Restaurant SEO during COVID-19 involved some unique considerations to improve clicks, visibility and brand loyalty. 

Opportunity

• Business: appeal to hyperlocal searchers using Google Maps & organic for new business exposure within a Chicago neighborhood
• Local SEO: boost local search visibility with increased focus on target searches, find new ways to reach new & existing customers through offsite listings
• Conversion optimization: boost Wix site experience, improve online ordering options, incentivize direct ordering

The Way Forward

February–June 2020: While the COVID-19 pandemic hurt just about all small businesses, what we saw at Path Digital was some of our e-commerce clients thriving, while local brick & mortars at large were reliant on PPP loans just to stay afloat — especially restaurants, which are so vital to the local Chicago community where our consultancy is based.

I was approached by a local restaurant Oda Mediterranean Cuisine which had some established visibility to work with, but really needed help adapting to the new COVID reality of takeout & delivery, as their restaurant had been previously focused on the dine-in experience. In short, we saw that the website was in need of more than just SEO – it needed an eye on conversion rate optimization so that new customers wouldn’t just find them (they wanted to boost visibility in their Andersonville neighborhood), including through Google Maps, but also place more online orders through their website.

We were able to divide up labor over multiple invoices to help make this project affordable for them during the pandemic, which necessitated all of these tactics to win new customers & boost loyalty:

• Increase onsite emphasis on customer reviews, social media & local listings
• Offsite SEO: new delivery site listings (this even included input on menu presentation), strategy for seeking new backlinks/local media coverage
• Boost Wix site experience – especially onsite online ordering
• Conversions: make onsite/offsite changes targeting SERP appearance & brand impression

Over 4 months from Feb-June (SEMRush.com screenshot above), the site saw organic growth in cuisine-specific searches but also for their top target ‘andersonville restaurants’. There was a dip in traffic according to SEMRush following the work we did, but the site has built positions back up in 2021 and recently won accolades from TimeOut.com as one of the best restaurants in Andersonville. It’s good to see them doing well!