20 Strategic Tips on How To Get the  

BEST LOOKING,
MOST EFFECTIVE,
HIGHEST RANKING WEBSITES
for Restaurants & Catering Companies

Whether you realize it or not, the best and most successful restaurants in the country rely on their website as the number one source for customer generation. They are also aware of the vital elements and website strategies that help rank their websites among the best restaurant websites on the planet.

Here are a few Little Secrets that make a Huge Difference...
SIZE DOESN'T MATTER
Any restaurant or catering company, regardless of size, revenue, location, or food style, can utilize these tips and end up with a powerful, effective, and high-ranking restaurant or catering website. You can be an upscale fine dining restaurant with $200 a plate averages, a hole-in-the-wall Bar or Brewery, a local Coffee Shop, a Pancake House, A Food Truck, a small Mexican Restaurant, an Asian Restaurant, or a Hamburger Joint. The same design and development tips will apply and, if you use them properly, will dramatically increase exposure, revenue, and profits. Our company has created websites for very small local businesses (including restaurants and catering companies) that rival the largest, most well-known competitors in the country. If you want a powerful and effective website, follow the strategic tips below.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY! 
Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to spend a fortune to get high rankings and an extremely effective website. You need to design, develop, and create a site that follows the strategies that make it happen, or find the right web development partner

THE SAME STRATEGIES WORK FOR BARS, GROCERY STORES, MEAT MARKETS, AND ALL OTHER BUSINESSES THAT FOCUS ON FOOD... 
The strategies work across the board. Anyone in the food business can have exceptional results by using the same strategies. In fact, we have built hundreds of award-winning websites and other electronic media that have helped companies dramatically increase their revenues and profits. Furthermore, we've helped them improve their images and reinforce their brands by following our proven procedures

If You Don't Have A Website
It doesn't matter. If you don't have a website, now is the best time to get one. It's relatively simple, and if done right or with the right design/development company, it can be surprisingly affordable. Plus, a great restaurant or catering website will not cost you money; it will make you money

If You Have A Website, But It's Not Delivering the Results It Should
Many restaurants (and small businesses in general) have a website that they feel is doing "okay," but they are typically smart enough to know their site could be doing a much better job. So, why don't they invest in having a much more attractive, image-oriented, and effective site? Here are their main concerns...
1. They feel a well-designed, effective website will cost way too much.
WRONG. That does not have to be the case at all. Many world-class sites that we have created come in well below what local developers charge. It's having a partner that knows what they're doing and is structured properly
2. A top-notch restaurant or catering site will take a long time to produce.
WRONG. The right partner can develop a great site following these strategies and tips in just a few weeks. We've created many extremely effective websites in just a few days.
3. They feel that they will have to invest a huge amount of their time to get a good website.
WRONG. Again, the right partner should consult briefly with you (you'll need to invest an hour or two), and they should be able to take the ball and run. After that, they'll need a few minutes every now and then for clarity and approval along the way

Here are the most important things you need to do to make your restaurant or catering website have high impact, support a positive image, rank high in search engines, and be ultra effective (which translates into higher sales and better profits).

All businesses are different (including restaurants and caterers) and, therefore, have different business objectives or goals. That should be true for your website as well. Your site should have a Global Objective(s) maybe two, never more than three. The objectives (or goals) are the things that you want to achieve with your website overall. Before you or your developer/designer ever start designing, writing copy, gathering photos or video, or development, you or your developer should list these goals as clearly as possible. This is the foundation for creating extremely effective websites. This is a tried and true approach. In fact, for over 40 years, our company has applied this approach when creating any type of advertising. Not just websites. And it works!

This objective should be applied while designing the Home Page (which is typically the star of the show). If you have met your Global Objective(s) on your Home Page, you are off to a great start. However, we need to carry that strategy to every single page that is built on your site. Every page on your site is likely to have its own individual objective(s), but again, seldom more than three. If you can get the objectives of each page to support your Global Objective(s), you’re on the path for a great website. Once you get started, it isn’t nearly as difficult as it sounds. If you find someone who understands how to make this happen, you’re already way ahead of the competition and on your way to getting one of the best restaurant websites in your entire industry. Guaranteed!

#2
IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Talk to Your Target Audience in Their Language, Not Yours. Then Convert Them to Customers

Great Marketing companies understand this. Unfortunately, most website developers do not. Identify exactly who you are interested in reaching (your target audience). What are their ages, genders, beliefs, and financial positions? Where do they reside, when do they shop, and what are their buying habits, what are their hot buttoms? Understand your target audience as much as you can. Then, create your site (or individual pages) around that audience. 

