You add your menu to Google from your Business Profile, in three places: the menu link, the menu editor and menu photos. Google may also copy a menu from your website or suggest one from another site, and you choose which menu guests see first. Changes in the menu editor can take 24 to 48 hours to show on Google Maps and Search.
This guide compares the three places, walks through each one, explains the menus Google finds by itself, and ends with how to keep them all in step.
The three places your menu lives on Google, compared
A guest searches for your restaurant at six o'clock and opens the menu. If it still shows last spring's prices, or the brunch dish you dropped in July, that's the menu they make their decision on. Google gives you three places to fix that, and each one suits a different kind of menu.
| Menu link | Menu editor | Menu photos | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | A link to your own menu page | Sections, dishes and prices typed into Google | Photos or a PDF of your menu |
| Where you set it | Edit profile > Business information > Contact > Menu link | Edit menu | Edit menu > Photos of menu |
| When the menu changes | Update your own page, and the link stays the same | Edit the dishes, then allow 24 to 48 hours | Upload a new photo and delete the old one |
| Suits | A menu page you already keep current | A menu you want listed dish by dish on Google | A printed menu that fits on one page |
You can use more than one. Each place you use is one more place to update when a price changes, so the last section of this guide covers keeping them in step. All the steps and rules below come from Google's help page About the menu editor unless another source is linked.
How to add a menu link to your Business Profile
The menu link is a web address. It points guests from your Google profile to the page where your menu lives, so the menu they read is the one you keep on your own website.
- Go to your Business Profile.
- Select Edit profile, then Business information, then Contact, then Menu link.
- Enter the address of the page where your menu can be found.
- Select Save.
Google's two rules for menu links
Google's guidelines for representing your business include two rules about menus that decide what goes in this field:
- Menu URLs can't be direct links to third-party ordering or delivery services.
- Sample menus that list only "popular items", or similar excerpts, shouldn't be submitted.
The same guidelines say the menu should represent the items available to customers at your business. They also say full menus can be meal-specific, like breakfast, lunch or dinner, and can link to your other menu pages. So a menu page for lunch that links to your dinner and happy hour menus fits Google's description.
Where your ordering and delivery services go
If your restaurant takes orders through an ordering or delivery service, that's where your guests order, and Google gives those services their own place on your profile. Ordering options can appear under an Order online button in some countries and regions, and providers who state they have an authorized relationship with your business are listed on your profile automatically.
In the Food ordering section, you can set a provider as preferred for pickup or delivery. Businesses in the US can also add custom links that send customers to other web pages to place an order. The menu link rule is only about which address goes in that one field: your ordering partners stay where guests order, and the menu link goes to your menu page.
How to use the Google menu editor
The menu editor lists your dishes on Google, section by section, with descriptions and prices. It's available to food and drink businesses. Say your brisket plate goes up by two dollars on Friday. If the dish is in the menu editor, you change the price there as well as on your own menu.
- Go to your Business Profile and select Edit menu.
- To add a section, select Add menu section, enter a section name and a dish, then select Save.
- To add a dish, select Add menu item, enter its details, then select Save.
- To change a dish or section, select its name and make the update. To remove one, select Delete at the bottom of its details.
It can take 24 to 48 hours for your changes to show on Google Maps and Search. That suits changes you can plan, such as a new season's menu or a price that goes up next week.
Build the menu from a photo
Google can also create a menu in the editor from a photo of your menu. Google calls this experimental, and you have to agree to the Google Generative AI Additional Terms of Service to use it. You select Generate a menu, review the result, then select Publish and edit. Google notes that blurry or low-contrast photos may not work well, so read every price before you publish.
If your menu comes through the Business Profile API
Some menus reach Google through the Business Profile API. If yours does, you may not have the menu editor in Business Profile or Google Search. Google also says that updating a menu across several Business Profiles has to be done through the API.
How to add menu photos to Google
Menu photos show under the Menu tab on Google. You can upload photos or a PDF of your menu, and your customers can add menu photos too.
- Go to your Business Profile and select Edit menu.
- At the top, select Photos of menu.
- Select Select photos or a PDF and upload the file from your device.
Google's rule for menu photos is that the full menu must fit on one page and be captured in one photo. Google also asks you to make sure the photo is high quality. To take down one of your own photos, select Delete on it.
Guests photograph menus at the table and post them. When a customer's menu photo is out of date or wrong, Google lets you flag it for removal and then upload an accurate photo of your own. In Search, open your profile's photos, select the photo and choose Report a problem. Google reviews the request and may remove the photo, and the review can take several business days.
Menus Google finds on its own
Some menus appear on your profile without you adding them. Google's help page describes two kinds, and you have a say over both.
Menus copied from your website
Google may transcribe menu data from your business website so that it appears on your Business Profile. If a dish or price comes through wrong, you can edit or delete it in the menu editor. If you don't want Google to transcribe your menu at all, the menu editor's help page links to Google's opt-out setting in Search Console Help.
