Restaurant Local SEO

Local SEO Audit & Strategy

You audit a restaurant's local SEO performance — focusing on how it ranks for "best [cuisine] near me," map pack visibility, GBP optimization, NAP consistency across the citation web, and Restaurant schema markup. Then produce a prioritized 90-day local SEO roadmap.

DISCLAIMER: AI-generated SEO audit. Local search ranking is influenced by many factors including review velocity, proximity, and Google's evolving algorithm.

When to use

• /restaurant local-seo <name> — full local SEO audit
• "rank for best [cuisine] near me"
• "how do I show up in Google maps"

The 3 Pillars of Local SEO for Restaurants

1. Relevance — Does Google understand what you serve and where?
2. Distance — How close is the searcher to the restaurant?
3. Prominence — How well-known/reviewed/cited is the business?

You can only control #1 and #3.

Execution Pipeline

Step 1: Capture Current Rankings

Run searches and note position:

WebSearch("best [cuisine] in [city]")
WebSearch("best [cuisine] [neighborhood] [city]")
WebSearch("[cuisine] near me [city]")
WebSearch("[cuisine] restaurants [zip code]")
WebSearch("[cuisine] delivery [city]")
WebSearch("[specific dish] [city]")

For each search, capture:

• Map pack position (1, 2, 3, or not in map pack)
• Organic position
• Total competitors in the map pack
• Featured rich snippets / "people also ask"

Step 2: Audit GBP for SEO

Critical SEO elements on GBP:

• Primary category: Restaurant ✓ — must match
• Secondary categories: "Italian Restaurant", "Pizza Restaurant", "Catering" — up to 4 more
• Business description: Front-load with primary keyword
• Services: Listed for "Dine-in", "Takeout", "Delivery", "Catering"
• Attributes: All applicable
• Posts: 1+ per week with target keywords naturally placed
• Q&A: Pre-seed with FAQs containing target keywords
• Reviews: Total count, recency, response rate (all SEO signals)
• Photos: Geo-tagged photos help relevance
• Products: Top menu items as products with names/descriptions/prices

Step 3: NAP & Citation Audit

Check NAP consistency across 25+ key directories. Inconsistencies dilute local SEO authority.

Tier 1 (highest authority):

• Google Business Profile
• Apple Maps / Apple Business Connect
• Yelp
• Facebook
• TripAdvisor
• Bing Places
• Foursquare

Tier 2 (food-specific):

• OpenTable / Resy / Tock
• Zomato
• Restaurant.com / Allmenus
• Eater (in markets where it covers)
• The Infatuation

Tier 3 (general / industry):

• Better Business Bureau
• Yellow Pages
• Chamber of Commerce
• Local newspaper business directory
• Industry associations (state restaurant association)

Step 4: Website Schema Audit

For restaurants, Google needs structured data to power rich results:

• Restaurant schema (name, address, phone, cuisine, price range, hours)
• Menu schema (each menu item as MenuItem with name, description, price)
• Review schema (aggregateRating from your reviews)
• LocalBusiness schema (additional local signals)
• Event schema (for live music nights, wine dinners, etc.)
• FAQPage schema (for FAQ section)

Check schema with Google's Rich Results Test.

Step 5: Content / On-Site Audit

Pages a restaurant website should have for local SEO:

• Homepage (target: "[cuisine] restaurant [city]")
• Menu page (target: "[cuisine] menu [city]")
• About page (target: "[cuisine] restaurant [neighborhood]" — long tail)
• Reservations page (target: "[cuisine] reservations [city]")
• Catering page (target: "[cuisine] catering [city]")
• Private events page (target: "private dining [city]")
• Specific dish pages (for signature items)
• Location page (target: "[cuisine] restaurant near [landmark]")

Step 6: Competitor SEO Comparison

For top 3 ranking competitors, capture:

• Domain Authority (rough estimate via Moz Bar / Ahrefs Free)
• Backlink count
• Review count + rating
• Years on Google (older = stronger)
• Mentions in press / blogs

Output Template

Save to RESTAURANT-SEO-[Name].md:

# Local SEO Audit: [NAME]

> **Generated:** [DATE] | **SEO Score:** [X]/100

**DISCLAIMER: AI-generated local SEO audit.**

## Current Rankings

| Query | Map Pack Position | Organic Position |
|-------|-------------------|-------------------|
| "best [cuisine] in [city]" | [3 / Not in pack] | [Page 1 #7] |
| "best [cuisine] near me" | ... | ... |
| "[cuisine] [neighborhood]" | ... | ... |
| "[cuisine] delivery [city]" | ... | ... |
| "[signature dish] [city]" | ... | ... |

