Marketing a Restaurant in the West Valley
When someone in the West Valley decides where to eat, many of them look at Google first. They look at your hours, a few photos and your reviews, then they get in the car. So the small things on your Google profile do real work. This guide walks through them in the order that pays off fastest. Plan on three hours spread over a week.
You need: your Google login, your menu, and a phone to take photos.
Step 1. Make your hours right
People act on the hours shown on Google. If Google says open and your door says closed, that is a bad moment for everyone, and it is the kind of thing that turns into a bad review.
- Compare your hours on Google to the sign on your door. Open business.google.com, select Edit profile, then Hours, and fix anything that is off.
- Look at the same hours on your website, your Facebook page, your Instagram bio and any directory or delivery app that lists you, and make them all say the same thing.
Step 2. Set special hours before every holiday
Do this before the holiday, not after someone has shown up. Add special hours in your profile for each day you open late, close early or close for the day. The steps are in Check Your Hours Before the Holidays. Then post the same hours on Facebook and Instagram, so a regular who never opens Google still sees them.
Step 3. Pick the right category
Choose the most specific primary category that fits, such as the kind of food you serve. See How to Choose Your Google Categories, Services and Service Area.
Step 4. Make it easy to leave a review
- Get your review link and QR code. The steps are in How to Ask for a Google Review Without Feeling Awkward.
- Put a small card on each table, or a line on the check, with the QR code. Keep the words short: "Thanks for dining with us. A Google review helps neighbors find us."
- Do not offer anything in return, such as a discount or a free dessert. Google's rules do not allow rewards for reviews, and an honest review means more to the next hungry reader anyway.
- Reply to what comes in. See How to Answer a Google Review, Good or Bad.
Step 5. Show the real place
Skip the stock photos. People want to see the room they are about to walk into and the food they are about to order. Take photos on your phone in normal light. A shot list:
- The outside and the front door.
- The dining room.
- The specials board.
- Five of your best dishes, as they really look.
- The people who work there, with their permission.
Add a few at a time, and replace anything that no longer looks like your place. See Which Photos to Put on Your Google Listing.
Step 6. Plan for the slow weeks
Every restaurant has a slow stretch. For some it is January, after the holidays. In the West Valley it can also be summer, when snowbirds head home and the heat keeps people in. Plan for yours now, before you feel it.
- Write down your slow weeks for the year.
- Pick a few dishes, or a few regulars' favorites, and plan posts around them.
- Show the kitchen, the specials board and the people who work there.
- Give folks a reason to come in that is not a deal: a new menu item, a cozy booth, a warm bowl on a cool evening.
Then write the posts ahead of time, while you are not stressed. A week of posts written on a calm afternoon beats a week of posts typed between orders.
If you use AI to help, give it only the dishes and dates you list, and tell it not to invent specials or prices. See How to Use AI to Write Your Marketing Without It Making Things Up.
A five minute check each week
- Are your hours right on Google, your website and Facebook?
- Are special hours set for any holiday coming up?
- Did you add one new real photo?
- Have you replied to the newest reviews?
- Is one post scheduled for the week ahead?
If you would rather hand this off
Restaurant owners rarely have a spare hour to check five apps. We keep your hours matching across your website, Google profile, social accounts and listings, reply to reviews in your own voice, and write and publish your posts on schedule. See our restaurant marketing service, or get started.