Ken Burgin

Google Alerts for Restaurants

How to Use Google Alerts for Restaurant Marketing

Using Google Alerts for Restaurants is like having a magic wand that finds new sales opportunities and shows what your competitors are doing. In fact, Google Alerts is a content change detection and notification service, based on the Google search engine. It sends emails to the user when it finds new results—such as mentions on web pages, newspaper articles, blogs, or research about a topic. It’s a great way to find out who is talking about your business, and it works away in the background, automatically. Over time, you’ll find the Alerts that are most useful, and ‘train’ it to create profitable opportunities. Let’s get started…

Watch mentions of your name or your business name – go to Google Alerts and set up your business name – most places have two or three words in the name, so make sure to include them in double quote marks eg “Cafe Troppo” – that way you will be alerted for the exact expression. Choose if you want the alerts to come daily, weekly or ‘as it happens’. You can also choose the region to watch (eg your country) and language.

Use Google Alerts to Find Restaurant & Event Sales Opportunities

Create Alerts for Sales Opportunities. If you offer catering or meeting space in an area, set up an alert for: catering OR conference OR meeting huntingdale (notice the use of joining words like OR, AND etc – they’re called Operators and help make the search more useful. Learn more here).

To track future weddings, engagements, anniversary, birthday parties in your town of Huntingdale, set up an alert for: wedding OR engagement OR engaged OR anniversary OR birthday huntingdale. These could turn into attractive party bookings with the right follow up.

You may get better results by making sure the words ‘new’ and the type of business are next to each other in the items Google finds. This can be done by putting quotes around both words: “new insurance office” huntingdale

If you sell catering or services to other businesses in Huntingdale, look for the words new, the type of business you sell to, and the name of your local area: new insurance office huntingdale

Another great way to find new businesses that may need your products is to look for the phrase “opening soon” eg “opening soon” shop huntingdale

Any business that is expanding must be doing something right. Try finding these as a source of new customers: expanding business huntingdale

To be alerted to how coupons or discounts are being described on the competitor’s website, use the relevant words for your alert term: coupon OR discount OR deal site:cafezero.com

New menus, services or promotions can be found with words like: new offer OR accouncement OR special offer OR new menu Café Zero

Use Google Alertt Local Activities and Restaurant Competitors

Watch the competition – set up alerts for: Site:[competitors url], or the business name, plus common phrases that might be used eg “I think” [competitor name] and “Has anyone tried” [competitor name]

Monitor Discount and Coupon Programs – they may be offered by competitors can be monitored by searching for words like coupon or discount plus a business name: eg coupon OR discount OR deal Café Zero.

Watch leading local businesses and people – just as you’re tracking your own name and competitors, set up Alerts for local businesses that provide you with customers or opportunities, so you know what’s happening. You can also create Alerts for well-known local people – set up the Alert for ‘As it Happens’ so you can send congratulations or a friendly message.

Track local news and events that could have business opportunities, sometimes called ‘news jacking’. Eg if there’s a well-known local product, celebrity or sporting star, an Alert for their name will remind you every time they’ve done something newsworthy. Then add a post to your social media or newsletter, reminding people of the link – it won’t take long for people to wonder if you have a secret source of information!

🤚 Check the weekly discoveries on Hospo Reset – information & inspiration for restaurant, cafe & foodservice operators.

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