Practical ways to get more customers for your restaurant beyond search rankings: turning your website into a booking and ordering channel, earning reviews, bringing regulars back, and knowing which channels are worth the money.
Key takeaways
- Treat the website as a till, not a brochure: menu, booking and ordering one tap away.
- Reviews are the new word of mouth; ask for them every day, not once a year.
- Regulars are cheaper to bring back than new guests are to find, so collect a way to reach them.
- Delivery apps bring volume at a high commission; your own ordering keeps the margin.
Make the website take bookings and orders
Most restaurant websites are built to look good and then leave the guest to find a phone number. The ones that bring in customers put three things one tap from the top of every page on a phone: the menu, a booking button and an order button.
The menu should be a real web page, not a PDF, with prices and dietary notes, so it loads fast on a phone and search engines can read it. Booking and ordering can run through the service you already use; the site's job is to get people there without friction.
- Menu as a web page, not a PDF
- Booking one tap from every page
- Online ordering linked from the top
- Hours, address and parking visible without scrolling
Earn reviews every single day
Guests choose between restaurants in a few seconds, mostly on the star rating and the most recent reviews. A steady stream of new reviews matters more than a perfect average from two years ago.
Build asking into service: a small card with the bill, a QR code on the table tent, a line in the order confirmation email. Answer every review, especially the bad ones, briefly and without arguing; future guests read the reply as much as the complaint.
Related: SEO for restaurants.
- A review card or QR code with the bill
- A link in every order confirmation
- A short, calm reply to every review
- Fix what the reviews keep mentioning
Bring regulars back
A regular who comes twice a month is worth more than any single campaign. The problem is that most restaurants have no way to reach them. Fix that first: collect emails or phone numbers through online orders, bookings, Wi-Fi sign-in or a simple loyalty offer.
Then use the list sparingly. A new seasonal menu, a quiet-night offer, an event or a birthday treat. A message a month that people look forward to beats a weekly discount they learn to ignore.
Which channels are worth the money
Every channel brings a different kind of guest at a different cost. The table sets out the common ones so you can decide where to spend time and money first.
Related: restaurant website prices.
| Channel | What it brings | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Your own website and ordering | Direct orders, full margin | Needs to be fast and easy on phones |
| Google reviews and maps | New local guests | A steady flow of fresh reviews |
| Delivery apps | Volume and reach | High commission on every order |
| Email and SMS to regulars | Repeat visits | Too many messages drive people away |
| Events and collaborations | New faces and content | Time to organize and promote |
Delivery apps versus your own ordering
Delivery apps are good at finding new customers and bad at keeping your margin. Use them for reach, then give app customers a reason to order direct next time: a card in the bag with a small offer for ordering on your own site.
Your own ordering only works if it is as easy as the app. That means a short menu flow on a phone, saved details, and payment in a couple of taps.
Turn the visit into marketing
The dish people photograph, the table by the window, the friendly greeting by name: guests share experiences, not menus. Think about which moment in your restaurant is worth a photo and make it easy to capture.
Events do the same job on a bigger scale. A tasting night, a local collaboration or a quiz evening gives regulars a reason to bring friends and gives you something to post about.
Related: restaurant websites that take orders.
Measure what brings guests in
Ask new guests how they found you and write it down for a month. Check where online orders and bookings come from in your website analytics. The answers usually show one or two channels doing most of the work, and a few that cost time for little return.
If search is one of the channels that matters, our guide to SEO for restaurants covers how to show up when locals search for somewhere to eat.
