Search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for restaurants. The top three search results receive over 68% of all clicks on a Google Search page. So, if your restaurant isn’t ranking, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity to attract more customers.
If you want to beat third-party food delivery apps, boost your rankings, and get more foot traffic, you need to optimize your website.
However, restaurant SEO can be tricky. Mastering all the techniques that help you rank can be time-consuming and resource-intensive, especially if you don’t have prior experience.
The good news is that there are some SEO basics that you can implement to get your website optimized quickly.
In this guide, we’ll take you through the basics of SEO for restaurants and how you can get your website ranking in those top search results.
What Is Restaurant Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
SEO is the practice of optimizing a website so that it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Over 90% of diners conduct online searches before choosing a restaurant, highlighting how important it is for you to maintain an online presence.
For restaurants, SEO is about improving visibility in Google and other search engines when potential customers look for places to eat.
This involves optimizing your restaurant website and other online content to ensure that your establishment appears in search results when people type in relevant keywords. These keywords could be: “best pizza near me,” “restaurants with vegan options,” or “places to eat in [city].”
SEO increases the likelihood that potential customers will visit your website, make an online reservation, place a takeout order, or physically visit your restaurant.
When a user searches for a restaurant, Google scans a massive number of websites to determine which ones are most relevant to what you’re looking for.
How you rank in search results depends on several factors:
- Relevance: Google evaluates the keywords used throughout your site, the quality and depth of your content, and the overall authority of your website.
- Website trustworthiness and authority: Websites considered authoritative by Google tend to rank higher in search results. Google determines a site’s authority through various factors, including the quality of external links—known as backlinks—pointing to your site. A site with many reputable backlinks is more likely to be seen as an expert in its field.
- User experience (UX): Key factors such as fast page load times, mobile responsiveness, and easy-to-navigate site structures are essential for a positive UX and are critical in how well your website ranks.
- Matching search intent: Google aims to deliver the most relevant search results based on a user’s intent. For example, in an informational search, the user seeks general information or answers to questions. In a commercial search, the user is actively looking for a service or product and is closer to making a decision.
Below is an example of a restaurant website that has gotten SEO right and ranks well in the SERP for our query:
Why Do Restaurants Need SEO?
Now that you know what SEO is, let’s look at why it’s crucial for restaurants:
✔️ Online discovery
The way people discover and choose where to eat has changed significantly. Over 62% of restaurant customers now use Google to search for a place to eat. They also use online directories such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and social media to find the best restaurants nearby.
Below is an example of how a TripAdvisor page displays in the top search results for a query:
✔️ Local SEO and driving foot traffic
Local SEO is a specialized type of SEO that focuses on optimizing a restaurant’s online presence for local searches, like “best pizza restaurant near me”. 46% of all Google searches are local or location-based.
Additionally, for the average business, nearly 25% of website traffic comes from local searches.
This means making sure you appear in Google’s Local Pack—the group of the top three local businesses displayed for relevant searches.
Here’s an example of what Google’s Local Pack looks like:
✔️ Competing with third-party delivery apps
In 2024, Uber Eats controlled 23% of the online food delivery market in the U.S. Third-party delivery services have transformed the restaurant industry, often ranking highly in search results.
SEO helps your restaurant compete with these apps by driving more direct orders through your website instead of relying on these third-party platforms.
✔️ High return on investment (ROI)
Unlike paid advertising, an effective SEO strategy for a restaurant provides sustainable, long-term benefits without continuous ad spend.
A high-quality SEO campaign can achieve an average ROI of up to 748%. That means that for every dollar invested in SEO, businesses can see a return of $7.48.
✔️ Online reservations and table bookings
Many customers prefer to book tables online instead of calling you. By optimizing for the right keywords, you can appear in the searches that lead directly to online bookings.
✔️ Gaining a competitive edge
As you know, the restaurant industry is highly competitive, especially in major cities where multiple restaurants offer similar food. SEO allows you to differentiate yourself and rank above competitors in search results.
