Four Ways Social Media Benefits Your Restaurant’s SEO
Social media and SEO have a complicated relationship status. It’s kind of confusing and usually hard to explain. So, what’s the reason for all these mixed signals? Well, Social media doesn’t directly effect SEO in the same way that 2 + 2= 4. It’s a bit murkier – after all, we’re talking about something that’s deep within the mysterious depths of the internet. But before you write the whole thing off, let me break down a few facts that (hopefully) won’t leave you scratching your head. Here are four ways social media can benefit your restaurant’s SEO:
Social media profiles rank in search engine results
Let’s say you’re Googling a restaurant in San Diego and you type the name of it into Google’s search bar. Within seconds, links appear to take you to more information about the restaurant. What’s usually towards the top? Well, besides the restaurant’s website, it’s typically their social media pages. When restaurants or other businesses have active social media pages, it boosts their ranking when people search for their business. This leads me to my next point…
It Boost credibility with social media influence
With a million and one restaurants to eat at, having an online social media presence adds credibility. One step better: if a restaurant is using it to engage with customers and showcasing personality, it’s establishing legitimate influence online that leads people to trust the business. That can then lead to customers choosing a place over other establishments that are inactive. When it comes down to it, an inactive social media page means your customers are getting ignored. That’s not something you’d do in-house, so it’s essential to make sure your customer service is extending beyond the walls of the restaurant.
Social Media is a search engine too
Google and Bing aren’t the only places your customers are searching either. With how many people are constantly on social media, platforms like Facebook and Instagram have become the new search engines to 1. Find your favorite restaurants and 2. Find out what people are saying about them. This is why we stress having consistently updated and accurate information across well-branded profiles for restaurants.
Boost your local SEO
When you’re exploring a city, it’s common to search a platform like Yelp to get advice on where to eat. In fact, “Google, Ipsos Media and Purchased reported 80 percent of smartphone users perform mobile searches to find businesses near them.” Specifically having your location set accurately across multiple platforms is a key element in boosting your local searchability.
While the relationship status of SEO and social media isn’t going to be 100% crystal clear anytime soon, there’s an undeniable boost to your online presence by using social media. It not only helps drive traffic directly to your website but it also helps increase the odds your business will be found by potential diners searching for a place to eat. Cheers to that!
Did you know?
We've been managing social media accounts for restaurants since 2012. For almost a decade, we've partnered with restauranteurs who are serious about using social media to generate business. Whether you're a good fit for our service or not, let's schedule a call and we'll give you free personalized advice on how to improve your social media presence. Either way, you'll walk away from the call more confident about your ability to promote yourself online - completely for free.
