If there was just one restaurant marketing activity you should do right now, optimising for local search is it! Setting up your Google my Business won’t take too long (around 10 - 20 minutes) but it will get you customers at a low cost.
Local/location-based searches happen in a couple of ways:
A potential customer enters the location directly into the search engine: Perhaps "Italian restaurant in Buncrana"
OR
A potential customer is nearby and Google returns search results based on a device’s GPS coordinates: Someone in Dublin searched for "coffee shop near me”
Both of these searches are important to your restaurant's online traffic and foot traffic.
When does your venue’s location matter?
Your restaurant or café location matters any time a potential customer is trying to find a product or service close to where they are.
For location-relevant businesses like restaurants, bars and cafés location-based searches are crucial. In a local search, you are competing with similar local businesses to win the customer. In the restaurant industry, around 30% of searches convert to paying customers immediately, 60% convert within an hour, and 80% convert eventually, according to a Google report.
These searches are happening in Google Maps on browsers and in-app, daily. Where do the results come from? Your Google My Business listing.
It’s time to get your listing up and running or optimised!
What is Google my Business
“Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to promote your Business Profile and business website on Google Search and Maps. With your Google My Business account, you can see and connect with your customers, post updates to your Business Profile and see how customers are interacting with your business on Google.” - Google
What is local optimisation?
Local optimisation is all about giving Google the best information possible about your business for their local business directory. The key is to keep your profile updated and active. This allows Google to match your potential customer’s queries with the best results.
How to work on your Local Pages
Be as comprehensive as you can!
Keep all of your contact information current and correct (address, phone numbers, website URLs). Fill out your hours and description. And above all, make sure you have one or more categories selected.
The categories are critical, so make sure that you include all categories that match your offering. For example, if you're an Italian restaurant, make sure to select both the "Italian restaurant" category as well as the "restaurant" category.
Then make your listing stand out by adding your best cover photo, along with a few more other images to showcase your offerings. Make those images as appealing as possible. Show off your food and your venue’s atmosphere. As well as that, using images of the team can help to humanise your businesses and in turn, attract more customers.
Google My Business Pages Are Your Online Storefront
Your listing should be complete and comprehensive. Include details like:
Address
Phone number
Website link
Click and Collect link (request your bamboo.app link if you haven’t got it already)
Directions
Business hours
Other links
Images of your products
You will be able to show your key selling points and action items before any customers have even reached your website or online ordering platform. For example, include your current availability - is that, takeout, dine-in, and delivery? Or one of the above? Include which online ordering platforms you use, where to find your menu and how people can order.
As a result, your business profile will enable what search professionals call zero-click. That’s when all of your business information is easily accessible on Google, so there is no need for your potential customer to click through to a website.
How Google My Business can work for you
Google My Business needs to be a prominent piece of every local business’ marketing strategy. It will optimise your overall customer experience.
As the local search market grows, local businesses need to maintain a presence within those local search results. This happens by integrating your online marketing efforts with online and mobile ordering platforms. This is where your Google My Business listing comes into play.
The Bamboo team helps businesses like yours grow! We’re here to help you succeed by supporting both tried and tested and new lines of service for your venue and customers.
Talk to one of the Bamboo team: https://bamboo.app/meeting