SEO Basics: Here’s What Restaurant Owners Should Know
Now that you know more about how SEO is vital for your restaurant, let’s go over some basics you need to get it right:
👉 How Google ranks restaurants in the SERPs
When potential customers search for restaurants on Google, the search engine uses a complex algorithm to determine which businesses appear at the top of the results.
As mentioned above, Google evaluates multiple factors, but for restaurants, there are four key elements that play a crucial role:
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E-E-A-T
Google’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) framework helps determine whether a restaurant’s website is trustworthy and valuable to users.
Let’s unpack E-E-A-T for restaurants in more detail:
➡️ Experience: Google considers first-hand knowledge of your restaurant’s offerings. User-generated content, such as customer reviews, photos, and testimonials, helps validate this.
➡️ Expertise: Well-optimized website content highlighting menu details, chef credentials, and blog content about food trends or local dining experiences can boost a restaurant’s perceived expertise.
New York Italian restaurant Osteria Barocca has an authoritative blog where their chef discusses food trends and showcases culinary expertise:
➡️ Authoritativeness: Strong backlinks from reputable food blogs, restaurant directories, and news sites indicate that your establishment is widely recognized and respected.
The restaurants that appear on this page on Condé Nast Traveler, which is a highly authoritative website, get high-authority backlinks to their sites:
➡️ Trustworthiness: Positive Google reviews, accurate business information, and secure website features build trust with both customers and search engines.
1. Relevance
As mentioned earlier, Google ranks restaurants based on how well their content matches what people are searching for. This is why keyword optimization is essential for restaurant SEO.
A well-optimized website with relevant keywords helps Google understand what your restaurant offers.
2. Distance
Local SEO relies on proximity, meaning restaurants closer to the searcher’s location are more likely to rank higher.
3. Prominence
Google measures a restaurant’s prominence by analyzing its online presence, reputation, and engagement across multiple platforms.
👉 Keyword research for restaurants
Keyword research is the foundation of a successful restaurant SEO strategy. Although Google updates its search algorithm 500 to 600 times yearly, keywords are still a highly important ranking factor.
It helps restaurant owners and marketers understand exactly what potential customers are searching for online and how to optimize their website content to appear in search results.
Here’s why keyword research is so vital for restaurants:
➡️ Increases online visibility: When a restaurant’s website is optimized with the right keywords, it’s more likely to appear at the top of search results.
➡️ Attracts the right customers: By targeting specific keywords related to food, location, and dining preferences, you can ensure you attract customers who are actively looking for their type of food or dining experience. This means more qualified traffic and increasing reservations, takeout orders, and walk-ins.
➡️ Improves local SEO: Many restaurant searches include location-based terms, and optimizing for local keywords can help you rank in Google’s Local Pack. This increases your visibility on Google Maps and attracts more nearby customers.
Below are three types of keywords that match what potential customers are searching for:
💡 High-intent keywords
High-intent keywords are used by people actively looking for a place to eat. These searchers are the most valuable because they have a strong intent to take action.
Examples of high-intent keywords include:
🔎 “Best sushi restaurant in Los Angeles”
🔎 “Authentic Thai food in Chicago”
🔎 “Vegan restaurant in [city]”
In the example below, a restaurant called Yamashiro has optimized for the keyword “Best sushi restaurant in Los Angeles”, which has a traffic potential of 4,900:
💡 Informational keywords
Informational keywords are used by searchers looking for guidance, tips, or recommendations rather than immediately deciding where to eat. These keywords are great for blog content, FAQs, and educational resources that can drive long-term organic traffic to a restaurant website.
Some examples of informational keywords are:
🔎 “How to find the best seafood restaurants in [city]”
🔎 “What makes a great Italian restaurant?”
🔎 “Where to eat gluten-free in San Francisco”
🔎 “Is farm-to-table dining worth it?”
A restaurant called Senza Gluten has optimized for the keyword “how to find gluten-free restaurants,” which has a decent search volume:
💡 Branded searches
Branded searches are queries that include a restaurant name, meaning the searcher is already aware of your establishment and is looking for specific details like the menu, hours, or reviews.