A startling 78% of website developers miss their target audience when designing sites for small businesses

#3
THE BEST RESTAURANT WEBSITES GRAB VISITORS BY THE THROAT

Capture Them Immediately... or Lose Them Permanently

There are countless ways to capture the attention of your target audience. You can capture someone's attention through effective visuals, good offers, creative headlines and subheadlines, callouts, great design, interesting content, color, and a myriad of other intention manners. If you do this, you've immediately increased your odds of getting them to respond, react, buy, or take some kind of action. However, if you don't get their engrossment as soon as they get on your page, they will click off, and then you've lost them. An intelligently designed website will seize visitors' attention quickly. If it doesn’t, they’re gone. Then, keep them scrolling and continue to build interest as they go. It’s an intentional seduction of your audience.

Over 75% of restaurant website visitors leave within 5 seconds (3 seconds for mobile sites). This is a failure to grab and hold visitors' attention!

#4
MAKE YOUR SITE BEAUTIFUL

Image Is Everything! You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A Great First Impression

The Best Restaurant Websites Are Beautiful. Overwhelming statistical evidence proves that creatively designed, attractive websites that showcase a positive and powerful image are as much as much as 30 times more effective than average designed websites. It is also well-documented that well-designed websites keep visitors on their pages much longer, which leads to dramatically more hits. This is not to say that all websites should look like royalty or are designed for fine dining restaurants only. Some of the coolest, most interesting, and fun websites (also some of the most effective) are for hamburger restaurants, pizza parlors, and neighborhood bars. You need to know how to make them get the visitor's attention and establish a connection with them, and inevitably persuade them to make a positive call to action. If visitors love your site, the chances that they will become customers improve dramatically! If not, there's a good chance they'll go somewhere else.

The #1 Reason for a High Bounce Rate (or visitors leaving a site quickly) is poor design, including failure to get the visitors' attention followed by slow load times, irrelevant content, bad user experience, and difficulty in locating vitals. Conversely, the #1 Reason visitors stay on a site is because they are "wowed" by the overall design and image. 

Unfortunately, most decent developers know little to nothing about great design, the impact of a great image, well-written and leading copy, typography, or sales. 

While statistics prove that an attractive, image-oriented website keeps visitors on your page, it must also get potential prospects to take action. An intelligently designed restaurant or catering website will not only reinforce a positive image and keep visitors scrolling, but it will also lead them to take action (call for information, set reservations, place an order, or visit your location). Your website designers should have an acute understanding of sales! They should be sales-oriented, which equals results-oriented. A well-designed site will make visitors excited to call, make reservations, visit your restaurant, or contact you for catering needs. 

Unfortunately, the vast majority of website developers have little to no sales experience, and while they may develop decent sites, they don't know how to appeal to visitors and get them excited about doing business with you! This is a real problem in the website development industry. There are tons of developers who understand code and software and a lot of the technical aspects of development but know nothing about selling your product. A great website company understands how to lead your customers where you want them to be!

What you really need is a Professional Sales Organization with a proven track record for successful selling... who also knows how to create websites. There are very, very few of those companies

Today, consumers are bombarded with messages. That has led to a substantial reduction in buyer attention spans. This makes for a challenge for any and all advertisers and marketers. The only solution is to create advertising that cuts through the clutter, hits the target audience right between the eyes, and then clearly communicates the messages (typically there's more than one) that you want to impart. There is no room for confusion. Be Clear. Be Quick. Be Concise.

Approximately 80% of the time, restaurant website visitors claim they leave a site without taking action because they could not quickly find what they are looking for

One of the biggest complaints of potential buyers regarding websites is the fact that business owners often do not include all the information that visitors feel is meaningful and are looking for. The obvious vitals (name, location, phone numbers) are typically there, but many things that the visitor is in search of are missing. In fact, less than 40% of restaurant and catering websites include menus, and over 87% of potential buyers are looking for them. Further, the majority of online menus are PDFs, which most customers do not like. Other vitals that are often overlooked are holiday hours, special occasion hours, specials, online ordering if applicable, outside dining options, catering options, photos, and videos of food and of the establishment. The best advice, include all of the information that you believe a potential customer may want before making a buying decision.

Less than 40% of restaurant and catering websites include menus, and over 87% of potential buyers are looking for them. Restaurant and Catering Websites often omit hours, location, and other vitals, which could have resulted in a conversion

"One of the biggest mistakes that website developers make is to design a site and worry about being cutesy instead of being legible and understandable. Websites can be creative yet still be easy to read and easy to understand and flow properly, leading visitors to exactly where you want them to be, as long as they are properly designed and executed.

