Can Local Restaurants Compete with National Chains on the Digital Front?

Local restaurants shouldn’t even try to compete with national chains. They should focus on attracting customers that appreciate their unique flavor and ambiance. And, with Google Small Business Advertising, local restaurants can hone in on precisely the right audience, at the right time to fill tables when they need it the most.  

Many restaurant owners think that Google Ads are expensive and confusing, which they can be if you are unsure on how to utilize these tools for maximum conversion. However, with the right set-up and specific keywords, you can reach your target audience and convert them into leads for a minimum cost. Advances in digital marketing have helped local restaurants attract customers, track their sales growth and maintain a strong presence through customers leaving reviews on their profiles. With integrated and up-to-date profiles, it also allows easy access through locatable maps and contact directories for faster communication and customer directions. 

Connect to a wider niche audience through geo-targeting 

Investing in your restaurant’s digital presence is a great way to gather potential customers and be more competitive in the industry. Google Small Business Advertising allows you to customize your ads to reach people in certain locations or keywords into a Google search that will target a specific niche. Our platform is utilizing AI to improve your results, so there is no need to worry about selecting the perfect keywords. Data shows that 72 percent of consumers who perform a local search visit a store within five miles of their current location. This is a great opportunity to drive interest and traffic to your website and social accounts for more leads at a low cost. 

With Google Display Ads you can reach over 90 percent of all internet users while they are nearby and on-the-go, checking the weather, reading the news, playing a game, watching a video or even checking their email. The range that you decide will determine your goals, and you can run several ad campaigns throughout the week while regulating the geographic pointing for each campaign. 

Set your budget and bid on in-demand keywords 

Not only you can target a specific niche audience through Google Small Business Advertising, but you can also set your budget by setting up key parameters to control your spending. C2 Communications can help you set up a strategic average daily budget for your campaign and since Google Ads work on a cost-per-click basis, you only pay when somebody clicks on your ad. 

While Google Small Business Advertising is already targeting potential customers, who are actively seeking for restaurant and club recommendations, your business can stand among the rest and be recommended first by Google through targeted keyword search. The more in demand the keyword is, the higher the bid will be and so you can try a variety of keywords that can give you the best results at the lowest rate. 

Google Small Business Advertising works best when paired with other PPC marketing strategies. 27% of consumers conduct a search for a business after seeing their display ad, and there’s a 59% lift in conversion when users directed a search related to a display ad. 

Most restaurant owners are hesitant to use Google restaurant ads since they think they need to bid on high-cost keywords in order to drive traffic. Instead of using short-tail keywords that could take a huge chunk of your budget, identify specific elements of your restaurant or your customers’ desires when bidding on long-tail keywords. 

Set your restaurant ad schedule 

Once your campaign is set up, loaded the target keywords, established your daily budget, and personalized your ad messaging, Google Advertising will produce results quickly. It also allows you to get your business to users who are looking for what you are selling. This is a great advantage as it attracts the attention of potential customers who may not have heard of your business before and sends them to you in place of other companies and helps increase conversion rates. 

Google Ads enables you only to show your ads during specific times of the day. You can choose when the local restaurant searchers see one of your restaurant ads on Google and decide if you are targeting the lunch or dinner crowd, special events or holidays and celebrations to drive traffic. 

Generate results quickly 

Not only you can see immediate results but you can also track what your advertisements are bringing in. With Google Advertising, you are able to see how well your ads are working and if you should make changes. It allows you to track your statistics which cover everything from the average cost per click, to advert position and even your conversion rate. 

Google Small Business Advertising lets you get in front of potential leads before they need a specific good or service from you. By the time they need what your business offers, you have a better chance of being whom they consider since they’ve encountered your name time and again online. Display advertising also allows you to notify a nearby customer of an event or promotion that being uninformed, they would never be searching for it. For example, a concert, a sale, an offer, a charity drive, or a contest hosted by your restaurant. 

Maximize your Return on Investment (ROI) 

With Google Small Business Advertising, restaurant owners are also given the ability to track their Return On Investment to make any adjustments to their marketing costs if needed. Increasing the digital footprint doesn't mean you need to spend thousands of dollars on digital display banners, emails, and social media. 

Online advertising is very reasonable in cost compared to offline advertising. The average cost to reach 1,000 people with online advertising is $3. Meanwhile, the average cost to reach 1,000 people with traditional or offline advertising is $22 and up. 

C2 Communications helps businesses brand and reach their target audience through our Google Small Business Services. Through our business management platform, restaurant owners are able to put out brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to promote your business, help sell products, and increase website traffic. The ads show at the top of Google search results but can also show on websites, mobile apps, videos and many more. You can get optimal results without spending a lot on marketing and advertising. 

If you would like to schedule a consultation, call (239) 571-3174 or visit c2-com.com.