At Alloy we’ve been providing SEO strategies that have helped our clients achieve a steady improvement in rankings performance for almost 10 years. Every SEO strategy is different and tailored specifically to the situation of the business we’re working with. We’ve helped manufacturers, traders, breweries, fitness professionals, cafes and restaurants; there really is no one-size-fits-all SEO solution.
Having worked with this broad range of clients however, one thing we have learned is that some industries do share a few common starting points. Those in the cafe and restaurant industries in particular should be mindful of a few simple tips to help improve their SEO performance and ensure they’re seen by as many customers as possible. If you’re in the business, take a look at these to get you started. Remember, if you need a more comprehensive SEO or marketing strategy to grow your business, give us a call, we’ve worked with a number of great cafes and restaurants and would love to use our experience to help you.
1. Make sure all your Google Maps details are correct
Google Maps is the best database around for cafe’s and restaurants. As the go-to search engine for the vast majority of internet users, it’s vital to check and check again that all of your details are correct. Search for your business in Google Maps, check that the pin is in the right place and the address is correct. If your customer is nearby and does a quick search for somewhere to eat, they won’t find your marker if your post code is wrong. Even a small error could mean that you’re displayed so far from the top of the results that you don’t stand a chance. It’s not just your address that you should check for, your category and opening times will affect this too, so make sure they’re correct.
2. Match your social media information to your maps information
Your Google Maps listing is your first port of call, your social media channels are your second. Most social media sites have a space for a biography of some sort, make sure you use it to communicate key information to your customers. Anyone searching for somewhere to eat on Facebook or FourSqaure needs to be able to find where you are and your opening hours as easily or they’ll give up and move on. There are a lot of social media channels out there and you should aim to have at least a registered page on each, even if you don’t have the time or resources to regularly post there. If you’re having trouble keeping track of what you’ve done and what you haven’t a spreadsheet can help. Not the most exciting way to work, but perhaps the most practical!
3. Ask your customers for reviews
Finally your third port of call, the next thing your potential customers will be drawn to once they’ve found you are your interactions with your customers. Facebook, Google, TripAdvisor, FourSquare and many other networks display reviews prominently. They can be seen the instant someone lands on your profile, so try to fill them with as many positive interactions as you can. Would you go to a cafe or restaurant with no reviews when there’s one with ten 5-star ratings just down the road?
How can you get reviews? They key is to make it as easy as possible for your customers to leave them. You could include your @ tags on the footer of your menu, in your window or next to the till, ideally all three! Think about new and novel ways to encourage customers to leave a review, if you’re struggling to get enough why not offer a 10% discount to customers who leave a review? Anything you can do to get those numbers up is going to do wonders for getting new people through the door. What happens if you get an awful review? From time to time this can happen, if it does don’t panic, a negative review is great opportunity to show your professionalism when dealing with an unhappy customer. Remember, be polite, civil and helpful, as long as you act professionally, visitors will come to their own conclusion about who was in the right. A well handled response to criticism can actually be more helpful than a 5 star review in some cases! The crucial thing is to respond quickly to positive and negative feedback, and a quick response means checking up on all the reviews sites weekly or even daily. We offer local seo review monitoring software that goes to check reviews of your business on the top sites and sends you an email with the latest reviews digested into one east to read email, allowing you to be ahead of the game and fast to respond.
These three Essential SEO tips for cafes are the top starting points that all restaurant and cafe businesses should do to improve their SEO performance. If you follow these tips and then back them up with a full SEO strategy over several months, you’ll be well on the way to dominating the rankings in your area. If you need a dedicated team with local seo services in the world of restaurant and cafe marketing give our friendly team a call, we’d be delighted to come up with a plan to help grow your business.