The best restaurant websites are easy to read and understand. If your visitors have trouble reading your info, there is a good chance they'll miss your message

The best restaurant websites, or any websites for that matter, keep visitors on the site and moving toward a desired Call to Action. We refer to this as "FLOW TO ACTION". If your website is designed properly, your customers will follow specific paths, which will eventually lead them to respond to or to make a Call to Action. The best restaurant and catering websites do exactly that.

The Best Restaurant Websites have exceptional Visitor Flow, which takes visitors step by step through your site and inevitably persuades them to make a positive buying decision

The best restaurant websites (and any food-related websites) utilize images that stimulate emotions in viewers. High-quality images are crucial for great catering and restaurant websites. They play a significant role in impacting the visitor's perception and engagement.  They also support sales efforts and "Call to Action". Powerful images entice potential diners, and they make viewers Hungry for More. There are several reasons quality images and videos turn average restaurant websites into the most powerful, most effective, and very best restaurant websites.

1. Great Images enhance your BRAND
2. Great Images enhance the impression that you make on visitors. Remember, first impressions are the strongest and longest lasting impressions
3. Your website is likely to be the first point of contact for potential customers. The quality of the images used can enhance or detract from visitors' impression of you and your restaurant or catering company
4. Visual Appeal absolutely motivates visitors to visit or purchase from you 
5. Quality images convey an overall sense of quality for the entire establishment, just like poor quality images can convey a negative image of your company

Quality Images significantly impact visitors' reactions, user engagement, conversions, user experience, and overall website credibility. Low-quality images create a negative perception and inevitably drive users away. Powerful Images Bring Powerful Results

Over half of all websites today are viewed on mobile devices. That number is even higher for restaurants and caterers. It has become more important than ever for your website to be mobile responsive so that it adapts to those devices. However, being responsive is not enough. The best restaurant and catering websites look like they were designed specifically for tablets and cell phones. The best of the best (and the most effective) sites deliver the largest possible images and video, legible copy, strong headlines, and great flow. In today's market, if you do not have a highly responsive site, you cannot meet your full revenue potential.

Over 65% of Restaurant and Catering websites are viewed on mobile devices (cellular or tablet). If your website is not fully responsive, you will likely lose those potential customers

All developers talk about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). They love to sell small businesses SEO Packages for Big Money. Unfortunately, most developers have little understanding of SEO. They don't stay current with the daily changing requirements that Google and other search engines require for high rankings. Staying current on the constant changes is a necessity. Sadly, very few web development companies are staffed properly to effectively do so, but many are really good at billing for it.

Don't get sold a bill of goods! Most developers and website marketing companies make a lot of money selling Search Engine Optimization. However, very few of them are capable of really doing SEO well 

While SEO is crucial for high rankings, there are other significant factors in achieving high rankings, including Content Quality, User Experience, a website's Technical Aspects, Backlinks, Image Usage, and other components. It is suspected that Google ranks attractive, well-designed sites higher (due to User Experience and Flow). Other ranking factors include Faster Load Times, Mobile Responsiveness, and Simple-To-Use Navigation. The technical aspects of high-ranking sites include site speed and crawlability (so that sites can be indexed more intelligently). Yes, there are even more factors that have an impact on ranking, which is why consultation with a "real" expert in this area is vital.

Be aware of the many things that you can do besides standard On-Page, Off-Page, and Technical SEO that can make a huge difference in your rankings

Content is one of the most important, most sought after, and most overlooked aspects of great website development. Website content encompasses all the information and elements website visitors have the opportunity to interact with. This includes your copy (or text), images, videos, audio, and any other elements that are introduced with the intention of educating, informing, engaging, or persuading visitors. Great catering and restaurant website content should inform visitors of your website's purpose. It should expose or highlight your offerings. It should also engage users and keep them on your site. In addition, great content should assist visitors in finding the vital information that they seek. Finally, great content should lead visitors through constant persuasion or seduction to a "Call to Action".   

All the elements of Great Content work together to lead visitors to a positive conclusion. Content is King, and creating great content is the start of developing the very best websites

#15
KEEP YOUR INFO CURRENT

Maintaining Your Site is No Different Than Maintaining Your Vehicle. If You Don't, Soon You'll Have Issues
 

Keeping your website current, updated, and maintained is crucial.  If your information is old, you lose instant credibility with potential customers. If your pricing is wrong, you will lose money, or your customers are likely to get angry, and you may lose them permanently. Keeping your site current is also good for rankings. Outdated software can cause security issues and again tank your search results. Furthermore, keeping your website design fresh is great for your visitors' experience. There are a myriad of other significant reasons to keep the information on your site current, as well as the technical aspects. 

