Using Google Adwords can be beneficial to a restaurant, if done correctly. In this article, we’ll explore a few simple ways of making the internet work for your business.
Growing numbers of people are using the Internet to answer their questions – including ones as simple as “Where to eat?” They enter phrases such as “Italian restaurant in West London” into a search engine, then look at reviews and menus. They can even order food with the click of a button!
What happens when these people, who are looking for you but don’t know it, ask their search engine for help? The engine returns a list of websites that best match the words that the potential customer has typed. On average, the top three results of the search engine sweep up over 40% of the virtual traffic. You can make sure your restaurant appears in the top few results (increasing visits to your site) by using Google AdWords.
Below, we’ll look at 5 tips to help you get started with an AdWord campaign.
What is AdWords?
Google AdWords is an advertising model that works on a pay-per-click basis. It allows organisations to create adverts that will appear in search results for free.
To set up an AdWords campaign, you’ll need to start by selecting your keywords. Keywords are the words or phrases that are likely to be used when someone is running a search.
Important things to consider when creating your keywords list include:
Your customers – what demographic are you aiming at? What words are they likely to use when they type in the search box?
Your location and cuisine-type – potential customers are probably going to be looking for something in particular. It’s unlikely they’ll type in “restaurant near me” and more likely that they’ll look for “Indian restaurant in Soho” or “Chinese restaurant in North London”. The more of those words that are included in your keywords, the more likely it is that your ad will appear in their search results.
Any unique selling point (USP) that you may have – are you the only fair-trade restaurant in your area? Is all your furniture upcycled from vintage cars? Do you have a live tree growing through the centre of your dining space? If there is something that makes you stand out from your competitors, feel free to add that as a keyword as well.
To begin an Adwords campaign, choose the keywords you want to trigger your ads, then place a bid on each of those keywords. Keywords should be the words and phrases your potential customers type into search engines when they’re searching for restaurants like yours.
Whenever a user search matches your keyword, the ad platform identifies which advertisers bid the highest on it, then positions those adverts above the regular search engine results.
An ad generally consists of a title, a link to the company’s website, and two lines of descriptive text. When someone clicks the link in the ad, it takes them to a landing page on the company’s site. On that page, the company can begin the process of converting the visitor into a paying customer.
How PPC can benefit restaurants
Before consumers make purchase decisions, many of them conduct research online – even for something as simple as which restaurant to go to. They may want to see what’s in the area, available specials, menus, prices and more.
The majority of these Internet users start their research on a search engine. But when they’re on Google or Bing, they often don’t click past the first page of results.
Adwords also offers a chance for smaller organisations to compete against larger ones that would otherwise have better rankings in search engines. For example, a small pizza shop might not be able to rank higher than a large chain in organic search results due to the chain’s influence and size. But by bidding on the right keywords, the underdog can still nab one of those top spots. And because they only pay for actual clicks, the financial risk is fairly low as well.
Pay-Per-Click tips for restaurants
When it comes to PPC for restaurants, certain strategies work especially well. The following tips will help optimize your campaigns for the best results.
1. GO MOBILE
In 2016, 72% of search engine queries related to food and beverage were conducted on mobile devices. This means that campaigns should make it easy for users on smartphones and other devices to take action.
Including the click-to-call feature on mobile-friendly adverts has the potential to make campaigns more effective. This accommodates the use of a click button which allows a phone to contact a business automatically, making life easier for the user.
The landing pages that ads take people to should also be accessible on mobile devices. Ensure they’re responsive so that they look great on any screen and load as quickly as possible.
2. INCLUDE LOCATION-BASED KEYWORDS
When people search for restaurants online, they’re usually looking for something in their vicinity. Restaurant PPC ads should take advantage of this fact by using location-based keywords. Include the name of your city, region, and part of town in your keywords.
These more detailed keywords will not only be cheaper because they’re less common than other search terms, but they’re also more likely to bring in paying customers because of their specificity.
3. USE REMARKETING
In some Internet marketing situations, people may not be ready to visit a business immediately. This is why remarketing increases conversion rates over time.
Remarketing involves advertising to people who have already interacted with a website in some way, and reminding them of the products or deals they were interested in.
With so many food options available, people may forget about a restaurant even if they ate there and liked it. Showing up as a top search result can remind them of it and make them want to return.
4. OPTIMIZE YOUR LANDING PAGES
In order for a PPC campaign to work, the landing pages that the ads take people to need to effectively convert them into paying customers.
To do this, it’s best to include a call to action, or a request for them to do something specific. This action could be signing up for an email list, downloading a coupon, placing an order, or anything else that accomplishes a marketing goal. Always display your call to action on your landing page.
Having images of your restaurant’s food on your landing pages can also help convince people to make a purchase. It’ll look appealing to them if they’re hungry – and if they’re searching for restaurants online, they probably are.
5. ANALYSE AND REVISE YOUR CAMPAIGNS REGULARLY
Another important aspect of PPC for restaurants is monitoring your ads’ successes and failures and adjusting your campaigns accordingly. AdWords can monitor clicks and conversions, and determine which ads generate the best results.
You can also include call tracking in your monitoring if you’ve placed any click-to-call ads.
If an ad is performing well, it may make sense to inject more budget into it or create more similar ads. And if an ad isn’t working, you can move your spend into a more effective one.
To wrap up
Search engines are becoming increasingly important in how people choose restaurants to dine at. Your search engine visibility can make the difference in whether a potential customer chooses yours. PPC adverts can be an effective way to improve your visibility, attract more customers, and reach your business goals.
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