Restaurant SEO or Restaurants near me!

It’s not easy to rank for these keywords. But it’s not the only keyword you should be trying to rank. Imagine you have a restaurant serving top-notch pasta with authentic Italian-style cooking, but not many people can find it online. Your strong presence on the internet is just not enough to get the targeted traffic that will convert. You need to do SEO for the restaurant, the type of food your restaurant serves, the location of your restaurant, the ingredients, the process of cooking, and much more! You need to rank for keywords like pasta near me, best pasta restaurant, pasta noodles online, and more. 

This goes for other types of restaurants like Indian, Japanese, Korean, etc. A huge amount of foot traffic and online orders help these restaurants survive in this post-pandemic world, and not trying to rank for these keywords would be foolish. 

We will discuss different SEO techniques you can use to help boost your restaurant rankings on the local map and search engine result pages. Try implementing these restaurant SEO techniques naturally and see great results within months! 

However, we are just a call away if you need help and want a Restaurant SEO expert to help you. Reach out to the Trek Marketing team to check our restaurant SEO service package! 

First thing First, Open a Google My Business account

If you don’t have a Google My Business account for your restaurant, do it now! It’s very easy to create one, and your customers will be able to find your restaurant on Google Maps once you finish setting it up. It’s a pretty straightforward process to list your restaurant on Google. You will start with the name of your restaurant, location, type of business, opening hours, online hours, more details about the physical location, utilities, pictures, menus, and more. Google will send a pin code to the actual location to verify it. 

Once you verify your listing, you should start adding photos of the foods and start naming them for the customers to see what to expect when they come to your restaurant. Do not forget to add the actual menu on the profile to make it easier for the customers to know more about the prices. You may also add your foods as products on the products section.

If you allow 3rd party food delivery companies like Uber Eats and DoorDash to receive orders online, you can also link them from the “website” section. However, we highly recommend creating your own website and linking it there. 

Create Bing Places for Business account.

Bing is responsible for almost 10% of the overall queries of the world, and it is worth ranking on their search engine. 1 out of every ten searches is from Bing, including local search queries. Their Edge has become very popular among privacy-focused users, and many users search for restaurants near me from their browsers. In order to thrive on Bing’s map, you need to create a profile on Bing Places for Business. Once you set it up, you should post the business hours, the type of food you serve, the menu, pictures of the place, the dishes, and more. Make it easier for people to order from your restaurant by adding phone numbers and contact options on your Bing for Business account profile.

Use relevant and high-quality keywords:

Another important aspect of restaurant SEO is using relevant and high-quality keywords. This involves identifying the keywords that potential customers are likely to use when searching for a restaurant like yours and including these keywords in the content and meta tags on your website. This can help search engines understand the content and relevance of your website and improve its ranking in search results.

Improve your website’s structure and navigation:

Make it easy for search engines and users to find and access the important pages on your website. This includes creating a clear hierarchy of pages, using descriptive page titles and URLs, and using internal linking to connect related pages.

In addition to using keywords, it’s also important to improve the structure and navigation of the restaurant’s website. This involves creating a clear hierarchy of pages, using descriptive page titles and URLs, and using internal linking to connect related pages. This can make it easier for both search engines and users to find and access the important pages on your website.

A webpage’s slug (or URL) is the part of the URL that comes after the domain name. For example, in the URL “https://www.example.com/restaurant-seo,” the slug is “restaurant-seo”. In order to rank well on restaurant SEO, the slug of a webpage should be descriptive, relevant, and keyword-rich. For example, a webpage about the best restaurant SEO strategies might have a slug-like “best-restaurant-seo-strategies” or “top-restaurant-seo-tips.” Additionally, the slug should be short, easy to read, and free of any special characters or numbers.

So, if you are an Indian restaurant trying to rank for keywords like best biriyani or best chicken tikka, it would be wise to use the keywords on the URL.

Build high-quality backlinks:

Building high-quality backlinks can also improve a restaurant’s SEO. Search engines use backlinks to signal a website’s quality and relevance. Try to earn backlinks from reputable websites, such as food blogs and local business directories. Search engines use backlinks to signal the quality and relevance of a website, so earning backlinks from other reputable websites, such as food blogs and local business directories, can help improve your ranking on search engines.

