“Choose the Site You Want to be Listed”
- Yelp – After GMB, Yelp is probably the most important site for restaurants to have a listing. This online review site has become incredibly popular, with many GPS apps linking to it when a person searches for a restaurant. For example, if a person is traveling and searches Apple Maps for places to eat, each listing will link to the restaurant’s Yelp site – assuming that they have one. Getting a Yelp profile is relatively easy. Search for your restaurant on the site. If it’s there, follow the steps to claim it. Otherwise, you can add your restaurant to Yelp. Once your account is set up, you can add pictures, information, a menu, and more. Because Yelp is primarily a review site, it is vital that you keep a close eye on any reviews. Responding to the reviews can be a good way to connect with customers. Just be sure to make sure that any responses are measured, particularly for bad reviews.
- GrubHub – Most of us associate GrubHub with online food delivery. And while your restaurant can use GrubHub as a delivery partner (for a fee), you can also list your restaurant on the site. That way, when people are searching for something to eat, they will come across your business. Best of all, when you set up a GrubHub listing, it will go onto other sites like MenuPages and Seamless. This makes it super easy to get yourself on a few different directories with minimal work. Just search for or add your business on GrubHub to get started.
- All Menus – Allmenus is a site that is dedicated to listing menus from restaurants across the country. In other words, customers can navigate to the website to find food that truly appeals to them. It is a good site to be listed on because it gives patrons another way to find you. Getting listed on Allmenus is super easy. If you have a GrubHub listing, then it will automatically populate Allmenus.
- Zomato – Zomato isn’t as popular as it once was – but it is still a good idea to list your restaurant on this site. To do so, you’ll just need to create a restaurant page on the site. You can also choose to add online ordering to your Zomato profile. Otherwise, you can have a straightforward listing that customers will be able to find when they search for places to eat in your region.
- Yahoo – Yahoo isn’t as popular of a search engine as Google – but plenty of people still use it for things like restaurant reviews. That is why it is important to get your restaurant listed on Yahoo. When people go to the local Yahoo page, they can search for restaurants in a particular area. If your restaurant is listed, it can help to generate business that you wouldn’t have otherwise gotten.
- Trip Advisor – You might not think of TripAdvisor as a place to list your restaurant, particularly if you’re not located in a tourist hotspot. But the reality is that people travel for all sorts of reasons, and when they go to your town, they will probably need to go out to eat. Having a listing on TripAdvisor ensures that when people are planning their trip, they can find your restaurant.
- Map Quest – In the early 2000s, MapQuest was the way to get directions (which you would then print out and carry with you on your travels). While most people use their phone or car’s GPS system now, MapQuest still gets quite a few hits. When you list your restaurant on MapQuest, anyone who uses the site for directions will be able to easily navigate to your business. They can also use the site to find food near them – which is incredibly helpful when people are coming from out of town and don’t know where to go to eat. Being listed means that your restaurant will come up as an option on MapQuest.
- Bing – Like Yahoo, Bing isn’t the top search engine. However, plenty of people still use this Microsoft tool to find what they need – including a place to eat. Claiming your Bing profile is an easy way to ensure that your restaurant shows up on as many search sites as possible.
- Merchant Circle – Merchant Circle is a social media network for business owners. There are more than 2 million merchants on the site, which sees 100 million visits each month. Businesses are sorted by category, which includes restaurants. Again, getting listed on the site is a good way to make sure that your business appears as often as possible in search results
- Menu Pix – Like Allmenus, MenuPix is a site that offers pictures of menus from various restaurants. It often comes up in searches for menus, which is why it is a good idea to have a listing. Once you have created an account, you can add your restaurant and pictures of your current menu.
- Better Business Bureau – The Better Business Bureau (BBB) may seem like an old-fashioned concept – an agency where people could check out a business or file a complaint. Today, most people learn about businesses and leave reviews on sites like Google and Yelp. That doesn’t mean that the BBB is obsolete – particularly among older generations. For this reason, it’s smart to get listed on the BBB site, even if you don’t plan to become accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
- Yellow Pages – Like the BBB, the Yellow Pages may seem like a thing of the past. After all, most of us don’t refer to phone books to find a restaurant. That being said, the online version of the Yellow Pages can be helpful for people searching for a particular company. Setting up a listing is a good way to cover your bases and ensure that your information is listed accurately on the site.
- Manta – Manta is a marketing platform that has existed for more than 20 years. While most people aren’t as familiar with Manta as they are with other platforms, it still appears in search engine results. You can add a free listing to the site, which allows users to search for a particular type of business by area.
- City Search – Founded in 1995, Citysearch was one of the pioneers of online directory websites. As the name implies, its concept is simple: you can search for businesses in a particular city. While Citysearch may not be the most popular online directory, it isn’t a bad idea to put a free listing on this site as well.
- Four Square – For a period of time, checking in on FourSquare was quite a thing. Businesses often offered coupons and promotions to customers who checked in at their restaurant on FourSquare, which would then show up on the patron’s FourSquare profile and social media. While FourSquare isn’t as popular as it once was, it still has its place in the restaurant world. Creating a listing is free, and can help to ensure that you show up on this and other sites.
- White Pages – At some point, you have probably looked someone up or done a reverse phone search on Whitepages. What you may not know is that you can also search for businesses on this website. Like the Yellow Pages, it may not be most users’ first choice for a restaurant search site – but since the listing is free, you should go ahead and set it up when you are claiming other profiles.
- Super Pages – Superpages is a way to find local businesses. In many respects, it is similar to Yellow Pages and Whitepages. Although it may not be a top choice for finding a restaurant, having a listing on the site is free. You should be sure to claim or add your listing to boost your business’ profile.
- Open Table – OpenTable is where people make reservations for local restaurants and earn dining rewards each time they book.
- City Squares – CitySquares helps people find local businesses in their neighborhood. It helps restaurants gain more exposure across the internet while helping more people find you.
- Yellowbook – YellowBook is another online directory with restaurant listings that include your information, links to your website, contact info, maps, directions and more.
