How to Turn Your Restaurant Website Visitor to a Patron

You’re probably extremely familiar with local search marking for restaurants and the third-party websites that most people use: Yelp, Foursquare, and Urbanspoon. In just a few years, these restaurant-review websites have become the go-to sources for people in search of food and business persons who use local search marketing for restaurants.

Naturally, restaurant owners spend a lot of time and effort working to make sure the quality of their food and service is accurately reflected in the reviews. Sometimes, though, all the effort comes at the expense of the restaurants’ very own websites.

Related: How to Grow Local Customer Base in Orange County

People might initially hear about your restaurant from other websites, but when it comes to making the decision about whether or not to actually eat there, they turn to your website. They want to see your menu, prices, and hours. And they want to see what kind of atmosphere to expect, which is exactly why you need to make sure your website visitors are turning into customers.

Here’s how:

• Keep It Current

Most people looking for a place to eat are mobile. If they come to your website and see a lot of outdated information, they’ll likely assume you’re closed and go somewhere else for dinner.

• Start With the Basics

Every restaurant website needs to provide some basic information: your hours, address, menu, and prices. Make sure it’s all there, and make sure it’s all accurate and up-to-date.

• Don’t Get Too Flashy

There’s nothing more annoying to a prospective patron who is starving than being forced to sit through an unnecessary Flash-based intro page when all they want to do is see if you have Buffalo wings. Eschew the unnecessary flashiness and get to the point.

• Don’t Forget Your Regulars

New customers aren’t the only people you want visiting your website. Your regulars matter too. Keep them coming back by carving out a section of your site just for them—an events area, a news area, or even a loyalty club area.

• Promote It

Register your site with Google. Promote it everywhere, and let people know it’s there.