Last year, more than 52 percent of all web traffic around the world came from mobile devices, according to Statista. Do your website’s visuals and text come across well regardless of whether a person is visiting your site on a phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer? As Next Restaurants reports, if you have a traditional fixed website as opposed to a responsive one, your site’s images may be distorted or other content may get cut off altogether when people visit your site on a mobile device. What’s more, Google gives priority to responsive sites. You need one to ensure you’re appearing near the top of web searches. Once you convert your existing site to a responsive one or build a new one, ask an objective source to scroll through your site to ensure your graphics or other visuals don’t make navigation more difficult. Next Restaurants advises you give any important call-to-action items prime position on your homepage — email or loyalty program sign-ups, events or other key promotions should be easily viewable on a mobile device. While you’re at it, make sure your site is optimized for key words and SEO. Thanks to Google, consumers can make very specific searches on the Internet and get accurate results (research from the Hubspot indicates that 50 percent of web searches are four words in length or longer). That means your keywords should reflect that specificity. Instead of keywords as simple as “Italian food,” think “best Italian food in West Village.” For help, The Rail suggests using Google’s AdWords’ Keyword Planner to find popular search terms and to identify words and phrases that your competitors are using.
About 40 percent of people discover food and restaurants through websites, blogs or social media, according to research from Valpak. Tapping into social media influencers can help you get some business from local consumers — but how can you get the right kind of attention from those gatekeepers? An Entrepreneur report suggests avoiding the big fish in favor of smaller, more local influencers who have enough followers to deliver an impact but not so many that they won’t notice you. Take a look at their engagement rates and make sure each one of their posts garners sufficient engagement (e.g. Valpak advises that if only 2 percent of their 100,000 followers comment on or like a post, it may not be worth your while to connect with them). Make an effort to do some background research on the person’s values and overall brand to make sure your business aligns accordingly, and take note of what the person likes and dislikes so you’ll have a sense of who they are before you ask for any favors. On that note, always give before taking. That could mean doing something as simple as sharing the person’s post, or making pertinent comments on their blog posts that help further the conversation in a productive way. If you make a request, respect their time and if you don’t get the kind of response you’d like, be patient and move on until you find the right match.
There is a new way for Google to help you connect with your guests. The company just announced some enhancements to Google Lens, its image recognition software, that may change the consumer experience of eating at restaurants, according to a report from The Verge. Consumers who either have Google Pixel phones or a Google Lens app can point their phone’s camera at your menu, and the Lens will highlight your most popular dishes and be able to call up photos and reviews of individual dishes via Google Maps.
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