In today’s digital world, publicity and PR can be challenging. Unless you have a huge marketing budget (which most small businesses don’t), getting your restaurant in front of potential customers is difficult. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get your business the attention it needs. With the right strategy and the perfect balance of keywords, you can optimize your restaurant’s visibility online and boost your PR without breaking the bank.Â
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an affordable way to get your business noticed online so you can reach new customers and keep old ones coming back for more. Here are three ways that using SEO to boost your PR can help your restaurant succeed.
SEO + PR Â Drives Traffic
One of the most significant advantages of SEO is that it tends to drive traffic to your website. If you want to get more customers through your door, SEO can help you accomplish that goal by making your restaurant, menu, hours, and address visible online.Â
Research shows that 68% of consumers conduct online research before buying a product or service. If you want to target the right people, using SEO is a must – that way, when someone enters one of your keywords in their online search, they’ll see your business in the results. While an ad might appear in front of a single person once, SEO will help get your business in front of tons of people every day. That’s a huge advantage for small businesses that don’t have big marketing budgets.
SEO + PR Â Boosts Brand Awareness
The right SEO strategy can help boost your brand awareness by increasing the number of impressions your website and online content receive. With the right SEO and PR strategy, you will drive more traffic to your website and get more people to click on your site.Â
While the increased traffic alone will build brand awareness, another thing SEO does for PR is boost brand awareness to the general public without paid advertising. Unlike ads, SEO is a totally natural way to get noticed--no one will know your restaurant is boosting its visibility on the web with SEO. Your search listings are less intrusive and more convincing since you aren’t paying for the click.
SEO + PR Â Gives You a Digital Edge
People trust what they can see. SEO can give your restaurant a digital edge over competitors by helping you rank higher in online search engine results. When someone is searching for a particular product or service, they don’t always click on the first link (which is also usually a paid placement). In fact, a study shows that only 16% of consumers click on the first link in search engine results pages (SERPs).Â
Using the right SEO PR strategy can help ensure your restaurant is the first result in SERPs–without having to pay for that placement. And climbing up the ranks of SERPs will give you an edge over your competitors.
SEO is a Long Term Strategy
An important thing to keep in mind, though, is that SEO PR isn’t a quick fix; in reality, it’s dependent on the overall digital footprint you build through a catalog of press releases, media interviews, and online reviews, all of which outweigh just being the first to pop up on the search page. It takes time to rank higher in SERPs, thanks to a process called the algorithm, and it’s incredibly important to start planning your strategy ahead of time.
So as we can see, the best way to boost your restaurant's visibility online is by using SEO. When paired with the power of public relations, SEO can help you drive online traffic, which will bring more people through the doors of your restaurant. PR and search engine optimization are no longer marketing secrets. With the right strategy and consistent monitoring, you can see significant improvements in your restaurant's visibility and brand awareness.Â
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of making sure that your restaurant is visible in the search results pages for your target keywords. If you’re entirely new to SEO and public relations, it can take up to 90 days or more to see any measurable results - so be patient! Your best bet is to start by monitoring your rankings in the major search engines to see how well they improve over time, in tandem with your PR strategy. And it will be well worth the time and effort in the long run to get your brand out in the digital landscape.
If you need help improving your website's SEO or your business's PR strategy, reach out to us today!
