Is Your Menu Feeding Square… or Feeding Google? 🍔💻

If you’re like a lot of restaurant owners, you probably set up Square for online orders and thought: “Done! Guests can see my menu, they can order, life is good.”

Not so fast, Chef.

Square is fantastic for taking orders, but when it comes to getting found on Google (and now Google’s fancy new AI summaries)… Square is a little like the breadbasket at the table: nice to have, but it’s not the main course.

The Square “Special”

Square gives you a menu page that lives on their domain (think yourrestaurant.square.site). It’s easy, it’s mobile-friendly, and customers can actually click and order. That’s all good.

But here’s the problem:

- All that SEO credit? 🍕 It goes to Square, not to your restaurant.

- The design? Feels about as custom as a fast-food napkin.

- The content? Thin. Just item names and prices. Not the juicy, mouth-watering story of your food.

So yes, Square is functional. But if you rely only on Square, you’re basically letting your menu be a side dish when it should be the entrée in Google search.

Why Google’s AI Summaries Don’t Love Square

Google’s new AI Summaries are like a server who knows the menu inside and out. They want clean, structured info straight from the chef (you), not scraps copied from someone else’s notes.

When your menu is trapped on Square:

- Google’s AI sees “eh, thin content.”

- Your competitor with a real HTML menu? They get served up instead.

- And the customer who searched “vegan ramen near me”? They’re walking two doors down.

First-Party Menus: The Chef’s Table Experience

Now picture this: your menu lives on your own website, in clean HTML, with schema markup (think: Google-friendly labels like “Appetizer,” “Gluten-Free,” or “Signature Dish”).

That’s when Google goes:

- ✅ “Ah, yes, I can understand this menu.”

- ✅ “This looks official and trustworthy.”

- ✅ “Let’s feature it right in the search results.”

And don’t worry — you can still keep Square for transactions. Just link to it. Let your website feed Google, and let Square feed the credit card machine.

The MenuMaven Fix

We build restaurant websites that:

- 📋 Put your menu in clean, mobile-first HTML (no PDF graveyard, no copy-paste Square clone).

- 🧩 Add schema markup so Google’s AI knows what’s on the plate.

- 🔍 Optimize it so your signature dishes can actually show up in search.

- 🔗 Still connect seamlessly to Square for online orders.

Think of it as plating your menu properly. Square serves the takeout box; we plate it for Michelin inspectors (aka Google).

Don’t Let Your SEO Be Someone Else’s Dessert

Square is great for the transaction. But your website should be the source Google trusts.

Otherwise, you’re basically sending the SEO calories to Square while you’re left with the crumbs.

👉 Contact MenuMaven.co and let’s make your menu the main dish in Google search — not just a side order hiding on Square.