Using AdWords for your restaurant

Google AdWords is an excellent marketing tool for improving your restaurant’s search engine optimization on the Internet, and offers a very good return on investment. Here we look at how it works…

Why invest in Google AdWords?

To establish a firm foothold in your local environment

AdWords is a tool that can be used to create online advertising campaigns that are localized and customized. Indeed, you can use the geographic and demographic settings to adjust the distribution of your ads in order to only target the inhabitants of the region in which our restaurant is located, and who are likely to be interested. In fact, good targeting is a key success factor when it comes to advertising and marketing.

To stand out from your competitors

Competition in the restaurant industry can be fierce, and standing out from the rest is not always as easy as it seems. Online advertising can help you in this respect. With Google AdWords, you can push your establishment to the top of the Google search results. By adopting the right keywords, drafting pertinent ads and keeping your website up to date, you can very easily obtain – at least cost – first place in the ads ranking, and thus get ahead of your competitors.

To gain in visibility and create traffic on your e-commerce site

It pays to be known. This is particularly true with search engine referencing! Bear in mind that, by using AdWords, if you are well ranked, you will appear above Google’s natural search results. That way, you will increase your chances of being seen and initiating clicks on your ads, which will bring more traffic to your restaurant’s website, thereby bolstering your e-reputation.

Fine. But at what cost?

In theory, Google does not impose any budget. It is perfectly possible to start at €1 per month, however, you will see no return on such a small investment. To begin with, bear in mind that the cost will be somewhat higher. You must allow for a test period lasting 1 to 3 months during which time you will have to adjust the wording of your ads, your customer targeting (location, age group, gender, etc.) and your CPC bids. In the first month, you should allow for a monthly envelope of €150 – €300 depending on the size of your restaurant. This might seem a little steep for small establishments, however this is a device that will quickly bring an excellent ROI. Note that, whatever budget you define when you launch your campaigns, you remain in control of your expenditure, and can adjust it at all times.

When should I start?

Any time is a good time to start an AdWords campaign. The only prerequisite is having an Internet site. Whether you invest in a campaign to back up the launch of an all-new restaurant, or much later if your site has been up and running for a long time, there is nothing to stop you starting an AdWords campaign. However, you must first make sure that your website is responsive and up to date, otherwise you risk being penalized by Google with more costly bids, and even not having your ads displayed. Bear in mind that there is a simplified version of the platform, “AdWords Express”, which can help you get off to a smooth start and familiarize yourself with the system.

Preconceived ideas and pitfalls to avoid on AdWords…

“When I search for the name of my establishment, I don’t see my ad on Google. Does that mean my ads aren’t being published?”

There are different possible causes here: i) You are not in the geographic area targeted by your campaigns when you run your search. In fact, if you search using a mobile device (tablet or smartphone) that is not located in the area configured in your advertising campaigns, it is perfectly normal, and even reassuring, that you don’t see your ads appear in the Google search results. It would be needless and costly, for example, publishing ads for a pizza with a 50% discount for Internet users in London if your restaurant is located in Manchester. ii) You did not enter the keywords that you selected to trigger the display of your ads when you ran your search. Also, make sure you use Google keyword correlations.

“My ads are published on the days when my restaurant is closed; does this mean I’m paying for clicks that will not lead to an order?”

Note that you can schedule and programme the publication of your ads in line with your restaurant’s business hours. You can also pause your ads if, for example, certain products which you promoted on AdWords are out of stock.

Why not get professionals to do all this?

To be sure, AdWords is quite a complex tool. While it can potentially offer an excellent return on investment, it demands time, not only to become familiar with it, but also on a daily basis to adjust your bids and the settings of your online campaigns. In addition, given that the Internet is constantly changing, you have to always be on the ball. So if you would rather focus on your core business, remember there are agencies specialized in paid referencing or SEA that manage online advertising portfolios, such as: AdPremier, Ad’s up, Absolute Référencement. Generally speaking, these agencies adopt one of two billing methods for this type of service:

• billing as a percentage on sales initiated by AdWords,
• or fixed-rate billing in line with the monthly budget that you define for your campaigns.

Note that, while AdWords is THE platform for managing advertising campaigns on Google and its partners, there are other search engines, such as Bing, that have also developed their own tools, and that are gradually gaining ground.