There are several ways to build backlinks for a restaurant’s website. Here are a few strategies you can try:

1. Reach out to local food bloggers and ask them to review your restaurant and include a link to your website in their posts.
2. Submit your restaurant to local business directories and online listings, such as Yelp and Google My Business. These websites often allow you to include a link to your restaurant’s website, which can help to improve its search engine ranking.
3. Partner with other local businesses, such as food suppliers and event venues, and offer to include a link to their website on your website in exchange for a link back to your website.
4. Create high-quality content that other websites may want to link to, such as blog posts, videos, or images. This could include showcasing your restaurant’s unique dishes, special events, or community involvement.
5. Participate in online discussions and forums related to the restaurant industry, and include a link to your website in your forum signature or profile. This can help increase your website’s visibility and potentially earn backlinks from other forum users.

Overall, building backlinks for a restaurant’s website involves a mix of outreach, content creation, and online engagement. By following the strategies I mentioned, you can earn high-quality backlinks that can improve the ranking of your restaurant’s website on search engines.

Create A Restaurant Blog: Provide fresh and engaging content

Regularly adding new and useful content to your website can help to improve its ranking on search engines. This could include blog posts about your restaurant, special events, or featured menu items.

Here are a few tips for creating a successful restaurant blog:

1. Choose a niche or focus for your blog. This could be a particular type of cuisine, a specific location, or a specific type of restaurant (e.g. family-owned, farm-to-table, etc.). Having a clear focus will help you attract a dedicated audience and establish yourself as an expert in that area.
2. Share your own experiences and insights. A restaurant blog is a great way to share your own experiences, opinions, and insights about different restaurants and dishes. This can help establish your credibility and give your readers a sense of what it’s like to dine at the places you write about.
3. Be informative and engaging. In addition to sharing your own experiences, make sure to include useful information about the restaurants you write about, such as the types of cuisine they serve, their location, and any special features or events they offer. Make your writing engaging and interesting, and include plenty of photos and other visuals to help bring your blog posts to life.
4. Connect with your audience. A successful blog is not just about writing great content; it’s also about building a community of loyal readers. Engage with your readers by responding to comments and encouraging them to share their own experiences and insights. You could also consider hosting events or contests to engage with your audience and grow your community.
5. Promote your blog. Once you have created your blog and started publishing content, it’s important to promote your blog to attract readers. Share your posts on social media, and consider using paid advertising to reach a wider audience. You could also reach out to other bloggers and websites in your niche to guest post or collaborate.

Optimize your website for mobile traffic

Here are a few tips for optimizing your website for mobile traffic:

1. Make sure your website is responsive. A responsive website is one that automatically adjusts its layout and design to fit the size and resolution of the user’s device. This is important because it ensures that your website will look and function properly on any device, including smartphones and tablets.
2. Use a mobile-friendly design. In addition to being responsive, your website should also use a design that is easy to navigate and use on a mobile device. This means using larger, easy-to-click buttons and avoiding cluttered or complex layouts.
3. Optimize your images. Large, high-resolution images can slow down your website and make it difficult to load on mobile devices. Optimize your images by reducing their file size without sacrificing quality to improve your website’s mobile performance.
4. Speed up your website. Mobile users are more likely to abandon a website if it takes too long to load. To improve your website’s mobile performance, optimize your website’s code and use a fast and reliable web host.
5. Use mobile-specific features. Some mobile devices have features that can enhance the user experience on your website, such as geolocation, push notifications, and offline access. If your website uses these features, make sure they are optimized for mobile to improve the user experience.

Focus on Social Media to Improve SEO for your Restaurant

Social media can contribute to improved website search engine optimization (SEO) in several ways. By creating a solid presence on social media, a website can increase its brand recognition and establish itself as a trusted and credible source of information, leading to more inbound links and higher search engine rankings. Sharing high-quality, relevant content on social media can also help drive traffic to a website and improve its visibility in search results. Additionally, social media can provide a platform for connecting with potential customers and partners, resulting in increased website exposure and improved search engine rankings.

Here are a few tips for restaurants looking to improve their social media presence:

• Identify your target audience and tailor your content to them. Who are your customers, and what kind of content will be most interesting and relevant to them?
• Develop a consistent brand voice and aesthetic. This will help to make your social media accounts instantly recognizable and help to build trust and engagement with your audience.
• Be active and responsive on social media. Post regularly and engage with customers and other users who comment on or share your content. This will help to build a sense of community and keep your restaurant top-of-mind.
• Utilize hashtags and keywords to make your content more searchable. This will help improve your social media visibility and make it easier for potential customers to discover your restaurant.
• Utilize hashtags and keywords to make your content more searchable. This will help improve your social media visibility and make it easier for potential customers to discover your restaurant.
• Take advantage of visual content. Social media is a visual medium, so make sure to use high-quality photos and videos to showcase your food, atmosphere, and special events. This will help to make your restaurant more appealing and attract more customers.
• Use social media to offer special deals and promotions. This can be a great way to incentivize customers to follow your restaurant on social media and to drive traffic to your restaurant.
• Monitor and track your social media performance. Use tools such as analytics and tracking to see how your social media efforts are paying off and identify improvement areas.

