Creating the Right Restaurant Brand, Online!
Written by John Tomblin
We live in amazing times! Today, with a little elbow grease, a few good ideas and a good site development partner, you can elevate your restaurant website to the number 1 ranking position on Google, Yahoo and the other major search engines, but the million-dollar question is, how?
Sure, you’ve heard or read a thousand tips and tricks about how to grow your online presence, but in this short post, we’re going to keep things very simple. Here’s a quick list of three “to do” tasks, in no particular order, where you can begin. There’s plenty more, but these are at the top of the list.
Create a Mobile Friendly Website If your website was built prior to 2016, there’s a big chance that your site is not “mobile friendly”, and even if you don’t care, Google does. Starting back in March 2015, Google changed the rules globally, and basically said to every business owner on the planet that if your restaurant website isn’t “mobile friendly”, Google will bypass ranking your site over sites that are mobile friendly. Wow, a bit brutal…but true. If your site is not mobile friendly, fire your existing webmaster. They’ve done you a grave disservice. Go hire a web development firm who can get your site up and running as a mobile friendly site — and do it fast.
Collect Google Five Star Reviews Admit it. We all look at the number of stars others place on their experiences on the web. Whether it’s for a movie, a local water-park or a hotel stay, the stars speak volumes. Where this is particularly true is in restaurant reviews. Unless you’re showcased on the Food Network or Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, or Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, you need to set-up your Google My Business Review Form online. When people complete online searches for area restaurants, your restaurant will automatically be included in the search results. The more positive reviews you can collect, the better your restaurant will be viewed by new patrons interested in visiting. Try to get at least 500 Google Reviews. That’s a great starting point for growth.
Post Your Menu on your Website Some restaurant owners and/or chefs are opposed to posting their menus and pricing online, but your menu speaks volumes. Do not post a PDF of your menu. Instead, make sure your website is designed with the menu as the focal point of the entire site. You want the text embedded in the source code so search engines can find all your menu items, something not possible with a PDF. Also, include the pricing. Many people, when viewing restaurant websites, want to see the menu prices. The big national chains don’t post their pricing because pricing changes from region to region, but you can take advantage of this fact by posting your prices.
That’s it for now. Check back soon for more blog posts and content, and if you have an idea or story you would like us to run, give us a call and we’ll starting cook’n. (Sorry, we couldn’t resist).