In today’s digitally-driven world, marketing is both a challenge and an opportunity. American author and marketer Seth Godin famously said, “marketing is a contest for people’s attention.” Irrespective of your business, you must invest in marketing to attract new customers and have your name resonate with existing ones.
As a restauranter, you are aware of the challenges in this business. In the post-Covid world, online food deliveries continue to grow in importance. Traditional patronage has been diminishing results, and you need to attract new customers constantly.
To stay ahead of your competition, you must take digital marketing seriously. In an earlier post, we discussed the 5 Marketing Strategies for Restaurants. We have seen why SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the lynchpin in your marketing mix.
If you don’t have an SEO marketing campaign or it lacks the latest SEO strategy, your business is losing out. Your dishes won’t taste the same if you exclude a crucial ingredient in their preparation. SEO is that “key ingredient” in your digital growth strategy. Let us look at 12 convincing reasons you need a restaurant SEO strategy.
1 – Search Engine Optimization is Cost Effective
You have to market your restaurant to grow your business. If you have ever tried placing an ad in a newspaper or renting a billboard, you’d be aware of the costs involved in advertising. Compared to all other marketing strategies (offline and online), SEO is the most cost-effective way of marketing your restaurant. Even if you have a small marketing budget, it is worth spending on SEO as it will continue to pay back in the future.
2 – People Are Searching For Restaurants (You) Online
Internet (or Google) has become the first source of information. From the best restaurants to the best food options, your customers constantly search for information on the browser. Hence, you must do everything under the sun to increase your online footprint and become discoverable for those searches. Restaurant SEO is the first step in that direction, and your website needs to be on top of SERP to increase table reservations.
3 – SEO Builds Credibility
Are you likely to hire a restaurant cleaning company whose name doesn’t feature on the search results? Customers expect to find every business online in today’s world, and it is an essential parameter for credibility. You may have meticulously built your restaurant website, but it would serve no purpose if users cannot find it. Your SEO strategy acts as the bridge between you and the customers.
4 – Local Searches Have Grown
The way people use the Internet has changed. Local searches have grown in volumes and impact over the last decade. Your customers will likely search with keywords such as “restaurants near me” or “restaurants in Bryant Street San Fransisco.” Local SEO thus plays a significant role in the search engine visibility of your website. Targetting the right keywords and creating a Google My Business profile will put your name on top of the results for local searches.
5 – More Traffic Means More Reservations
The success formula in the restaurant business is simple – you need more reservations. SEO is the easiest way of achieving this, as more traffic on your website would result in higher reservations. Customers who come across your phone number and email address on the website will likely call you and book tables. You will witness increased occupancy even during off-peak hours of the day and during the lean season. With a well-run SEO strategy, you can override the traditional disadvantage of location (if you have one).
6 – Online Is The New Word of Mouth
Word-of-mouth has been the Holy Grail in the world of marketing. It continues to be among the best marketing strategies in the 21st century. However, there has been a slight difference – word-of-mouth marketing has moved online. Customers share their opinions on review platforms, social media, and message boards. People choose restaurants based on the experience their friends and acquaintances have. A well-planned restaurant SEO strategy can use these reviews and attract more customers to your restaurant.
7 – Engage Your Customers
As discussed above, most customers like to engage with restaurants online. Be it social media or review platforms, your customers are likely to share their views and opinions online. An SEO campaign can help you take this engagement to the next level. How can you take advantage of this? Encourage customers to share their feedback on your website. When your website ranks high, customers will share their feedback on the website instead of on a third-party platform.
8 – Build Awareness About Your Menu
Your menu is different even from your nearest competitor. There are specialties in your menu that can turn a casual customer loyal for years to come. To achieve this, you need to take your menu to the customers. SEO makes it possible as more users would visit the menu pages on your website. When they unearth these specialties in your menu, they will come to try them. Your restaurant SEO strategy thus builds curiosity around your menu and helps in business growth.
9 – You Need To Increase Awareness
How often do you scroll past the first few results on Google? In most cases, you don’t; the same is true for your customers. If your website is at the bottom of the page, most people are unlikely to know about your restaurant. Restaurant SEO helps in increasing brand awareness. You must realize a direct correlation between your website’s online visibility and brand awareness.
10 – More Online Orders
Online orders have grown manifold since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Though we are seeing more customers come to restaurants with restrictions lifted, the boom of online food orders is here to stay. Your website sits at the center of this market. SEO can put your website on top of search results and increase online order volumes at your restaurant.
11 – Target Mobile Users
Is your website mobile-ready? If not, you are losing potential customers. As you may know, mobile Internet users surpassed desktop users a few years back. Hungry customers are likely to search for restaurants on the move, and this is where having a mobile-optimized website can be a game changer. When you hire an agency for an SEO campaign, one of their priorities is to make your website mobile responsive. It increases traffic to your landing pages and engagement with the customers. It is also an important ranking factor and why a restaurant SEO strategy is a must for your business.
12 – Don’t Let Competitors Steal The Advantage
Lastly, you can’t allow your competitors to steal the advantage. You are ceding space to your competitors if you aren’t working on a restaurant SEO strategy. The top raking restaurant websites are investing in SEO and reaping benefits. When you don’t focus on SEO, you are making it easier for your competitors to rule the online ecosystem and grow their market.
Final Thoughts
Search Engine Optimization isn’t optional anymore. In a tech-savvy world, your restaurant business will fall behind in the race without creating a solid footprint on search engines.
If you are looking for an expert team that can implement the best restaurant SEO strategy, at Cyrusson Inc., we bring skills and experience to the table. We implement custom SEO strategies for your website based on your needs, target audience, location, and competition. Our team shall put your restaurant website at the top of search results.
For more information on restaurant SEO and any other queries, contact us to book a free consultation. You focus on your restaurant while our team brings you customers and online orders.