Online

 Presence  &  Being  Seen  

 
 
 
This   series   of   brief   articles   by   POS   Lifeline  
(https://www.poslifeline.com)   aims   at   helping   restaurant   and   bar  
owners   become   aware   of   different   ways   they   can   realize   savings,  
better   efficiencies   and   increased   profit   in   their   businesses.   By  
understanding   how   the   POS   system   works,   you   will   be   better  
prepared  to  make  decisions  that  are  correct  for  your  environment  
and  more  comfortable  when  researching  your  options.    
 
 
 
Are  You  There?  
 
So  you’ve  got  a  website  for  your  business.  On  the  website  you’ve  got  your  specials,  
your  hours  of  operation,  maybe  your  menu  and  your  location.  That’s  enough,  right?  
Google  will  do  the  rest,  right?  If  you  want  to  be  found  there’s  a  little  more  to  do  than  
that.    
Let’s  try  something.  Go  to  Google,  Bing,  Yahoo  or  any  of  the  major  search  engines.  
Instead  of  typing  in  your  business  try  typing  in  the  search  terms  that  a  potential  
customer  might  try.  For  instance,  you’re  a  sports  bar  in  the  Wrigleyville  area  of  
Chicago.  Try  typing,  “sports  bar  60657.”  Does  your  bar  come  up?  Not  there?  Now  
that’s  a  surprise!      

Many  restaurant  operators  think  that  if  someone  wants  to  come  to  their  website,  
they’ll  Google  the  name  of  the  place.  But  those  aren’t  the  customers  the  website  
should  be  going  after.  Your  website,  while  it  should  be  built  for  the  return  visitor,  
should  be  communicating  to  the  potential  customer  first  –  the  one  that  doesn’t  know  
the  name  of  your  business.  
You  already  know  that  you’re  website  is  often  the  first  contact  you  make  with  
potential  new  customers.  But  before  you  can  make  that  impression  it’s  got  to  be  
found!    
If  your  restaurant  showed  up  you’re  way  ahead  of  your  neighbors.  Many  operators  
think  that  once  the  website  has  been  built  that  they’re  good  to  go.  But  to  really  grab  
the  traffic  that’s  looking  for  your  concept  you’re  going  to  have  to  do  a  little  bit  more.  
It’ll  take  a  little  time  to  get  started,  but  the  good  news  is  that  once  it’s  set  up,  
maintaining  it  is  pretty  painless.    

In  this  article  we’re  going  to  outline  a  few  things  you  can  do  to  get  your  restaurant  
better  results  in  the  search  engines.    
 

Online  Presence.doc   1      
The  Basics  
Search  Engine  Optimization  
Is  your  website  optimized  for  the  search  terms  your  potential  customers  are  using?  
More  and  more  people  are  now  searching  for  things  using  the  zip  code  where  they  
are  located.  In  addition  smart  mobile  devices  now  filter  content  based  on  location  -­‐  
where  the  user  is  or  where  they  set  ‘home’  to.  Be  sure  that  your  restaurant’s  website  
has  been  optimized  for  it’s  zip  code  as  well  as  neighboring  ones  and  concept  (such  
as  sushi  restaurant,  sports  bar,  etc.).  Don’t  rely  on  Google  to  do  this  for  you.    

There  are  a  lot  of  different  ways  to  optimize  your  website  out  there.  They  range  in  
price  from  free  to  thousands  of  dollars.  Talk  with  your  website  designer  or  an  SEO  
professional  to  see  what’s  right  for  your  business.    Remember,  at  the  very  least  you  
want  to  show  up  in  target  specific  searches!  Those  are  customers  with  their  hands  
already  on  their  wallets.  
Google  Maps  &  Places  

Google  Maps  is  like  a  free  yellow  pages  listing.  Make  it  work  for  you  by  verifying  it  
and  adding  content  to  it!  This  is  the  information  that  comes  up  when  a  person  clicks  
on  the  maps  box  in  the  search  results.  It’s  free  to  set  up!    
Go  to  maps.google.com  to  get  started.  It’ll  take  about  5  to  10  minutes.  By  taking  a  
few  minutes  to  register  the  business  with  Google  Places  you’ll  have  greater  control  
on  where  you  show  up  and  the  content  that  is  displayed.    

