Attract More Diners With Strategic Online Visibility
The restaurant industry is intensely competitive, and location is a key player in attracting customers. A prime spot ensures optimal visibility and easy access for hungry diners. However, in the digital age, offline visibility alone isn’t enough. More than half of potential customers looking for a nearby restaurant rely on their smartphones rather than scanning the streets with their eyes.
If your establishment isn’t ranking high for the ubiquitous ‘restaurant near me’ searches, you may be missing out on valuable visibility, even if you’re situated on the bustling High Street.
Local SEO for restaurants is a powerful strategy to enhance your online presence and ensure that locals searching for a restaurant discover yours among the top three search results. Securing a spot in this coveted trio automatically places your restaurant on the radar of potential customers, significantly increasing the likelihood of them walking through your door.
About Outsource Your Marketing
For over a decade, the Outsource Your Marketing team has been at the forefront of delivering effective local SEO solutions for restaurant owners, café proprietors, and eateries alike. Our search engine optimisation specialists possess razor-sharp expertise in propelling clients to the summit of local SEO results.
Our team immerses themselves in each project, meticulously fine-tuning every detail to secure a top-ranking position. Armed with a winning blend of SEO services and an unwavering passion for staying abreast of industry trends, we’re your trusted partner on the journey toward local SEO success.
Discover how our services can transform your restaurant’s online visibility.
What is Local SEO for Restaurants?
Local SEO is a tailored marketing strategy that works perfectly for restaurants, by using Google’s inclination to promote businesses within specific geographic areas. Google recognises the importance of geographical proximity in search queries and tailors its search results accordingly. For instance, when someone searches for a ” Fish and Chips,” Google factors in their location and presents the closest providers at the forefront of the search results.
This geographical algorithm, commonly referred to as the “Local Pack“, is a dynamic feature that showcases the top three local businesses related to the search query. It provides essential details such as contact information, ratings, and reviews, offering users a concise overview of the most relevant local options.
The advantages of using local SEO strategies for restaurants include:
1. Higher Ranking in Local Pack: Local SEO significantly increases the likelihood of your restaurant appearing in the Local Pack, ensuring that potential clients see your business before competitors.
2. Enhanced Trust: Google’s ranking system is widely trusted by users. Securing a prominent position on Google makes your restaurant more appealing and trustworthy to potential diners.
3. Geo-Targeted Marketing: Local SEO provides precision in reaching your target audience by concentrating digital marketing efforts within a specific geographic area, ensuring that your restaurant connects with the right searchers.
4. Locally Relevant Content: The creation of location-specific content provides more opportunities to resonate with your local community.
Making Local SEO Work For Your Restaurant
The key to local online visibility, is to establish your role as an important player in the local landscape. There are specific steps you need to take to achieve this and, once complete, Google will recognise your local authority, relevance, and trustworthiness. Here’s a breakdown of the key strategies:
1. Complete Your Google Business Profile
Completing your Google Business Profile is key to local SEO for restaurants. It’s absolutely free, and it also offers your business arrange of location-based strategies you can use to boost your local visibility.
Your Google profile is easy to complete but put aside time for it. To achieve the best results each category and section should be accurately completed with careful attention to detail. Remember, everything you include will be used by Google to position you in the local rankings.
Customers can also use your Google Business Profile to leave reviews, which can have a major impact on your local prominence. You may need to encourage them to leave feedback by including the link in a ‘thank you’ email, or on their bill.
2. Use Local Keywords
SEO keywords that signal your business is ‘local’ are central to this marketing strategy. Keywords are what people type in, or say, when searching on Google for local cafes, restaurants, or pubs. Examples of local keywords are: “coffee shop in Reading town centre” or “takeaway near me.”
By including local keywords in the content on your website, Google Business Profile, and online listings, you increase the possibility of your business appearing in local search results. Local SEO keywords are the bridge between what searchers want and the restaurant that offers the food or service they’re looking for.
3. Local Citations and the Role of NAP
Search engines want clear evidence that your restaurant is exactly where you say it is. This is the proof local citations in online directories provide.
Local citations are vital cross reference points, offering evidence to support your Google Business Profile and your website. The term NAP encapsulates the core details that Google needs for local SEO: Name, Address, and Phone number. These need to appear identically across all listings. Every detail, no matter how minute, must be exactly the same.
Local online listings include sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, Thomson Local, Foursquare, mapping services like Bing Maps, and social networks such as Facebook. Ensuring that your NAP data is the same across these platforms is a pivotal step in establishing your firm’s online credibility and improving its local online visibility.
4. Positive Google Reviews are Powerful
Google is on a mission to provide the most ‘useful’ response to search queries. This includes ensuring that the businesses promoted in search results are trustworthy and have authority. Google searches for signals to affirm these qualities, and the presence of positive reviews can make all the difference. What clients have to say about your food offers ‘social proof’ of the quality of your product. For Google, this is the evidence needed to achieve a top ranking.
The ripple effect of good reviews is tangible. Not only will positive reviews increase the number of searchers who see your restaurant online; they also persuade them in your favour when comparing you to your competitors.
Positive Google reviews are not just ‘nice to have’; they are the digital currency that can elevate your restaurant’s local SEO standing, making you the diner’s choice among an array of dining options.
5. Technical SEO: The Mobile-Friendly Connection
Technical SEO is what makes local SEO work for users. A technically optimised website is fast-loading, looks good on a mobile, and makes finding your restaurant super simple. Over 50% of searches for local services are made on a mobile phone, so you want to be sure that your site is easy to access when clicked on.
Technical SEO, in essence, is what underpins your online presence. It is the fine-tuning that ensures your website is responsive, user-friendly, and lightning-fast on phones. This means that when a potential client searches for ‘local steak restaurant’ on their smartphone, your site not only appears in the local pack but also delivers a user-friendly browsing experience.
Together, technical SEO and local SEO work to create a frictionless experience for users looking for food as good as yours on their phones.
Would you like Outsource Your Marketing to support your local SEO implementation? Call us today on 01234 900203.
