Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of improving a website’s visibility and ranking in organic (non-paid) search results.
For restaurants, this means making it easier for potential customers to find you when they search for relevant terms like “best Italian restaurant near me” or “vegan brunch options in NYC.”
Restaurant SEO is similar to general SEO in many ways. But there are clear differences.
For example, most restaurants don’t have a blog to optimize.
SEO for restaurants typically involves tasks such as:
- Include relevant keywords on your website
- Create a business profile on Google
- Create social content that your customers want to see
- Encourage reviews and comments
- Get local mentions
- Getting relevant backlinks (links from other sites pointing to yours)
Why is SEO important for dentists?
SEO helps potential customers find shop your restaurant online, extending your business’ reach beyond its physical location.
With 62% of consumers using Google to search for restaurants, your search visibility could be the key to your business’s success.
Here are some concrete advantages:
Greater visibility on the Internet
SEO can make your restaurant easier to find when people search for places to eat. Which can lead to more visits and (hopefully) more sales.
One important way to benefit from this is through the Google Maps Pack (or Local Pack):
Appearing in this local pack puts your business at the front of the page when potential customers search for relevant local terms.
And it can display key information about your restaurant, such as opening hours and reviews, helping customers find the information they need when deciding where to eat.
Profitable marketing
SEO for restaurants doesn’t have to cost anything other than what it costs to do the work. Therefore, it can be a more cost-effective approach than running paid advertising campaigns .
Paid ads can quickly help your restaurant appear in search results. But they can also drain your budget, and fast.
SEO focuses on unpaid growth and long-term results.
It may take time to see those results. But good SEO can stretch your budget further and offer a higher return on investment (ROI ) than other tactics.
Availability outside business hours
Your website, Google Business Profile (GBP), and online listings are always available. This means that potential customers can find and learn about your restaurant at any time, even outside of business hours.
For example, an optimized GBP can help customers find answers to their questions and access your menu even when your business isn’t open, helping them plan trips or compare options in advance.
10 tips to boost your restaurant’s SEO
Follow these SEO tips for restaurants to help you increase your visibility on the Internet, attract more traffic to your website and get more customers.
1. Identify your target customers
You need to know who your target customers are in order to develop an effective restaurant SEO strategy. If you don’t, you risk wasting money by targeting the wrong audience.
Your target audience represents your ideal customers who are likely to visit and enjoy your offerings. They can be families, students, business people, or tourists, depending on your location and type of food.
Find your target audience with Semrush’s One2Target .
Enter a competitor’s domain (or up to five), choose a location, and click ” Analyze .”
You will get detailed information about how automated receivables management can help your business the demographics of your target customers. Click on the ” Socioeconomics ” tab to get more data.
Here you will see information about household size and income level, along with employment status and educational level.
Use this data to understand who you can potentially reach and how. And adapt your SEO strategy accordingly.
If you’re trying to compete with Olive Garden, you might want to focus primarily on:
- Families of three to four people
- People with low or medium income levels
- Full-time employees
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2. Target the right keywords
For restaurants, relevant keywords are school email list specific words or phrases that potential customers might use to search for businesses like yours. Or closely related topics.
These search terms can be related to your restaurant name, location, cuisine type, and unique selling points.
For example:
- “the best italian restaurant in the center”
- “gluten free menu options”
- “family cafes near me”
Identifying and optimizing these types of keywords can help your restaurant appear in search results when people search for places to eat that match what you offer.