SEO Keywords for Restaurants: Where & How to Use Them + Examples
- By Silvia Palasca
- CREATE WEBSITE
- MAR 16, 2020 (Update: May 08, 2024)
Marketing your business can be a big challenge. After all, you don't want to invest time, money, and effort into campaigns that will go unnoticed.
To ensure your promotional efforts achieve the desired results, rely on knowledge. If you know how something works and what it involves, you will set yourself up for success.
In this article, we will talk about the big role SEO keywords for restaurants play for SEO, and how to use them and we will also give you examples for inspiration.
Why invest in SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. SEO involves a series of procedures to help your restaurant’s website rank on the first page of Google where it will receive maximum visibility.
If you invest in optimization, you will enjoy:
- Increased brand awareness
- Outrank your competition
- Attract more clients
Before we dive into the role of SEO keywords for restaurants, we recommend you read more on how to master SEO:
Why you need keywords for restaurant SEO to work
What do you do when you search for a restaurant on Google? You type in a word, or several words and press enter. What you just used is a keyword.
The value of a keyword increases when many people use it. For example, if a lot of people search for “best pizza in Cambridge”, it lets Google know there is a lot of interest in the subject.
If you want to appear on the first page when people search for a specific keyword, the first step of SEO is to add that keyword to your content.
Before you create your content, you must identify the relevant keywords for you. There are a variety of tools you can do so, here are some examples:
- Google AdWords
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
- Keywords Everywhere
Where to use SEO keywords for restaurants
More keywords -> better ranking. But you can’t just have a phrase where you repeat the same keyword, you must also make your content attractive to clients. Here is where you should add SEO keywords for restaurants for the best results:
- Page title: a short and punchy title, where you tell people what they will find on the page;
- Meta description: this is your chance to hook the clients and persuade them to click on the link with a powerful call to action;
- Headings and subheadings: naturally insert the keyword in titles to show Google that your whole page revolves around the selected keyword;
- URL: make it clear from the URL that you target a specific keyword;
- Page Content: don’t overdo it or it may be considered keyword stuffing and Google will penalize you;
- Alt text for images: this is a great place to add the main and secondary keywords;
- Internal linking: if you have other pages on your website, especially a blog, you must use the keyword when you link to the page that targets it;
- Social media: while social media is not a direct ranking factor, it helps to show the search engine that you have a united strategy on all platforms. Adding links to your website is also helpful;
- Online directories: create a profile on review platforms and add links back to your website and try to get mentioned on blogs with the targeted keyword;
- Google Business Profile: use the main keywords in your Google Business Profile description to make it obvious that those specific words describe your restaurant.
Read more: How to Optimize Google My Business (Google Business Profile) for Your Restaurant: Must-Know Tips
How to use keywords for restaurants for maximum efficiency
Not all SEO keywords for restaurants are created equal and the way you use them can significantly impact your ranking. Here are some tips to ensure your keyword usage will help your SEO efforts, not hinder them:
- Go for lower volume searches: keywords with a volume search of over 500 are harder to rank for because other older websites already put in the effort to rank for them. If you want to see faster results, aim for keywords under 150 searches;
- Insert keywords naturally: you are writing for humans, not search engines. Google will actually rank you lower if you just stuff keywords in the content, without making them sound natural. As a general rule, the keyword must be included at the beginning of the body of text and wherever else you can insert it seamlessly.
- Use related keywords: to not repeat the same keyword over and over, you can use related ones throughout the content. For example, if you focus on "pizza in London", you can also add "pizza in King's Cross" and "pizza in Primrose Hill".
Restaurant keywords list
If you haven’t done keyword research until now, you may find it a bit hard to start. That’s why we compiled a list you can use as inspiration when you are searching for SEO keywords for restaurants:
- Type of cuisine + location such as Chinese food in Cambridge
- Type of cuisine + type of fulfillment + location, such as Chinese takeaway in Cambridge
- Menu item + location, such as Pizza Margherita Cambridge
- Menu item + type of fulfillment + location, such as Pizza Margherita delivery Cambridge
- Best + menu item + location, such as Best Spring Rolls Cambridge
- Type of experience + restaurant, such as Live music restaurant
Final Words
SEO keywords for restaurants are imperative for a high rating. Now that you know when and how to use them, it is time to choose a tool and draw inspiration from the list above to find the keywords that will help your restaurant get on the first page of Google.