Examples of branded searches include:
🔎 “[Restaurant Name] menu”
🔎 “[Restaurant Name] hours”
The restaurant we mentioned in our example above, Osteria Barocca, is ranking for its brand name as the first search result on Google:
💡 How keyword research works
Keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and Semrush help you identify metrics such as:
📈 Search volume: The number of times a keyword is searched for in a month.
📈 Keyword difficulty (KD): The level of competition and effort required to rank for a specific keyword.
📈 Traffic potential: The estimated number of organic visitors a keyword could bring to your site.
📈 Related keywords: Additional relevant terms related to your primary keyword that help capture variations in searches and expand visibility.
For example, let’s look at the keyword “Chinese restaurant” on Ahrefs’s Keyword Explorer. As you can see, it has a very high search volume and competition:
Let’s say your restaurant specializes in wood-fired pizza, and you’re based in New York. A good keyword to target would be “wood fired pizza new”. This is great for local SEO and is a high-intent keyword, meaning the people searching for it are actively looking for a restaurant like yours.
As you can see on Ahrefs, the keyword has a relatively low KD and decent traffic potential, making it worth targeting:
👉 On-page SEO: Optimizing your website for search visibility
On-page SEO should be a crucial part of your strategy. It involves optimizing individual pages on your website to help search engines understand your content and achieve better search rankings.
Below are some key on-page optimization tasks to improve your visibility and attract more diners:
📝 Title tags and meta descriptions
Title tags and meta descriptions are the first things potential customers see when your restaurant appears in search results.
These elements should include important keywords like your restaurant’s name, type of cuisine, and location to increase visibility.
Below, you can see the title tag for Osteria Barocca on Google:
And here is the restaurant’s keyword-optimized meta description:
🍔 Optimizing menus
Many restaurants make the mistake of only uploading their menus as downloadable PDFs, which search engines can’t easily read or index.
To improve SEO and the user experience, your menu should be text-based and fully integrated into your website.
This helps Google index dish names so that they appear in searches. It also improves accessibility for mobile users and those using screen readers.
You should list menu items as plain text on a dedicated menu page like Osteria Barocca has on its website:
🖼️ Image SEO
Recent data suggests that images rank above text results for around one-third of search queries on Google.
High-quality images of your dishes, restaurant interior, and ambiance can make your website more appealing, but they must also be optimized for SEO.
You should add alt text to images, which helps Google understand them, improving your search rankings.
Ensure you use alt text that describes the image for search engines and visually impaired readers. An example could be: “Wood-fired Neapolitan pizza with fresh basil.”
👉 Technical SEO: Making your website fast and mobile-friendly
Technical SEO refers to the behind-the-scenes optimizations that improve your website’s performance, structure, and usability. This helps search engines rank a site more effectively.
Here are some factors to be aware of:
📱 Mobile optimization
89% of patrons use their phones to research before going to a restaurant, especially when they’re on the go or deciding where to eat at the last minute.
Google also uses mobile-first indexing, meaning it ranks websites based on how well they perform on mobile devices.
Additionally, restaurants with mobile-friendly websites are twice as likely to see sales increase compared to those without one.
⏩ Page speed
A slow website can cost your restaurant customers. 40% of consumers will abandon a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
Google also considers page speed a ranking factor, meaning that faster websites perform better in search results. Over 70% of websites have slow pages; you need to ensure yours isn’t one of these.
📋 Structured data (schema markup)
Structured data, also known as schema markup, is a special type of code that helps Google understand your website content better.
For restaurants, structured data can make search listings more informative and eye-catching, leading to more clicks.
Schema markup helps Google display rich snippets in search results, such as star ratings, hours, menus, and reservations. It also improves visibility for local SEO, increasing foot traffic.
In the example below, you can see how this restaurant’s different menus are displayed in search results:
🔐 Secure site (HTTPS)
Security is a major ranking factor, and Google favors HTTPS-encrypted websites over unprotected HTTP sites. Additionally, over 40% of users look for HTTPS before sharing their personal information.
HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure way to transfer data between a website and a user’s browser.
