The restaurant industry is highly competitive, to say the least. A quick Google search of restaurants in Toronto alone, produces several thousand listings. The sheer number of eateries in any given Canadian city or town is astounding. Moreover, many users still focus on the first set of results they see. Therefore, it’s never been more essential for restaurants to implement search engine optimization (SEO) to rank higher on searches, and thus, increase the potential for customers and sales. In this article, 9 marketing experts discuss SEO tips for restaurants.

Long-Form Content Can Help (When It Matches Search Intent)

“Long-form content is key to getting organic traffic, now that social reach can be very low: Google increasingly rewards helpful, original content that satisfies what the searcher is actually trying to do. As a restaurant, your goal should be to write content about the type of food you serve and the city in which you’re based. Identify keywords you want to rank for ‘e.g., best fish restaurant London’ using Ahrefs or a similar service, and hire a content writer and photographer to help you write articles focused on those keywords. Once traffic arrives on that specific page, make sure you have a suitable call to action in place to help entice them to your restaurant, such as a discount code for a certain day, only available via your website.”

Dale Johnson | Co-founder and Content Strategist, Nomad Paradise

A Content Cluster

“Restaurants should hire a content marketer who can build out a content cluster around B2C topics their customer base are interested in.

A blog with targeted keywords and a proper user experience will allow for restaurants to have a steady stream of inbound, organic traffic.

It also gives restaurant websites more content that can be linked to. Building links to a restaurant website is one of the easiest ways to increase their site domain and drive more organic traffic, while also earning referral traffic from the links placed themselves.”

Levi Olmstead, Director of Marketing, 2ndKitchen

Optimize For Voice Search (But Focus on “Local Intent” First)

“As we head into 2024, the most critical trend that restaurant owners need to keep in mind is the rise in voice search.

Pizzeria and restaurant owners need to keep SEO in mind when building their websites by including important info like their store hours, address, phone number, menu and even nutritional information throughout their website. Not only should this information be placed on the front end for customers to view and read, but it should also be placed in the backend schema so that Google can read and understand the information. A couple of reasons this is important. First, Google's search results page is changing dramatically. Traditional organic search results are being pushed further and further down the page in favor of rich snippets, knowledge graphs and map packs, all of which improve the searcher’s experience by providing the information they're looking for on the search results page itself. The second reason is that all of this movement toward snippets, maps and knowledge graphs is organizing the info in a way that is easier for Google to answer spoken queries.

For example, if your location info is properly optimized on your website and in your profile, your store should rank well for searches like ‘OK Google, show me the closest Greek restaurants.’”

Natalia Wulfe, CMO, Effective Spend

Google Business Profile

“One SEO tip for restaurants in 2024 is to take advantage of their Google Business listing, which appears in maps for local searches, as well as all the local directory listings in their area. This improves their online visibility in local search and helps them find new customers, as well as establishes their name, address and website in Google as a legitimate restaurant and as an SEO authority signal, helping drive more traffic to the site via search as well.”

Stacy Caprio, Founder, Growth Marketing

Keyword Research

“The absolute first thing you need to do is keyword research. You want to think if someone didn't know the name of my restaurant, how could they find me? Nail down the core offerings of your restaurants (think what types of food you offer, where you're located, values, missions, etc.) and think about some searches you'd want someone to type in to find you. To get additional ideas use tools. SEMrush and Google Ads Keyword Planner are excellent ways to start.

Definitely have a blog or a resource page. Content is going to be key in getting people to find you but you have to make sure it's high quality and value to the end-user. Some great ways to start would be taking any questions you've gotten from contact form submissions, phone calls, or during a meal. If you're a restaurant you could also build up lists (ie Top chef tools for x, Top countries for x type of food, Best recipes for x) these will be a gateway to searchers finding you.

You HAVE to localize. As a restaurant, it is imperative that you do all things necessary to get your listing localized. The #1 thing you need to do is register and verify yourself on Google Business Profile. Then you're going to want to make sure you have your restaurant location all over the site. Thirdly, you're going want to produce local content on your site (maybe it's recommendations to go for before dinner or best entertainment around your restaurant, etc.).

Build quality referral traffic. If you haven't heard of HARO, it used to be a great place to start for PR-style link opportunities. Today, similar “source request” platforms and direct local PR outreach can still help you earn mentions and links when relevant.

”

Ciara Hautau, Lead Digital Marketing Strategist, Fueled

Voice Search: Useful, But Don’t Rely on Old “50%” Stats

“Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, especially with local businesses like restaurants. If you want to plan ahead, focus on building keywords that are associated with what people say instead of what they would type. For example, someone searching with a keyboard might look for ‘Seafood restaurants near me,’ while someone using a device like Alexa or Google Assistant might say ‘Where can I get fish for dinner near me?’

