Enhance Rankings With This Off-Page SEO Checklist For Restaurants

SEO October 4, 2024

0 5 5 minutes read

In 2022, maintaining a robust online presence for your restaurant is crucial. As people search for new dining spots, thousands of options are available at their fingertips, intensifying the competition. To ensure locals find your restaurant when searching for places to eat in the vicinity, you must enhance your online presence and ensure you are prominently featured in search results.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most effective and cost-efficient methods to highlight your restaurant online. While on-page SEO focuses on optimizing your website, off-page SEO is about expanding your online reach. Below, you’ll find an off-page SEO checklist for restaurants that includes all the elements you need to monitor regularly. This guide will cover Google Business Profile, TripAdvisor, Yelp, social media, link building, and more.

1. Claim Your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (GBP), previously known as Google My Business, is a powerful tool for businesses worldwide. It enables owners to enhance their business visibility on Google and make a positive first impression by showcasing what makes them unique. The information you choose to highlight is what potential customers will see when they search for your restaurant or nearby eateries on Google.

To ensure your restaurant is easily found on Google Search and Google Maps, claim and complete your Google Business Profile. The more details you provide, the higher the likelihood of attracting hungry customers. Your restaurant website is a key component to include in your Google Business Profile, as it will offer you a valuable backlink and simplify navigation to your site. Equally important is displaying your menu and order page.

Additional must-have information for Google Business Profile includes:

Location
Opening hours
Contact information
Photos of your dishes and restaurant ambiance

To make your GBP profile more appealing, showcase daily specials, promotions, events, and behind-the-scenes videos. If you have multiple restaurant locations, it’s wise to create a separate Google Business Profile for each.

2. Claim Your Profiles On Yelp And TripAdvisor

Yelp and TripAdvisor are also essential platforms on this off-page restaurant SEO checklist. According to a survey, 98% of customers read online reviews of businesses in 2021. Platforms like TripAdvisor and Yelp attract millions of visitors each month, making them crucial for your restaurant’s visibility. Add your restaurant to TripAdvisor and Yelp, or claim your listing if it already exists.

Yelp For Restaurants

After entering your basic information, follow these steps to customize your Yelp profile and stand out:

Add your menu.
Provide additional service information, such as delivery, table reservations, and online payment methods.
Optimize your restaurant description with relevant keywords like “Italian restaurant,” “pizza,” or “New York.”
Add the Yelp badge to your restaurant website.
Encourage reviews and complete your profile to boost your Yelp rating.
Include a call-to-action button that redirects customers to your website.

TripAdvisor For Restaurants

The same principles apply to TripAdvisor. Start by completing the profile basics like name, address, and website. Next, enhance your profile with the following tips to rank higher on TripAdvisor:

Collect reviews and respond promptly, especially to negative ones.
Ensure your listing is current.
Order branded TripAdvisor stickers for your windows.
Set up direct messaging for customer inquiries and complaint resolution.
Create a Storyboard highlighting your best photos and reviews.

3. Link Your Website On Social Media

Social media is another critical aspect of off-page SEO for restaurants. Although not a direct ranking factor, it can indirectly influence SEO. By directing your social media profiles to your website, you can increase traffic, enhance business, and build online authority. However, merely having profiles is insufficient; you must maintain an active presence and engage with followers to encourage content sharing.

Each social network serves a unique purpose:

On Facebook, post your menu using the ‘Start Order’ button to boost sales.
On Instagram, share enticing photos of your dishes.
Use Twitter to address customer concerns and update followers on changes and events.

Additionally, platforms like Pinterest, Snapchat, or TikTok can yield surprising results:

Pinterest allows you to post menu photos, create recipe boards, and engage with the restaurant community.
Snapchat can help attract local customers using geofilters and interactive content.
TikTok connects you to a younger audience through hashtag challenges and engaging content.

Remember to add your social media profiles to your website and share user-generated content with customer permission.

4. Do Link Building Outreach

Obtaining quality backlinks from high-authority websites can enhance your site’s authority, reputation, and search rankings. Featuring your restaurant in local online publications will also attract new customers. Start by identifying top-rated food industry websites and pitch guest posts by sharing your expertise as a chef or restaurant owner, including a link to your site. Similarly, reach out to local business directories and restaurant ranking websites, offering potential discounts for their visitors.

Create A Restaurant Blog

To naturally acquire relevant backlinks, consider launching a blog where you share insights into the restaurant industry. Conduct keyword research to identify topics of interest that can rank high. Here are some blog topic ideas:

How-tos and cooking guides (e.g., how to cook seafood, season rice, pair wine with fish).
Lists (e.g., common kitchen ingredients, dinner etiquette tips, food for movie night).
Menu, food, or industry trends (e.g., food trends 2022, restaurant trends 2022).
Menu updates, limited items, and FAQs.
New features or products (e.g., how to order or book a table online).
Stories about you and your staff (e.g., meet the owner, employee of the month).

When selecting keywords, remember your restaurant’s cuisine and key selling points. For example, a vegetarian restaurant might focus on “vegetarian lunch box ideas” rather than “how to cut steak.”

5. Collaborate With Food Influencers

Collaborating with food bloggers and influencers with a substantial social media following can effectively promote your restaurant. They can boost website traffic and improve search engine rankings by linking to your site. Invite local influencers for exclusive tastings of new menu items and consider offering special discount coupons to their followers.

You can find local influencers through forums and groups for food bloggers. Additionally, paid blogger outreach software can enhance your outreach efforts.

6. Keep Your NAP Updated Throughout All Platforms

Consistency in your NAP (name, address, phone number) is critical for restaurant SEO. Your NAP information should be consistent across your website, social media, and third-party websites. This consistency helps search engines provide relevant search results and maintains user trust. Ensure your NAP details are spelled and formatted identically across all platforms.

7. Add Your Restaurant On Popular Review Platforms And Business Directories

After securing listings on Google Business Profile, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, explore additional directories and websites to list your restaurant. These platforms might provide valuable backlinks and expose your business to new customers. While Bing is not as popular as Google, adding your restaurant to Bing Places is still beneficial.

Consider adding your restaurant to the following platforms:

Citysearch
Foursquare
Local.com
Yellowpages.com
White Pages

Always maintain consistent NAP information across all platforms.

Summary

While good food is fundamental to your restaurant’s success, a solid online presence is essential to reach today’s food-loving audience. Building your online presence starts with your website and extends to off-page restaurant SEO. From social media to review websites and food blogs, complete this off-page SEO checklist to establish your restaurant as a community fixture and a strong contender in search results.

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