Read that page before you switch it on. The opt-out applies to your whole domain, and it stops content Google has crawled from your site appearing in local search results and the other Google services that page lists. Content already showing there is removed within 30 days.
Menus suggested from other sites
Some businesses see an option to copy and update menu data from an existing menu source. To review where suggested dishes came from, click the third-party provider's name under Add these menu items? before you add anything. If you select Copy, you can then add, delete and edit the sections, dishes, descriptions and prices.
Choosing the menu guests see first
When Google finds more than one menu source, you choose the one it shows. Google says your preferred menu appears as public information on your profile.
- Go to your Business Profile and select Edit menu.
- On the Full menu tab, select your preferred menu source.
- Select Save.
Popular dishes on your Google profile
Popular dishes are dish names and photos on your profile. Both you and your customers can add them, and dish names you add take precedence over names customers add. You manage them in the Google Maps app on your phone.
To add a dish:
- Open Google Maps, search for your restaurant's name and city, and tap Menu.
- In your Business Profile, tap Menu, then Add.
- Add a photo of the dish, enter its name, and tap Done.
To change a dish, tap it, tap More, then Suggest an edit. The options are Edit dish name, Mark dish as incorrect, Offensive dish name and Dish not served here. Google says it aims to post edits within a few days, and that it doesn't guarantee they'll be published.
Structured data on your own menu page
Structured data is code on your website that describes the page in a form search engines can read. Google's documentation for local business structured data lists menu as a recommended property: for food establishments, the full URL of the menu. Google's own example is a restaurant with its menu page's address in that property.
Structured data makes a page eligible for search features that use it. Google says it doesn't guarantee those features will show up in search results. Google's documentation also asks you to check your code with its Rich Results Test and fix any critical errors. Our guide to restaurant menu SEO explains how search engines read a menu page.
Keeping your Google menu in step
Every place your menu appears is one more place to change when the kitchen changes the menu. The easiest setup to keep current is one menu page on your own website, with Google's menu link pointing at it. The link stays the same while the page changes.
When the menu changes, go through these:
- Update your own menu page first.
- If the dish is in the menu editor, change it there too, and allow 24 to 48 hours.
- When your printed menu changes, upload a new menu photo and delete the old one.
- Check the Full menu tab and confirm your preferred menu source.
- Flag customer menu photos that show dishes or prices you no longer have.
If your menu page still needs building, our guides cover Squarespace, Wix and WordPress. If you're weighing a PDF against a page, see PDF menus and online menus.
Where MenuFramer fits
A MenuFramer menu lives on your own website's menu page, so Google's menu link can point straight at it. You paste one snippet into that page, then change a price or mark a dish sold out from your phone, and it shows on the menu when you save (embed steps, plans). On the Business plan, where your website runs the script inside its own page, the embed also adds structured data for the restaurant and its menu, which makes the menu eligible to be found in search. MenuFramer has no connection to Google, so any dishes in your menu editor and any menu photos still need updating on Google.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Google showing an old menu?
Google can show a menu from several sources: your menu editor, a menu transcribed from your website, a suggested third-party source, or photos customers upload. Open Edit menu, check the Full menu tab, and choose your preferred source. Then update or delete the old dishes, flag out-of-date customer photos, and allow 24 to 48 hours for editor changes to show.
Can my Google menu link go to a delivery app?
Google's guidelines say menu URLs can't be direct links to third-party ordering or delivery services. Your ordering and delivery partners have their own place on your profile, in the ordering options, where you can set a preferred provider for pickup or delivery. The menu link goes to your menu page.
How long do Google menu changes take?
Changes in the menu editor can take 24 to 48 hours to show on Google Maps and Search. For popular dish edits, Google aims to post them within a few days and doesn't guarantee they'll be published. Google's help pages don't give a time for menu link changes.
Can I stop Google copying my website's menu?
Yes. The menu editor's help page links to an opt-out setting in Search Console, and that setting covers your whole domain and local search results along with the other Google services it lists. Read the page before you switch it on. If only a few dishes came through wrong, you can edit or delete them in the menu editor.
Should I use the menu link, the menu editor and menu photos together?
You can use any of them, and each one you use is another place to update when the menu changes. A menu link to one page you keep current is the easiest to look after. If you also use the editor or photos, update them whenever you update the page.
Sources
- About the menu editor, Google Business Profile Help, checked October 2026
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help, checked October 2026
- Manage online ordering options, Google Business Profile Help, checked October 2026
- Manage your restaurant's popular dish names, Google Business Profile Help, checked October 2026
- Report inappropriate photos or videos on your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help, checked October 2026
- Generative AI Additional Terms of Service, Google, checked October 2026
- Opt out of display on local search results and other Google properties, Google Search Console Help, checked October 2026
- Local Business (LocalBusiness) structured data, Google Search Central, checked October 2026