If a website has HTTPS, you’ll see this in your search bar:
Over 80% of websites have HTTP to HTTPS redirect issues, so getting this right will give you a competitive advantage.
👉 Linkbuilding
Link building is acquiring links from other websites that point to your own. These links, known as backlinks, act as endorsements, signaling to Google that your restaurant’s website is trustworthy and authoritative.
For example, if a local food blog links to your website in an article, it tells search engines that your restaurant is credible and worth ranking higher in search results.
Strong link building helps:
✅ Boost search rankings: The more authoritative backlinks your site has, the higher it can rank for competitive keywords like “best pizza in [city].”
✅ Increase website traffic: Links from popular sites drive direct referral traffic to your website, bringing in new potential customers.
✅ Enhance credibility: If respected sources, such as food bloggers, local media, or restaurant directories, link to your website, it improves your reputation and builds trust with potential diners.
There are several ways restaurants can build high-quality backlinks, including:
➡️ Getting featured in local blogs and food guides: Reach out to local bloggers, influencers, and food critics to see if they’d like to review your restaurant and include it in a roundup-type article.
➡️ Submitting your restaurant to online directories: List your restaurant on high-authority sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Zomato. These platforms improve local SEO and provide valuable backlinks to your website.
➡️ Partnering with local businesses: Collaborate with local food suppliers, breweries, or events venues and request that they link to your restaurant on their websites. Cross-promotions help both businesses gain exposure and backlinks.
➡️ Sponsoring or participating in local events: Many charity events, food festivals, and community initiatives list their sponsors and partners on their websites. Your restaurant can earn backlinks from event websites and local media coverage by sponsoring or participating.
➡️ Leveraging social media and public relations (PR): Engage with food journalists, influencers, and local news sites. If they feature your restaurant, they may include a link to your website in their coverage.
A restaurant called Cadence has been featured in a high-authority travel blog, earning it a high-quality backlink:
6 SEO Strategies for Restaurants to Improve Your Rankings
Below are some SEO strategies to help you elevate your website and improve your chances of ranking well in search results:
1. Optimize your Google My Business profile
As mentioned earlier, a Google Business Profile is a free tool that enables restaurants to manage their online presence on Google Search and Maps.
On average, restaurants get seven times more views on their Google Business Profile than on their website.
When customers search for specific keywords that relate to your restaurant, Google uses business profile lists to provide relevant results.
Below is an example of a Google Business Profile that comes up when we search the keyword “best sushi near me”:
Below are the steps to take to optimize your Business Profile for maximum visibility. Note that Google favors detailed and accurate listings, so make sure you fill out every section of your profile, including:
➡️ Business name: Use your exact restaurant name and avoid extra keywords.
➡️ Category: Choose the most relevant category, like Mexican Restaurant or Vegan Cafe.
➡️ Address and location: Ensure your location is correctly pinned on Google Maps.
➡️ Phone number: Use a local phone number that customers can call easily.
➡️ Business hours: Keep your house up to date, including holiday and seasonal schedules.
➡️ Website link: Direct visitors to your official website, especially an online menu or booking page.
➡️ Menu link: Add a direct menu link so users can browse your dishes easily.
➡️ Add photos: Use high-quality images to showcase your dishes, drinks, ambiance, and restaurant interior.
➡️ Answer the Q&A section: Customers can ask questions directly on your listings. You should proactively monitor and answer these inquiries. Below is an example of how a sushi restaurant is proactively answering questions on its business profile:
Here is a good example of a Google Business Profile that includes detailed and accurate information and great visuals:
2. Focus on local SEO and citations
Over 40% of local SEO campaigns achieve a 500% or better ROI.
Ensuring your restaurant is listed on high-authority directories can improve your local search rankings, boost your backlink profile, and attract more dine-in guests, orders, and reservations.
List your restaurant on major directories
Ensure your restaurant is listed on popular directories and review sites to strengthen your SEO.
Here’s an example of a Yelp citation with detailed and accurate information for a sushi bar in Los Angeles:
NAP consistency
Maintaining name, address, and phone number (NAP) consistency across all directories and platforms is essential. This is because Google relies on NAP information to verify a restaurant’s legitimacy.
