- Target:
- Region:
- United States of America
"Near me" local searches on Google have increased by more than 500% since 2016. And most near me searches are related to food, think restaurants near me, bars near me etc…
Food delivery popularity is still going strong after the pandemic; according to a Dec 2021 consumer survey, 43% of consumers order food delivery at least once per month.
Ghost kitchens, virtual brands, and other delivery-only restaurants have surfaced to satisfy this consumer demand. This not only benefits consumers, but also local businesses. Small restaurants are able to expand their income by using their kitchens to supply a virtual brands during slow periods. Because of their lack of a storefront, ghost kitchens are able to set up in spaces not traditionally used by restaurants, resulting in more availability in those under-served food deserts.
As these new innovations in the restaurant space have grown, they've run into problems when it comes to verifying their Google My Business listings. The current verification system is designed for restaurants that have a storefront, with the main contact person for GMB verification located onsite.
However, for ghost kitchens and virtual brands, the following issues have arisen:
- Many times multiple brands operate out of one ghost kitchen location, but may have differing hours of operation and menus. This means each brand must be verified for a separate GMB lisitng using the same address or service area, something that is currently difficult with the current system.
- When virtual brands operate out of an existing restaurant's kitchen, the virtual brand's contact person is not onsite to receive the verification postcard.
- When a ghost kitchen or virtual brand is able to be verified, sometimes the verification is reversed a short time later and the process must be started over again.
Because of this, both consumers and businesses are being affected. Consumers are not able to access all of their options when searching for "food delivery near me" in Google, and can only use 3rd party delivery apps for their search. Similarly, 3rd party apps are the only current option for businesses without an address to be found.
In addition. without a verified GMB listing, a ghost kitchen or virtual brand can't receive reviews from their customers, further impacting their customer retention and local search placement.
We, the undersigned, call on Google to make the following changes:
- Redefine what constitutes proof of location for a business, without requiring photos of signage on the outside of the building.
- Once a business is verified, guarantee verification for the same time period as that of a verified brick-and-mortar.
- Allow verification postcards to be sent to an address other than the physical address of the business, to accommodate authorizers who may work remotely or in another location.
- Implement tracking of verification postcards.
- Give businesses with a service area the same local search weight as those with a single address.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Update Google My Business terms for Ghost Kitchens petition to Google was written by Kelsey Verdier and is in the category Consumer Affairs at GoPetition.