Why Your Restaurant Should Create a Landing Page

There are many reasons why it is important for your restaurant, hotel, or venue to have a strong presence online with a website, landing pages, and through various social media platforms. For starters, it will help your establishment to be seen, found, and followed in order to generate business, increase community, and grow revenue.

It is also crucial to note that this online presence must be compatible with both desktop and mobile devices in order to make sure that your information is accessible no matter where someone may be searching. The fact that most people have their smartphones with them at all times means that mobile accessibility may even be the most important factor in this day and age.

We know what makes up a great website and how to utilize social media for your restaurant, but what exactly is a landing page and why does your restaurant need it?

What is a landing page?

First and foremost, a landing page is a single web page that appears in response to clicking on a search engine optimized result or directed link. The goal of the landing page is that it pushes searchers and viewers to take a specific action upon arriving at the page. The action is normally something that will help convert a sale, like filling out a form that will gather prospect information in exchange for a service, discount, or added value item, like a newsletter. This is different from an entire website that may have all sorts of elements and landing pages within it. Landing pages should be purposeful with their goals and with a restaurant, landing pages can be built to help book events or reservations, encourage community, promote social media activity, and more.

There is a certain process to follow when creating a landing page so that it can also be found in search on the Internet, and that is making sure it is in alignment with Google My Business, a free tool for businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including in search and maps. It is very important that the information listed on your restaurant’s Google My Business page is accurate and up to date. The information on Google My Business should be consistent with the information across any landing pages, including business location, hours of operation, and contact information. Google My Business profiles also include information on your business’s products and services, a company description, and links to social media profiles.

Be sure to include the same information from the Google My Business profile on the landing page. Now, when it comes to building a landing page, what are the elements to consider?

Headline

The landing page’s headline is the text that is found at the top of the page when someone comes to it. It is important to be clear, concise and use keywords in the landing page headline so that any page visitor knows exactly who you are and why they should continue reading. It often is the first blurb that visitors will read, so it can be the key to a positive first impression that hooks their interest. For a restaurant, this could be a headline about your restaurant’s history in the industry, its award-winning menus, or what makes it unique. 

Body

The body of the landing page is the context that the page contains. Like the headline, the body should be clean and concise so as to not give too little or too much information. When it comes to a restaurant landing page, the body of a landing page may be an “about the restaurant” description, detailed menu information, reservation facts, private event offerings, or a contact page, for example. It is important to be mindful about what information goes where on the page. According to an article by Modern Restaurant Management, consumers spend 74 percent of their viewing time in the first two screenfuls of any page. This means that the most important information should be placed “above the fold” on the page. Be sure to use keywords and phrases, professional photos or videos, and conversion opportunities throughout the body for page visitors to see.

Mobile compatibility

It is crucial that any landing page works just as well on a desktop computer as it does on a mobile device. Some elements to consider when accounting for mobile compatibility are a click-to-call phone number, a floating call to action button, and mobile-friendly coupons. Modern Restaurant Management says that 84% of local searches are made on mobile devices. If someone is searching for restaurants in Boston, then make sure once they find your establishment, they can easily get to what they are looking for from you. This includes ensuring the conversion opportunities in the body are completely compatible on a mobile device.

Other elements and ideas

What other elements are important to consider for your landing page? Well, from a behind-the-scenes perspective, make sure that a meta description is filled out to describe key attributes of the landing page, geotags are used, and contact information is consistent across all landing pages and social media sites.

When it comes to creating a “contact us” page, provide more than just “contact us” by writing an inviting sentence that shows you are welcoming to all questions. Do not make the contact page overly crowded, but do provide multiple ways to be contacted, such as via email, live chat, phone number, or in-person through viewing your map. Consider setting up an automated follow-up email for all email correspondence that says when a prospect would be likely to hear back from you. If you feel like your contact page is getting too busy, consider creating a FAQ landing page instead to answer all common questions. 

How else can you build up your online presence with landing pages? Try creating a landing page featuring customer testimonials and reviews. Social proof is a powerful tool to use, especially when it comes to the hospitality industry and selecting the best food for a meal or event. Build a landing page that includes customer testimonials or positive reviews from other websites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and Google Reviews. This landing page can even be linked in other marketing efforts, like email communications.

More resources

Looking for more ways to optimize your online presence? Check out these blog posts about 3 Australian Venues That Have Awesome Event Pages on Their Websites and How to Drive Event Leads to Your Venue with Social Media.