Bars and restaurants
Being the one who comes up when somebody searches for lunch nearby.
You are not competing with the restaurants downtown: you are competing with the four within five minutes’ walk. That is a fight you can win.
SEO for a restaurant means showing up when somebody searches for somewhere to eat nearby, and it is worked on with the real words of those searches — daily menu, terrace, eating with children —, a well kept Google profile and the venue’s details identical everywhere.
Last reviewed:
The searches of lunchtime
Nobody searches for «catering establishment». People search for the daily menu plus the name of the neighbourhood, «somewhere to eat nearby», «restaurant with a terrace», «places to eat with kids» or «dinner for twelve». They are short searches, made hungry and in a hurry, and nearly always from a phone while standing up.
Your website has to be written with those words, not with the ones from your introduction letter. It is a bit of a shame to give up «author cuisine with local produce», but nobody searches for that at a quarter past one.
Google publishes how it sorts the local result
There are three things: how well you match what was searched for, how far you are from the searcher, and how well known you are. Distance cannot be touched. The other two are the work: a complete, well categorised profile, a website that talks about what you actually serve, and reviews and mentions saying you exist.
A page for each thing that fills tables
The daily menu deserves its own page. So do work lunches. And the terrace, and celebrations, and catering if you do it. Each one answers a different search and each one fills tables at a different point in the year. A single «menu» page answers none of them well.
Name, address and phone saying the same thing
Between the website, the Google profile, the restaurant directories and the local guides, a restaurant ends up appearing in fifteen places, half of them with the old phone number. Each different version chips away at confidence. Going through that is dull, gets done once, and shows.
The same thing, explained in general: Local SEO · Google profile
What we do about it
Part of the maintenance: you never have to ask, and it is never billed apart.
- The words of lunchtime The ones hungry people use, not the ones from your introduction letter.
- A daily menu page The most repeated search there is, and the one almost nobody works on.
- Pages for what fills tables Terrace, groups, celebrations or takeaway, each with its own.
- A well kept Google profile Because the local result and the profile are the same fight.
- The same details everywhere Website, profile, directories and guides all saying one thing.
- Reporting without smoke We show you which searches you appear for and which are still winnable.
And this you change with one sentence
You write what you want changed and we publish it.
We want to be found for work lunches
A group page of its own, with capacity, fixed menus and an enquiry form.
We have opened a terrace
A terrace page with photos and hours, and the profile updated.
Why do I not come up when I search my own name?
We look: nearly always an unverified profile or details that do not match.
Frequently asked questions
How long until it shows?
The profile and the details, weeks. New pages and prominence, months. Anyone promising you first place in a fortnight is talking about paid ads.
Do you guarantee first place?
No. We guarantee doing what is documented and showing you what has been done. Nobody serious sells the top spot.
Do I need a blog?
Almost never in hospitality. Keeping the daily menu current and writing good terrace, group and celebration pages pays far better.
What about the restaurant portals?
They bring people and they have their place. What is not advisable is for them to be your only presence: there the customer is theirs, while the profile and the website are yours.
Where all this comes from
Every figure and every rule quoted above, linked to the official text.
- Tips to improve your local ranking on Google Google Business Profile
- Google Search Essentials Google Search Central
The rest of what a website for bars and restaurants includes
Table bookings
Customers book from the site or from Google. It reaches your phone straight away.
Digital menu
Your menu with a QR for the tables, always matching the printed one. Change prices with a sentence.
Google profile with menu
Hours, photos and the daily special in sync. Where everyone looks for you.
WhatsApp orders
A direct button to your WhatsApp for takeaway and large groups.
Reviews, worked on
We ask the happy customer for a review and alert you to bad ones so you can reply in time.
Legal, no surprises
Cookies, privacy and allergen information as the rules require.
Backups and security
Your site and your data backed up daily. If something fails, it is restored in minutes.
Do you come up when somebody searches for lunch on your street?
Try it from a phone, signed out. If you do not come up, we will tell you why.
Write to us