What matters most in restaurant SEO?
The Business Profile, reviews and an accurate, crawlable menu. Most people choose a restaurant from the map results, comparing photos, ratings, hours and dishes, then check the website for the menu. If hours are wrong or the menu is a hard-to-read image, they pick the next place on the list.
Menus search engines can read
HTML menus with dishes, prices and dietary notes.
Hours that are always right
Regular, holiday and special hours kept in sync.
Real photos
Dishes, room and team, updated each season.
Honest reviews
Real guests asked consistently, in line with the FTC rule.
Which schema should a restaurant website use?
The Restaurant type, one of the specific subtypes Google names in its LocalBusiness documentation, with name and address plus recommended properties such as telephone, opening hours, geo coordinates, price range, servesCuisine and a link to the menu. Each location gets its own page and its own block, matching the Business Profile exactly.
Details in Google's LocalBusiness structured data guide and in the LocalBusiness schema guide. Choose the most specific category, such as the cuisine, following Google's advice on business categories.
Reviews without risk
Since August 2024, the FTC's final rule bans fake reviews, reviews bought on the condition that they are positive, undisclosed insider reviews and review suppression, per the FTC announcement. Review work asks every real guest the same way and replies to every review politely. Profile checks are in the Business Profile audit checklist.
Local delivery is described in white label local SEO. Plans start at $1,000 per client per month, billed in US dollars. See how the partnership works on the white label SEO services page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PDF menu bad for SEO?
It is harder to read on phones and for search engines; add an HTML version of the menu.
Can restaurants offer a discount for reviews?
Not in exchange for positive reviews; the FTC rule bans reviews conditioned on sentiment.
Do you manage several locations?
Yes: one page, one profile and one schema block per real location.
Do you reply to reviews for our clients?
Yes, in the restaurant's voice and under your agency's brand.
Can we start with one restaurant client?
Yes. One pilot client is the recommended start.
About the author
Juan José Giraldo is a senior SEO specialist with 5+ years of experience. He works on technical and local SEO for 600+ US car dealerships and supervises the SEO of 18 US e-commerce stores. He runs White Label SEO LATAM from Medellín, Colombia, and delivers white label SEO for agencies in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Read more · LinkedIn.