It comes as no surprise that when looking for a place to dine, a lot of people will conduct a “near me” search for restaurants close to where they are. With this in mind, restaurant owners should ensure that they appear at the top of the results page and draw in more customers.

The following tips will help you get your restaurant ranked among the top businesses in your area.

Give the right description of your restaurant

Go through every page of your website and ensure you have used keywords that are an accurate description of the services you provide.  Place yourself in your customers’ shoes and think about the kind of words they would use when searching for a restaurant in your area.

It is also helpful to include local landmarks that are close to your restaurant in your descriptions. In this way, those visiting the landmarks and looking for a place to dine may readily find your restaurant.

Check that your name, address and phone number are correctly entered on your site, otherwise, your customers will have a hard time finding you. Search engines also use this information to determine the quality of your site, if the details are inconsistent across different platforms, your site may rank lower.

Get listed in directories

Get your restaurant listed on directories, making sure the details are up to date and match your website. The best place to start is to add your restaurant to Google My Business. This will help you appear in Google searches, including maps, for restaurants in your area. Once you’ve set up the Google My Business page, create links to its review section on your social media pages. Other sites to list on include Yelp and TripAdvisor.

Furthermore, make sure that you include high-quality images that showcase your restaurant. The pictures should be able to give a feel of the place as well as a glimpse into the food people should expect there.

Earn positive reviews

In addition to using the information on your website, search engines also use comments on review sites to rank your page. If your site receives positive feedback on review sites you are likely to rank higher than your competitors in the “near me” search results. Getting positive reviews is dependent on you providing stellar service to your clients. In order for them to give an honest positive opinion, they would have had to experience great service. Review your service levels and make improvements where necessary.

Ask your customers to write reviews, the more positive reviews you receive, the better your online profile becomes. Make it easy for your customers to find your review links and questions. Asking for reviews gives you the opportunity to interact with your customers and build loyalty to your restaurant. The more you respond to their posts, the more they will feel part of your brand and may become repeat customers.

Optimize your site for mobile

As most people browse the internet on mobile than on desktop, your website should be optimized for mobile. This will make it easy for your customers to find the information they need for your restaurants such as your location and contact details.

Getting your restaurant to the top of “near me” search results will go a long way to bringing in more customers. The key lies in getting your keywords and details right across all sites where you have a presence, providing great service that inspires reviews and making sure your site is easy to use. Your restaurant will rank higher and customers will readily find you when they are looking for places to dine that are nearest to where they are.