I talk to a lot of hospitality marketing managers as well as restaurant and hotel owners and one thing really stands out for me, is that the majority concentrate nearly all their marketing budgets and efforts on social media. However, the vast amount of single-site operators will never see a return on investment – social media marketing doesn’t work like it did. With organic posts typically reaching just 13% of Instagram followers even communicating with your existing customers is a challenge not to mention reaching new people.
In terms of marketing hierarchy, Google has to remain at the top. There are tens of thousands of people searching for restaurants and hotels in any particular area every single month. Get them to a stunning website with strong calls to action and they will likely book. By comparison, get a photo of a dish Infront of someone who’s scrolling through lots of photos of food on Instagram and your chance of converting them is very low indeed.
This is just one reason why we’ve picked up some great new clients in the last few months. Which include Publiq, San Sicario, Ecolets, I Dim Sum, 2G Design & Build, When Abby Met Claud and Papa J’s.
We are specialists in maximising the power of Google with several key strategies:
Website design
Your website is the cornerstone of your marketing efforts – it’s where customers can view the menu, look at photos, sign up to your newsletter and of course book. It seems anyone can build a website these days, but few really understand the science behind building a site to get found on Google and convert that traffic into bookings. With over 200 ranking factors, the Google Algorithm requires a thorough understanding to ensure a fully optimised website which really delivers a return on investment. But your website is just the start, further strategies need to be implemented to drive targeted traffic to your website.
Local SEO
Local SEO is the work involved to get a business in the top 3 map results for local searches. That work encompasses managing the Google Business Profile (previously called Google My Business), on-page Local SEO, citations (local directory listings / link building) and working with clients to get 5 star reviews. It can take a few months for our work to be effective, but when it does it really increases web traffic and bookings for our clients.
Google Search Ads
These Ads are the ones which most people are familiar with as they are the ones which appear at the top and bottom of the search pages. We always run a number of Search campaigns targeting a range of keywords – not just their main search terms. We target group bookings, Christmas parties as well as terms like “restaurants near me”.
Google Display Ads
This is where we get really creative not just in terms of the design of the ads but the creative thinking behind them. For example with a Customer Intent Campaign we give Google a list of websites which a client’s customers would have visited – this could be local competitors as well as the web page for the local cinema or tennis club. We then target these people with beautifully designs ads on the Google Display Network.