Overall, the key to success on social media is to be consistent, engaging, and responsive. By following these tips and adapting to your target audience’s unique needs and preferences, you can build a strong and effective social media presence for your restaurant.

Get Reviews for your Restaurant’s Website, Listings, etc.

To get reviews for a restaurant website for SEO purposes, you can try the following steps:

• Ask your customers to leave reviews on your website or on popular review websites such as Yelp, Google, or TripAdvisor. You can encourage customers to leave reviews by offering incentives such as discounts or special offers.
• Respond to any reviews that you receive, whether they are positive or negative. This shows that you value your customers’ feedback and are committed to providing a high-quality experience.
• Monitor your online reputation by setting up Google Alerts for your business name, so you can quickly respond to any negative reviews that may appear online.
• Optimize your website for local search by including your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on every page of your website. This will help search engines understand the location of your business and make it easier for customers to find you.
• Consider hiring a reputable SEO agency to help you improve your website’s search engine rankings. A good SEO agency can help you identify and fix any technical issues with your website and provide strategies for creating high-quality content and building high-quality backlinks.

Optimizing a restaurant’s website for search engines is a multifaceted and ongoing process requiring various tactics and strategies. Implementing the suggestions mentioned earlier can help increase the visibility and ranking of a restaurant’s website on search engines, leading to more customers for the business.

Use Schema on your restaurant’s website

If you are not using Schema on your website, we highly recommend using it. You can try the Restaurant schema, Menu Schema, or cooking recipes schema. Here’s the code for the first two:

https://schema.org/Restaurant

https://schema.org/Menu

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
   "@context":"https://schema.org",
   "@type":"Restaurant",
   "url":"http://www.somerestaurant.com",
   "name":"Some Restaurant",
   "description":"This is the Some Restaurant located on 345 Spear St. San Francisco, 94105 CA. It serves Indian-Mexican fusion cuisine",
   "servesCuisine":[
      "Indian-Mexican Fusion"
   ],
   "hasMenu":{
      "@type":"Menu",
      "hasMenuSection":{
         "@type":"MenuSection",
         "name":"Tacos",
         "description":"Tacos inspired by India cuisine.",
         "image":[
            "https://somerestaurant.com/some_tacos.jpg",
            "https://somerestaurant.com/more_tacos.jpg"
         ],
         "offers":{
            "@type":"Offer",
            "availabilityEnds":"2017-03-02T08:22:00",
            "availabilityStarts":"2017-03-02T08:22:00"
         },
         "hasMenuItem":{
            "@type":"MenuItem",
            "name":"Aloo Gobi Taco",
            "description":"Mexico City-style street corn tortilla taco filled with a flavorful mixture of mildly south Indian spiced cauliflower, potato, tomato, onions and bell peppers.",
            "offers":{
               "@type":"Offer",
               "price":"3.50",
               "priceCurrency":"USD"
            },
            "nutrition":{
               "@type":"NutritionInformation",
               "calories":"170 calories",
               "fatContent":"3 grams",
               "fiberContent":"2 grams",
               "proteinContent":"4 grams"
            },
            "suitableForDiet":"https://schema.org/GlutenFreeDiet"
         }
      },
      "inLanguage":"English"
   }
}
</script>

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Restaurant",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "addressLocality": "Sunnyvale",
    "addressRegion": "CA",
    "postalCode": "94086",
    "streetAddress": "1901 Lemur Ave"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4",
    "reviewCount": "250"
  },
  "name": "GreatFood",
  "openingHours": [
    "Mo-Sa 11:00-14:30",
    "Mo-Th 17:00-21:30",
    "Fr-Sa 17:00-22:00"
  ],
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "servesCuisine": [
    "Middle Eastern",
    "Mediterranean"
  ],
  "telephone": "(408) 714-1489",
  "url": "http://www.greatfood.com"
}
</script>

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Restaurant Digital Marketing & SEO Statistics 

1. 34% of customers spend at least $50 each time they purchase food online. Source: Statista
2. 60% of Americans order delivery or takeout at least once a week. Source: NRM.com
3. 72% of shoppers who conducted local searches went to a shop within five miles. Source: Hubspot
4. 78% of customers use the internet more than once a week to research nearby companies (including restaurants). Source: BrightLocal
5. More than 50% of “near me” searches lead to in-person store visits. Source: Media Post