Our clients moved to our area after perfecting their culinary skills in their native Ho Chi Minh. Not intending to open a restaurant, they quickly realized that there was something missing from the local dining scene, our clients didn’t waste any time building their restaurant and their website. What they needed was local traffic to convert into customers.
Their grand opening generated enough buzz to keep them busy during the first two months. But the restaurant needed to build
local interest quickly and sustain that interest at a level that was profitable. For local restaurants, this means a strategy that puts
the restaurant in the top results of local searches and on commonly used review sites like Google My Business and Yelp. In the
days of mobile devices when people are online almost 24/7, being discoverable via Google is critcal to a business’ success.
In the first month, we started by researching and creating a keyword strategy that focused on local keywords and buying intent. For example, our client’s website ranks in the top spot for “viet food + location”. Ranking for keywords that are based on geolocation is important for searches via mobile phones because these potential customers are often in the process of choosing a restaurant and have real buying intent. Up to half of all local searches via mobile device result in the searcher visiting the restaurant or store within the day. We then focused on setting up the restaurant on popular business review sites and data aggregators. Specifically, Google My Business, Bing Local, YellowPages.com and Yelp plus up to 30 more sites that were relevant to the restaurant niche and our location. Critical to the review site and local citation strategy was ensuring that the name, address, and phone number (NAP) were accurate and consistent across review sites, their Facebook profile, and their website. Consistent NAP data is a ranking factor for Google’s local search results. 93% of search results with local intent (search query includes a location) see Google’s local results. In the second month of the campaign and beyond, we continue building local citations which help give Google a clearer picture of our client’s business and their locations. Local citations and review sites also provide an avenue for the restaurant to engage with their customers which can really help to drive new customers to the establishment
After just 6 months of our Local SEO service, a restaurant with zero online presence is now thriving online and consistently meets all its revenue goals since the campaign began