Optimize location pages
If your restaurant has multiple locations, each one should have its own dedicated page optimized for local SEO.
This helps Google rank each location separately, making it easier for customers to find their nearest restaurant.
Below is an example of how Applebee’s separates its location pages:
3. Encourage and manage online reviews
Online reviews are one of the most critical factors in local SEO rankings. And 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Google prioritizes restaurants with high ratings and frequent reviews, making them more likely to appear in Google’s Local Pack and Maps results.
Additionally, restaurants with a four-star rating on popular review sites can expect a 10% to 20% increase in business.
Below is a positive Google review for a sushi restaurant in Buckhead that creates a positive reputation for the brand and enhances its local SEO:
4. Leverage content marketing with blogging
Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to attract new customers, build authority, and improve your restaurant’s search engine rankings. Over 60% of marketers say that content marketing has helped them build trust and loyalty with customers.
By creating high-quality blog content, you can engage potential diners, answer their questions, and increase your visibility in SERPs.
When you write, you should focus on topics people actively search for and those that align with your restaurant’s expertise.
In the example below, Italian restaurant Carmine’s shares a blog post titled “10 Over-the-Top Ice Cream Treats to Eat Now,” which helps capture search queries and improves its visibility:
Osteria Barocca has written a blog post titled “Top Dishes to Try for an Authentic Italian Dining Experience in NYC,” increasing the restaurant’s visibility among diners searching for food spots nearby:
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Use social media to boost SEO
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok play a significant role in increasing your visibility and attracting new customers. Over 90% of consumers expect restaurants to have social media and interact with them.
Additionally, social media is the second most trusted source of information for people deciding where to eat.
Being active on these networks gets you backlinks, drives traffic to your website, increases brand awareness, and boosts your local search presence.
Since food is highly visual, these platforms are perfect for showcasing dishes, ambiance, and behind-the-scenes content, enticing customers to visit your restaurant.
This restaurant posts excellent visuals on Instagram that include its dishes and atmosphere:
6. Track SEO performance and make improvements
SEO isn’t a one-time effort. It requires continuous monitoring and optimization to ensure your restaurant remains visible in search results and attracts more customers.
By tracking key performance metrics, you can see what’s working, identify areas for improvement, and refine your SEO strategy over time.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that provides insights into how people find and interact with your website.
Below are some key metrics to track:
📈 Total website traffic: How many people visit your site.
📈 Traffic sources: Where your visitors come from, such as Google search, social media, or directories.
📈 Bounce rate: How many visitors leave your site without interacting.
📈 Conversion rate: How many users book a table, place an order, or call your restaurant.
If you notice that certain pages aren’t converting well, consider improving them with better CTAs, optimized menu descriptions, or clearer booking options.
Google Search Console is another essential tool that helps you understand which keywords bring traffic to your website. It provides data on search queries, click-through rates (CTR), and how well your site ranks on Google.
Here’s how you can use Google Search Console for restaurant SEO:
➡️ Check keyword rankings: See which terms bring people to your site. If you notice that specific keywords are performing well, optimizing your pages further with those terms helps maintain and improve rankings.
➡️ Identify high-performing pages: These are insights into which pages receive the most clicks and impressions in search results. If your menu page performs well, ensure it remains updated and optimized.
➡️ Find indexing issues: If Google can’t properly crawl and index your site, your pages won’t appear in search results. Google Search Console can check for crawl errors, missing pages, or improperly indexed content.
Create Long-Term Restaurant SEO Success
Investing in SEO is one of the best ways to beat third-party delivery apps, attract more diners, increase online orders, and grow your restaurant’s reputation.
By optimizing your website, leveraging local SEO, and managing your online presence, you can outrank competitors and drive more foot traffic and reservations.
However, SEO takes time and expertise. If you want to see big results without the hassle, let Authority Builders help.
Our team specializes in high-quality link building and proven SEO strategies to improve your rankings and bring more customers to your restaurant.
If you’re ready to master your SEO, book a call with us today, and let us build a strategy that drives massive results.