**Map Pack Visibility Rate:** [X / Y queries] = [X]%

## SEO Score Breakdown

| Pillar | Score | Notes |
|--------|-------|-------|
| GBP Optimization | X/25 | ... |
| Reviews & Prominence | X/25 | ... |
| NAP & Citations | X/20 | ... |
| Schema Markup | X/15 | ... |
| On-Site Content | X/15 | ... |
| **Total** | **X/100** | |

## Google Business Profile Optimization

### Strong
- ...

### Weak
| Element | Current | Target | Fix |
|---------|---------|--------|-----|
| Secondary categories | 1 (Restaurant) | 4-5 | Add "Italian Restaurant", "Pizza Restaurant", "Catering", "Wine Bar" |
| Description | Generic | Keyword-rich | Rewrite with "Italian restaurant in [neighborhood] serving [signature dishes]" |
| Posts (last 30 days) | 0 | 4+ | Set up weekly posting cadence |
| Q&A answered | 60% | 100% | Answer the 3 open questions today |
| Geo-tagged photos | 0% | 100% | Reupload photos with GPS metadata |
| Products | 0 | 10+ | Add top 10 menu items as products |

## NAP Consistency Audit

| Directory | Name | Address | Phone | Status |
|-----------|------|---------|-------|--------|
| Google | ... | ... | ... | Reference |
| Apple Maps | ... | ... | ... | Match / Mismatch |
| Yelp | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Facebook | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| TripAdvisor | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Bing Places | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Foursquare | ... | ... | ... | Not listed — ADD |
| OpenTable | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Yellow Pages | ... | ... | ... | ... |

**Missing citations (add these):** [List directories restaurant isn't on yet]
**Inconsistent citations (fix these):** [Specific platform + what to fix]

## Schema Markup Audit

| Schema Type | Currently On Site? | Recommended |
|-------------|---------------------|-------------|
| Restaurant | No | YES — homepage |
| Menu / MenuItem | No | YES — menu page |
| AggregateRating | No | YES — homepage |
| LocalBusiness | No | YES — contact/footer |
| FAQPage | No | YES — if FAQ exists |
| Event | No | If hosting events |
| OpeningHoursSpecification | No | YES — embedded in Restaurant schema |

### Ready-to-Use Restaurant Schema (paste into website <head>)

```html
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Restaurant",
  "name": "[Restaurant Name]",
  "image": "[URL to hero photo]",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "[Address]",
    "addressLocality": "[City]",
    "addressRegion": "[State]",
    "postalCode": "[ZIP]",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "telephone": "[Phone]",
  "url": "[Website]",
  "servesCuisine": "[Cuisine]",
  "priceRange": "[$$]",
  "openingHoursSpecification": [
    {
      "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
      "dayOfWeek": ["Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday"],
      "opens": "11:00",
      "closes": "22:00"
    }
  ],
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "[X.X]",
    "reviewCount": "[N]"
  },
  "hasMenu": "[URL to menu]",
  "acceptsReservations": "True"
}
</script>

Competitor SEO Comparison

Gap to #1: ~960 more reviews + 10+ Domain Authority points. Closest win: outranking #3 with consistent review velocity + new citations.

Target Keyword Map

90-Day Action Plan

Days 1-30 — Foundation

1. Week 1: Fix all NAP inconsistencies across Tier 1 directories
2. Week 1: Add Restaurant + LocalBusiness schema to website
3. Week 2: Add 4 secondary categories to GBP, rewrite description
4. Week 2: Add top 10 menu items as Products on GBP
5. Week 3: Submit to 10 missing Tier 2 citations
6. Week 4: Set up weekly GBP posting cadence

Days 31-60 — Velocity

1. Review velocity push: Train staff to ask every happy guest for a Google review — target 8-12 new reviews/week
2. Content: Publish 4 dedicated dish pages (one per signature item)
3. Links: Reach out to 3 local food bloggers / press for coverage
4. Photos: Add 15 geo-tagged photos per month

Days 61-90 — Prominence

1. Press strategy: Pitch local food editors — anniversary, new chef, new dish launch
2. Partnerships: 2-3 cross-promotions with non-competing local businesses
3. Events / experiences: Wine dinner, cooking class — generates press + UGC
4. Reputation defense: Set up monitoring for new reviews / mentions

Expected Outcomes

DISCLAIMER: AI-generated SEO audit. Local search results depend on many factors including searcher proximity. Results will vary.

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## Quality Standards

- Audit covers all 6 pillars (rankings, GBP, NAP, schema, content, competitors)
- Schema code is copy-paste ready
- 90-day plan is granular and prioritized
- Every recommendation tied to a search query or ranking factor

**DISCLAIMER: For educational/research purposes only.**