Virtual Food Brands to have Google Business Profiles

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New updates in the Google Business Profile Guidelines now allow virtual food brands to list and showcase their businesses on Google. With this update, virtual food brands have a better chance of getting more visibility in Google’s local searches when people are looking for their next meal. 

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Earlier this summer, Google updated its business profile guidelines and is now allowing virtual food brands, aka. restaurants with no dine-in option, to have listed and managed Google Business Profiles. These types of businesses have increased in popularity in the last few years following the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in food delivery services.

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What is a virtual food brand?

A virtual food brand is a business model in which no dine-in option is available. The restaurant only supplies the customer with food via pick-up or delivery. In a virtual kitchen or a cloud kitchen, as they are also called, you can save money on operational costs by only providing pick-up or delivery for your customers thus saving on rent since you probably do not need as big of a space as you would with a restaurant, staff-related costs and interior expenses. Since you only need kitchen appliances, smaller space and knowledgeable chefs to get your business started, this is a great way for you to pivot into entrepreneurship.

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Benefits of Google Business Profiles for Virtual Food Brands

Since virtual food brands are able to list their businesses on Google, they have a greater chance of engaging and competing in local searches through Google Search and Google Maps. By listing a virtual food brand profile and managing it by adding all the essential information, media, and actively posting, the local reach expands and allows more people to get to know the business. A business profile is a good way to attract and inform new customers about your brand's standpoints and key values. By giving the customer as accurate information as possible regarding the brand, the right target audience will follow and eventually find their way to your business profile.

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Not sure how to build your business profile? We made a comprehensive guide here.

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Engage in discussions with customers

From a marketing perspective, having an additional channel to keep track of might at first seem overwhelming and time-consuming but once the Google Business Profile is set up and live, you’ll find that having that extra reach in the local searches is only a benefit for the business. In addition, it is also a great way to engage in discussions with customers and discuss the feedback given through the reviews section. 

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Are you having a hard time getting reviews into your business profile? We’ll help you out here.

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The Google Business Profile will make it easier for the virtual food brand to manage its customer's journeys in Google by giving them the right and timely information up front. Without the customer having to seek out the essential info from the business's website or social media channels, they will instead get the info in the Google Business Profile, for example, right in Google Search or in Google Maps. When the necessary information is in front of the customer, they will also more likely take a faster purchasing decision.

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Better visibility on Google

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Our customer Huuva, a virtual food brand based in Finland and Germany, saw the benefits of managing their Google Business Profiles in the early stages of their development. They recognized that their profiles would be the online storefront of their business, took charge, and now providing up-to-date information for customers to see and interact with. This summer alone, they have gathered a combined view count of over 350 000 to their three profiles in the Helsinki area. 

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Any business can obviously benefit from a view count of this sort, even more of them could benefit from the related data that these numbers provide businesses. If you’d like more insights and help on getting your food brand onto Google and start building your organic presence, contact us and we’ll assist you in getting started.

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