 
Social  Media  
Facebook  
A  lot  is  being  made  of  social  media  these  days  and  the  impact  it’s  having  or  going  to  
have  on  businesses.  Earlier  this  year  (2010)  the  amount  of  traffic  on  Facebook  
passed  the  number  of  Google  searches  during  a  24-­‐hour  period.  With  a  search  
engine  installed  within  it,  Facebook  will  become  the  go-­‐to  home  page  for  more  and  
more  people.  For  many  using  a  smart  phone  it  already  is.    
That  means  that  now  is  the  time  to  get  that  Facebook  page  up  and  running  for  your  
business.  Send  out  invitations  for  people  to  become  fans  and  try  and  build  it  up  
quickly.  And  post  to  it.  Not  just  what  your  special  of  the  day  is,  add  rich  content  from  
your  phone  or  once  a  week  add  photos.  Did  a  celebrity  come  in?  Put  it  in  your  news  
feed.    Keep  your  customers  engaged  and  give  them  a  reason  to  want  to  be  “in  on  the  
fun”  at  your  place.    
Creating  a  dialogue  with  your  customers  builds  loyalty  and  sends  the  message  that  
they  are  an  important  part  of  your  business.  

Online  Presence.doc   2      
  
Twitter  

Do  you  already  have  a  twitter  account?  How  about  one  for  the  business?  I  know  it  
sounds  like  a  lot  of  work,  but  once  you  get  it  going  it  really  isn’t.  In  addition,  there  
are  plug-­‐ins  available  that  your  web  designer  can  put  within  your  website  rather  
painlessly  so  that  your  twitter  feeds,  your  Facebook  feeds,  etc.  all  show  up  on  each  
website.  Once  it’s  been  automated,  just  tweet  once  and  all  will  be  updated.    
Tweet  about  news  that  is  relevant  to  your  concept  –  not  just  specials!  For  instance,  if  
you’re  a  sports  bar  you  could  tweet  about  somebody  going  into  the  Hall  of  Fame  or  a  
really  good  game  that’s  coming  up.  Useful  information  that  makes  your  followers  
want  to  read  a  news  feed  from  you.    
 

Blogging  
Another  way  to  get  your  message  out  can  be  through  a  blog.  It  probably  wouldn’t  
surprise  you  to  know  that  the  average  corporate  office  worker  surfs  the  net  for  
more  than  an  hour  a  day.  Give  them  somewhere  to  go  on  a  regular  basis  and  get  
them  talking  about  your  restaurant  or  nightclub!  Pictures  of  events  are  always  a  
huge  winner.  Be  sure  to  take  them  and  to  post  them!    
 
Videos  
Perhaps  the  best  addition  you  can  make  to  drive  your  search  rankings  up  is  video.  
Google  and  the  other  search  engines  love  video.  If  you’ve  got  entertainment  at  the  
restaurant  or  bar,  be  sure  to  record  it  and  put  it  on  your  Facebook  page,  website  or  
blog.  It’s  a  great  way  to  show  people  who  find  you  on  the  web  that  you’re  engaged  
and  show  them  what  a  great  time  their  going  to  have.  

 
Conclusion  

What  it  all  boils  down  to  is  content.  The  more  you’ve  got,  the  higher  you  go  in  the  
search  results  and  the  more  of  an  experience  you’re  offering  to  your  customers  –  
both  regular  and  potential.    
Talk  with  your  technology  person  –  usually  the  person  who  developed  your  website.  
Ask  them  if  they  do  SEO  or  social  media  work  (many  don’t).  If  not,  sit  down  with  an  
SEO  professional  to  see  what  costs  might  be  associated  with  getting  your  message  
out.  There’s  a  whole  lot  of  people  out  there  looking  for  you  –  make  sure  you  can  be  
seen!    

Online  Presence.doc   3      
  

Online  Presence.doc   4