Best Local SEO for Restaurants Tips of 2023

Local SEO is the best way to improve visibility and attract more customers organically from Google Maps and local Searches. Being visible in search engines in 2023 is a must, to stay ahead of the competition for your restaurant.

Below some tips on how to optimise your website and Google listing to improve local SEO for your restaurant. These tips will help you rank higher in search results and get more customers. So let’s get started!

Benefits of Local SEO for your restaurant

• Increased Customer Engagement

Customers nowadays rarely interact with their favorite restaurants in person. Social media has taken over the restaurant industry, with millions of satisfied customers raving about their culinary experiences. Individuals interact with restaurants primarily through online reviews.

Enforcing good SEO habits will allow you to interact with your customers, who will gladly return the favor. Solid restaurant SEO campaigns will keep your website at the top of the search rankings and increase the likelihood that a consumer will click on your site rather than an anonymous feedback site like Yelp.

• Increase Website Traffic = Increase Reservations

The formula is straightforward: the higher a website ranks on the internet, the more traffic it receives. Google’s first search ranking has a click-through rate of 27.5%. Customers are more likely to click on the first results related to their query.

Maintaining your website’s top ranking in your niche is the most effective way to increase traffic to your website, which always translates to more diners in your restaurant. This formula can also be used to expand other restaurant offerings, such as catering and private dining.

• Builds Credibility

Consumerism this year is fundamentally based on trust. Before any customer spends money in your restaurant, they must believe that you provide excellent food and service. A high Google ranking establishes credibility with prospective customers looking for the best restaurants in their area.

According to statistics, consumers now trust Google reviews and online recommendations more than their friends. Obtaining and responding to those reviews is an important aspect of restaurant SEO.

• Invest in Branding

Unless you are the big-shot restaurant in your area, your potential customers will most likely type in your restaurant name, or brand, when thinking about dining with you. They do this to look over your menu and services. If your customers consistently find your restaurant at or near the top of the search rankings, you can dramatically increase your brand’s equity across the internet.

This is also a consideration when potential diners receive offline recommendations from friends or associates. It lends instant credibility if they can quickly locate your restaurant. At the same time, if they are still looking for your website or restaurant, you will most likely lose that customer.

• Local SEO is a good investment with a strong ROI

Local SEO delivers a robust ROI, both short-term and long-term. Most restaurant owners have seen an increase in profits within just six months of investing in the right local SEO tactics.

This is especially true if you invest in content marketing that ensures your website offers up-to-date and relevant information about your restaurant offerings.

How to do local SEO for restaurants

1. Optimize your content

• Do local keyword research

The first thing that needs to be done is keyword research. The keywords obtained must be relevant to the restaurant you have. If you are selling pasta, your keywords must contain “pasta.” Avoid looking for keywords unrelated to restaurants so that the content you create is not in vain.

In addition, pay attention to the location you are in. This is very influential in increasing ranking on Google. Look for high-volume keywords whose areas match your restaurant’s location. To make it easier, search using tools like Ahrefs.

• Write content based on local keywords

After finishing searching for restaurant keywords, you can immediately write content based on those keywords. However, it should be noted that this is not just writing. You need to pay attention to the number of keywords, add images, and determine headings.

• Create location pages for surrounding suburbs

Create specific pages for different locations. This will make it easier for Google to identify your restaurant when someone searches for a particular area near you.

• Do on page SEO for your location pages

Page location also needs to be optimized on-page. What needs to be done is as follows.

Title tag – The title of the page that a user sees in Google search results should be between 50 and 60 characters long.

H1 – The page’s heading should inform the user about the content.

Content – Text written on the page; it is recommended that the target city/location be included here, along with relevant keywords.

Alt Tags – This text describes what an image represents; the description should include the target location.

Meta Description – This is the text snippet beneath the Google search result; include the target /location with a relevant keyword at least once (between 150 and 160 characters extended)

2. Optimize Local SEO Websites for Restaurants

• Create optimized schema

Google released a schema markup for restaurants in 2017 and several other sections/properties to go with it.

