you need to add http*s*:// to the URL for that to work, but your site needs to have an SSL certificate and not a self-signed one. You can get a free one here: https://letsencrypt.org/
and make sure the domain is verified on Google Search Console
There are a bunch of apps that will automate posts and images but may cost a few bucks per month though like dbaplatform. You can also check this free script out. Maybe you can check out the code to see how it works if it doesn't do exactly what you need.
Have you added your business to your my business account? https://www.google.com/business/
If you haven’t — they’ll mail you a postcard to confirm your address.
If you have — it takes a while (week’s) for the listing to be generally discoverable.