Websites that do not get regular updates and much-needed love that keep them up to date will lose rankings, disappoint visitors, and eventually fail

#16
KEEP YOUR SITE LIVING

If Your Site Isn't Alive and Growing, It's Slowly Dying

This and keeping your site current go hand in hand. Anytime you make a change to your website, you're making it more lively. Keeping restaurant websites growing and changing is extremely important (more so than some other industries). Some of it is easy, like adding video or new images, even replacing old ones. Changing prices and specials. All part of keeping your site alive. Keeping a website fresh is significant for several reasons. First, the search engines take this into consideration when they rank sites. They know that if a site is fresh and growing, chances are it is providing visitors with information that keeps them coming back. Then there's that. Your website visitors. They love fresh content, and they want to see changes that you are making. In the new world of websites, keeping your site growing has become a real thing, whether we like it or not.

An effective website should be looked at as a living thing. It must be nurtured so that it grows continually

The best restaurant and catering websites almost always have exceptional Custom Menu Pages. Furthermore, most menus are built on PDFs, which are seldom as attractive and never responsive, leaving visitors disappointed for multiple reasons. Again, you are already aware of how important great design is, so we won't revisit that. When it comes to responsiveness, PDFs do not work, leaving at least 70% of guests who see menus at a major loss. Build your menus as an interactive part of your website, or find a great partner that can do it for you. This is just one more way to make your catering or restaurant website one of the best in your industry.

Making a Custom Menu Page should not be much more (or any more) than a good PDF. But the return and benefits are substantial

#18
YOUR SITE NEEDS TO BE CUSTOM

Templated Websites Are Popular With Website Builders But Not With Visitors

They All Look Alike

Many Website companies are selling templated websites, and more often than not, you don't even realize that's what you're getting. These sites are set up sort of like a production line. They all look the same; they have the same layout, Infrastructure, similar copy, and even similar SEO. This is one thing that you should try to avoid. You are much better off, and your website will be much more effective if it was created as a custom piece. If you find the right company, they create a "custom" website for your business that meets your objectives, hits your target audience, and gets the results you are looking for... and often for about the same investment. 

Do you really want your site to look like your competition's? The last thing your restaurant website should be is a "Mini Me"

#19
DON'T USE NONPROFESSIONALS AND EXPECT GREAT RESULTS

Number 1 Biggest Mistake! Have An Amateur Design Your Site
 

Globally, there are 28 million website developers who have some sort of degree in the field. There are just about that many who are self-taught. Everyone has a relative, neighbor, or friend that "builds websites".  Unfortunately, some of the "professional website designers/developers aren't really much better than the amateurs. Anyone can get an ineffective website cheap, but that doesn't really mean anything to the owners of restaurants, catering companies, bars, grocery stores, and other small businesses who are looking for effective, high-quality, results-oriented websites. If you are looking to have your daughter's boyfriend build your website, unless he is highly skilled in Sales, Design, SEO, Branding, Technical Computer Issues, Security, and the countless other nuances that it takes to create an effective, image-oriented site that will bring you desired results, you've probably made a bad business decision. Find a partner that can give you exactly what you want and need in a website for a price that fits your budget. If you do that, your website will deliver as you want it to, and your company will benefit! 

The number one reason that small businesses have someone they know build their website is to save money. The number 2 reason is because they want to "give them a chance". Over 96% of Bounce Offs (visitors that left a website within seconds of landing on it) was due to one of these factors - Poor to Average Design, Slow Load Time, Lack of Vitals, Flow, Poor to Average Images, or Legibility! Can a part-time designer/developer achieve all of those things at the highest level? No. 

Anyone can design a website. Very few can design an effective, powerful site that pays for itself over and over for years to come.

#20
DON'T OVERPAY

Another Huge Mistake Small Business Owners Make: Getting Nickle and Dimed By Website Developers.
 

One of the most frustrating things for a business owner is to get a site designed, pay a bunch of cash out, and then get bills for every addition, deletion, or little change that they want made. Plus, then they get hit with security fees, hosting fees, and monthly maintenance fees, and if they want to make a major change, forget it. When their rankings start dropping, the odds are that their development company will want to charge absorbanent fees for "new SEO".  Many small businesses say that every time they call their developer, they get hit with opening another ticket. They get to the point that they don't even want to call their website company for fear of all of the charges. It's like calling an attorney and getting hit with one invoice after another. And unfortunately, if your website is not kept current and alive, the rankings drop even more.

The answer is simple: Not all marketing and website companies are the same. You need to find a company that is capable of developing great websites in your industry. We understand that frustration and ensure that our customers never feel nickel and dimed. Like restaurants and catering companies, we are all different. And sometimes, that difference can be a Huge Competitive Advantage.

XXX 

#20
FIND THE RIGHT PARTNER

If You Can't Or Don't Want To Attempt These Things Yourself, Make Sure You Partner With The Right Folks