The main goal is to direct Google’s attention to menus that contain as much information as possible. This schema can range from as simple as directing to the correct URL to as complex as calories, fat count, etc.

• Create a contact page

Although the contact page may not appear as important in local rankings, there are a few tips to help your overall local presence.

Consistency in the name, address, and phone number, or NAP for short, is essential to local SEO trust signals. Consistency in your NAP across your entire online presence is a strong trust signal that helps to avoid confusion caused by incorrect information.

Another thing to consider, especially for locals, is your surroundings. Is there anything notable nearby, such as a train station or a monument? The good idea is to include a ‘get directions from’ section on your contact page. You could even go so far as to have a map if you believe it will be helpful.

Finally, it would help to consider why someone is visiting your contact page. Please include any of this information when creating or updating your contact page. Here are some examples:

1. Hours of operation
2. Allergy information
3. Nutritional requirements
4. Look at the location
5. Make a reservation

• Focus on user experience

You can use numerous techniques to make your website as appealing to Google and search engines as possible, but you must always maintain sight of the website’s primary purpose: the people.

You may receive a lot of traffic to your website, but it is only helpful if they convert or do something with the information they receive.

Consider what information the customer will require and place it in an easily accessible location. It should be optional to navigate a website to find contact information, menus, or reservation information.

3. Optimize your local online presence

• Claim your Google Business Profile and get a constant stream of reviews

Google Business Profile is one of the most critical aspects of local SEO. You should claim your business listing and ensure it is accurately listed with as much information as possible.

Your GMB profile should include all relevant contact information, including hours of operation, location, website URL, images, etc. This will help Google to recognize your business and display the correct information on its search results pages.

It is also recommended to obtain a consistent stream of reviews from your customers – this help to further establish trust and show that people have had positive experiences with your business. Thoughts are essential for local SEO and can be crucial for companies in competitive markets.

• Ensure your NAP is consistent

Consistency is vital when it comes to local SEO. You should ensure that your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistently displayed across all online directories.

This means ensuring that the NAP details are correct in Google Business Profile, Yelp, Bing Places, and other relevant local directories. This helps to establish trust and credibility with search engines, as they will know that the information is accurate and up-to-date.

• Ensure consistency for your business listing

It is important to ensure that your business details are consistent across all online local listings. If there are discrepancies between listings, it can confuse and lead to a lower ranking on search engine result pages.

Make sure that the name, address, phone number, website URL, opening hours, and other information for your business is accurate and up-to-date in all sources. This includes listings on third-party websites, directories, and social media accounts.

• Create local citations

Citations mention your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across the web. They help to signal to search engines that your business is legitimate and trustworthy. You should ensure that citations are consistent with your online listing information to avoid confusion.

Creating local citations on high-quality websites can also benefit your local SEO efforts. Look for relevant and authoritative websites, such as Yellow Pages or Yelp.

By applying these tips, you can make sure that your contact page is up-to-date and optimized for local search engine results pages. This will help to ensure that potential customers can find the information they need quickly and easily.

• Leverage your social media channels

Restaurants can benefit significantly from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Maintain consistency by including your physical address, contact information, and website links on all your social media profiles.

Make sure you’re listed as a local business on Facebook. It will make it easier and more frequent for locals to find it on Facebook.

Use your social media profiles to get people talking about you and sharing your content. Do more than just post a list of links. Creating exciting and relevant content and encouraging your users to like and share it can help you organically gain more fans and followers.

4.Monitor and analyze the results

Check to see if what you’re doing is beneficial to you. You can use a few good tools to track the results of your search engine optimization efforts.

First and foremost, install Google Analytics on your website. This will allow you to see how many visitors your site receives and where they come from. More organic search visits indicate that your SEO strategy is effective.

Most Frequently Ask Questions

Final thought

Do you already have a local SEO for restaurants? If not, now is the time to start planning one. These tips will help you get started and stay ahead of the competition. Thanks for reading!