It turns out that these nuances can have a considerable impact on the results displayed by search engines. You shouldn’t completely neglect your current SEO strategy. Instead, focus on adding conversational phrasing alongside the same system you’re using. The goal is to reach more potential customers regardless of the device they’re using, while building brand awareness.

Optimizing for these keywords will help you reach more customers. Voice is not “everything,” but it is absolutely worth covering for restaurant searches because local intent is so strong.”

Frank Spear, Content Marketer, RafflePress

The Structured Data Markup

“One of the most trending things with restaurant SEO right now is to have a menu available on a site that is marked up with structured data. For businesses already ranking well in Google (typically on the first page), the structured data markup for restaurants can help the restaurant’s site qualify for enhanced results, including rich results, and in some cases featured snippets.

Restaurant SEOs and webmasters use schema.org/Restaurant to mark up relevant pages, including a menu page. As Google crawls the page, it understands more context about the page and can associate it as a restaurant. Additionally, this type of markup can support discovery across Maps and other local experiences, which also helps with spoken queries and “near me” searches.”

Jeff Romero, Co-Founder, Octiv Digital

(Image: riverworksmarketing.com)

More Activity On Your Google Business Profile

“The top SEO tip we're giving all of our clients is to produce more activity on your Google Business Profile. Everyone knows how important it is to claim your restaurant's business listing and make sure your contact information or business hours are correct, but that’s not how restaurateurs need to look at it.

Our data analytics team has proven a correlation between publishing activity on a profile (adding updates, menu information, live events at your restaurant, photos, etc.) and an increase in engagement (website visits, phone calls, reservations made). Google notices this type of activity, and will be more likely to serve your restaurant's listing in a map pack or other local search results. Your profile can be one of the largest local SEO factors for your restaurant if you give it the attention it deserves.”

Corey Trojanowski, Director of Digital Strategy, Valve+Meter Performance Marketing

Four Key Components

“1) Determine your keywords strategies

Restaurant keywords can be divided broadly into 2 types, broad and specific. Broad keywords refer to anything about your restaurant business in general. For example, Restaurant in Atlanta, Best San Diego Restaurant. Specific keywords, for example: Thai restaurant in Atlanta, European food in San Diego. Having a mixture of both types is essential. If your website is new, you may want to target specific keywords more, due to less competition.

2) Complete everything required for local SEO

If you're running a local restaurant, make sure you claim and optimize your Google Business Profile, list your site in local directories, maintain a consistent NAP, build local backlinks, and create local content.

3) Implement basic on-page & off-page SEO

Basic on-page SEO includes things like optimize title tags and meta-description, create keyword optimized content, make sure your site is mobile-friendly, improve page speed, add restaurant schema markup and ensure that your site is SSL secured. Basic off-page includes things like building niche relevant backlinks and maintaining restaurant social media profiles.

4) Optimize website for conversion

Conversion optimization tips for restaurants include things like having a clear address and phone number on the website (easy to find, especially on mobile), optimize restaurant menu for clear navigation, have a strong call-to-action, implement online ordering or reservations where relevant, have email capturing forms, and add photos of your interior and exterior.”

Jackie Owen, web developer and online marketer, Founder, Techjackie.com

Quick 2026 Updates (What Matters Most Right Now)

• Win the local pack first: For most restaurants, your biggest wins come from Maps results, not blog posts. Treat your Google Business Profile like your “second homepage.” Keep hours accurate (including holidays), upload new photos, add menu links, and respond to reviews consistently.
• Make your menu page SEO-friendly: A fast-loading, mobile-friendly menu page with clear categories, internal links, and Restaurant/Menu schema can outperform fancy “PDF menus” that Google struggles to read.
• Lean into proof: Fresh photos, clear pricing signals (where possible), chef/owner story, press mentions, and review responses help users trust you quickly.
• Optimize for actions, not just traffic: Add tap-to-call, directions, reservation buttons, and online ordering prominently. Track calls and reservation clicks so you can measure what actually drives revenue.

The SEO tips discussed in this article are all fantastic ways for restaurants to rank higher on searches, drive quality traffic to their websites, and achieve measurable results. Be it optimizing for voice and local intent, keeping a Google Business Profile that stands out, or having an available menu marked up with structured data, these are effective strategies for restaurant owners to employ. There are several SEO trends that every Canadian business should know. Some of the tips discussed are quick and easy, while others will be more time-consuming. Yet, all are key things for restaurant owners to consider to stay competitive and profitable.

Sarah Bauder

Sarah Bauder is a senior content specialist at Little Dragon Media. Sarah has a degree in journalism and has a decade of experience writing content at numerous renowned publications. She enjoys writing about digital marketing, business, entrepreneurship and more.