The pandemic has been hard on nearly all industries, but not many have been hit worse than hospitality. In particular, restaurants, bars, and pubs have suffered hugely from social distancing rules and lockdowns, usually being the first to close when the cases rise. While it’s definitely been a tough time for all, it doesn’t have to be the end of your business. By investing in clever marketing rather than tightening your purse strings, you can help your restaurant jump back and keep your tables booked up when lockdown ends.

Which Marketing Methods Should You Choose?

There’s a wide range of marketing methods that are great for restaurants. We love social media marketing, SEO, and even more traditional methods, like leaflets through the door. But there’s one marketing tactic that stands out at times like these; Pay Per Click advertising. In particular, we’re going to take a look at Google AdWords PPC and how it can boost your bookings.

What is Google AdWords PPC?

Google Search Ads is a method of advertising, but rather than having ads on obscure websites or social media feeds, they pop up directly in Google’s search engine. The idea is that you bid on certain keywords that are relevant to your business. Then, when a user searches for that keyword, you’ll be one of the very first search results on the screen. When you consider that over a quarter of people click on the very first result that pops up, you can start to see how this could help you.

If running a PPC campaign sounds daunting, don’t be put off! It is quite technical, but you can easily find a specialist marketing agency to help you out. With their expertise, your ROI should increase dramatically. If you’re still not sure about it, let’s take a look at some of the benefits and see if they change your mind.

Fast Impact 

After the struggles of a pandemic and lockdown, it’s unlikely you’re looking for long-term marketing. You want results, and you want them now, right? Unlike tactics like SEO (which still has its place in every marketing method, of course), Google AdWords PPC gets you results instantly. In fact, as soon as your campaign is up and running you should start to see your traffic beginning to rise! As long as you have a brilliant website for users to land on, there’s no reason why your bookings won’t start to increase, too.

With PPC Marketing – You’re In Control

No matter what your budget is, it’s vital you can control it when creating your marketing strategy. Luckily, PPC makes that easy. With this marketing method, you only ever have to put in the amount of money you can spend, making it very manageable. Because you also have control over the ad displayed (the written content) and the keywords or phrases it pops up for, you can also make sure the money you invest is being spent efficiently. If you like to make sure you’re getting good marketing for your money, this is a great option for your restaurant.

PPC Advertising Provides Highly Targeted Marketing For Restaurants

To make sure your marketing is bringing customers through the door and sitting at your tables, you need to target it. Not any old person will be interested in your restaurant! With Google AdWords, there’s a number of ways you can target your marketing. The first is the key terms you pick, which instantly narrow down your audience to people interested in restaurants, food, or any other niche you fall under. You can also target by location which is super useful for restaurants! So, when someone searches for a restaurant in your area, you can pop up first.

The Timing Is Just Right for PPC Advertising

When you create an advert for Instagram or a website, the chances of it appearing right when someone wants to dine out is slim. But, because PPC relies on them searching for a restaurant, you’re catching them at just the right moment. In restaurant marketing, timing is everything, and Google AdWords PPC makes that easy.

See Visible Results with PPC Ads

Google AdWords has a wealth of data and reporting that they’ll give you access to. Through this, you can see exactly how well your ads are performing, the amount of traffic they’re driving, and everything else you need to measure your ROI. Through this, you can fine-tune your PPC ads, tweaking them until you get the formula just right and your traffic sky-rockets.

Don’t Miss Out On PPC

It’s not hard to see how a PPC campaign can help restaurants bounce back after the harsh pandemic side-effects. With targeted marketing that catches your audience at just the right time and results that can be almost instant, it’s a brilliant way to quickly and effectively get your business back on track.

If you want your tables fully booked, don’t miss out on PPC.

Author Bio: Andrew Nicholas is a Director and Co-founder of SideDish Media Restaurant Marketing in London, UK. SideDish Media is a Marketing Agency whose passion and focus lies in the food, drink and hospitality industry, helping restaurants, bars, hotels increase their positive exposure online. SideDish Media helps to put restaurants’ businesses and brands in front of millions of the right potential customers through specialised targeting methods, to achieve the maximum impact from precious marketing budgets.

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