated event or a change to what the restaurant offers. Google describes the formats in its posts guidance.

Test links as in step 7 and clearly mark expired offers as ended on their landing pages. Assign someone to review content and links later. We cannot substantiate ranking promises based on a fixed posting number or frequency.

Audit result: Current statements and their destinations agree. Time-sensitive content has a responsible role and a review date.

12. Measure the public presentation and business results separately

Finish by checking the public profile again and recording important changes with dates. Compare equal periods with similar weekday patterns, for example two 28-day periods. This is our comparison method, not a Google requirement. Account for holidays, events and advertising.

Under Google’s metric definitions, “calls” counts clicks on the call button. Direction requests are requests, rather than confirmed visits. Reports may include organic and Google Ads activity, and available metrics vary by profile.

Consistent campaign parameters can help attribute visits through your own website links. Keep personal data out of URLs and follow your website’s consent settings. Check reservations and orders separately in the restaurant’s own systems. More clicks alone do not establish additional revenue or show that your changes caused an improvement.

Audit result: The baseline period, next review and measurement limits are recorded. Missing values are not reported as zero.

Worksheet for your next review

Copy this table into your task list. Add each row’s status, finding, responsible role and deadline. “Unavailable” means the profile lacks the field or function; it does not count as a successful check.

Frequently asked questions

Does completing the audit guarantee a higher ranking?

The audit does not predict or guarantee a search position. Google identifies relevance, distance and popularity as major local ranking factors. Its ranking guidance also explains that a better local ranking cannot be requested or purchased from Google. The purpose of the audit is accurate information and usable routes for guests.

How often should a restaurant check its profile?

We recommend a short monthly routine, with an additional check before public holidays or operational changes. Incorrect hours and broken booking links need prompt action. This schedule is an editorial recommendation, rather than a Google obligation or a promise of results.

What can a public profile check cover?

Our Google Profile Check provides a starting point using public data. The score is our tool’s assessment, not an official Google score or a search position. Ownership, conditions at the restaurant and a working reservation completion process need additional checks. The automatic result therefore does not replace the twelve manual steps.

Check the profile, website and restaurant together

Start with the Google Profile Check and add outstanding points to the worksheet. For the wider customer journey, see our guides to restaurant social media mistakes and delivery platforms versus your own ordering channel.

Our profile management service explains the support available.

Sources checked: 21 October 2026. Based on the linked official Google help pages and OzyCore Studio’s editorial audit method. The twelve checks are a practical working guide, not an official Google certification.