Understanding SEO and How Menufy Can Help
In today's digital age, having a website is crucial for any business, and restaurants are no exception. Your restaurant’s website ensures that your business has an online presence and appears in search results, making it discoverable to potential customers who might not otherwise find you. It also offers essential information about your menu, hours of operation, location, and contact information.
Understanding how customers interact with your restaurant’s website is equally important for success. This is where three powerful tools come into play: SEO, Google Analytics 4, and Google Tag Manager. While they serve distinct purposes, they work together seamlessly to provide valuable insights and optimize your online presence.
Learn how Menufy's experts use the power of these digital tools to fine-tune your website, to drive more customers to your restaurant!
WHAT ARE SEO, GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4, AND GOOGLE TAG MANAGER?
Imagine your restaurant is a bustling marketplace, and the internet is a vast city. Here's how these tools help you attract customers and understand their behavior:
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Think of SEO as a giant, colorful sign outside your restaurant. It uses relevant keywords such as "best burgers in town" to catch the attention of people who are searching for food. The more descriptive and eye-catching your sign, the more likely it is that potential customers will notice and enter your restaurant (that is, go to your website).
Google Analytics 4
Imagine Google Analytics 4 as a smart counter inside your restaurant. It tracks not just how many people enter the business (website visitors) but also what they do there (pages viewed, items clicked), where they come from (search engines, social media), and even how they interact with your menu (adding items to an order, browsing categories).
This detailed information lets you understand your customers better and helps you make informed decisions about your offerings and marketing strategies. (Google Analytics 4 is built around users and events, making it better able to predict user behavior than Google Analytics, which relies on a session-based model that groups user interactions within a given time frame.)
Google Tag Manager
Think of Google Tag Manager as a handy toolbox for your restaurant. It allows you to easily install and manage different tracking tools, such as Google Analytics 4, without your needing to touch the wiring (website code) directly. This saves time and ensures that you use the right tools to gather valuable customer insights.
The Key Takeaways
SEO helps people find your restaurant online.
Google Analytics 4 shows how many people visit your restaurant (website).
Google Tag Manager helps you manage the tools you use to track your restaurant (website).
HOW DO THESE TOOLS WORK TOGETHER?
SEO attracts potential customers to your restaurant’s website by making it visible in search results.
Google Analytics 4 tracks their behavior once they arrive, providing valuable insights into their preferences and actions.
Google Tag Manager makes it easy to use both tools together, giving you a complete picture of your customer's journey, from initial search to their experience on your restaurant’s website.
Together, these tools help you attract more customers, understand their needs, and ultimately improve your restaurant's online presence and customer satisfaction.
HOW CAN MENUFY HELP?
We have some tools and tips that you can utilize to help with SEO for your Menufy website.
Attracting Local Diners with Seo-friendly descriptions
Your restaurant’s menu is extremely important for SEO. The names of items on your menu and the words used to describe them are keywords, terms that potential customers may use when searching for food nearby. You’ll want to keep those descriptions up-to-date so customers will find relevant information when they search online.
If you are a traditional Menufy client and your account does not integrate with a POS, you can access your Menufy Manager and update your menu items and menu descriptions from the Menu tab. We recommend having menu descriptions ready when you initially onboard with us because our menu team will add them for you, but if you need to update them at any point, you can.
If your Menufy account integrates with your Clover POS, there are limited menu update capabilities. You can edit the categories, item names, and descriptions. You can also add menu images, edit existing modifiers and modifier labels (except for pricing), and deactivate/reactivate items, categories, and modifiers. You must update your menu from your Clover POS account for all other modifications.
(Example of Menufy Manager Menu Tab. The yellow box shows Category Name and Description. The green box shows Menu Item Name and Description.)
Building Your Restaurant’s Online Presence: Keywords, Descriptions & Tags
When your website is close to being live, our web optimization team, led by Taylor Moon, will create what is called a profile description that can be found on the Menufy-created website. "First, we look at the restaurant's cuisine offerings, location, and menu. From there, we write a description of the restaurant that includes any local landmarks or street names that can help identify where customers can find the restaurant. We also include a couple of popular menu items in the description," Moon explains. "Doing this helps with SEO by adding specific keywords that will appear when those potential customers search for food near them."
(The web optimization team does most of this for you, but if you want to edit this information at any point, you can. The green box shows where you can update your website profile description. The pink box shows where you can adjust cuisine type, atmosphere, food types, and service tags. The orange box is where you can add any links to your restaurant’s social media pages.)
Boost Your Local Search Ranking: Google Optimization
In addition to updating the website profile description and tags, the web optimization team helps restaurants optimize their Google Business Profile. That includes helping restaurateurs gain ownership of their profile if they do not already have access. Owning and controlling your Google Business Profile is very important for a restaurant business owner. When customers search on Google for your restaurant or for restaurants near them, you want to make sure the information representing your restaurant is accurate and leads to your Menufy ordering page.
Another tool that we can help you with is the Google Food Ordering button. We’ll ensure that your Menufy ordering site is listed as an option for your customers, and we’ll also indicate that the business prefers customers to order from your Menufy ordering page. Doing these two things will help put your restaurant on the map and make it easier for customers to find you and order from your restaurant when they are searching on Google.
Unlocking Insights: Google Analytics 4 and Meta Pixel
If you have your Google Analytics 4 measurement code and/or your Meta (Facebook) Pixel key, it can be added to your account to track your Menufy website traffic and data. This can be added by logging into your Menufy Manager and locating the Reports tab. Locate the Analytics report.
You will see a graph that shows the data we collect on your Menufy website traffic, and you’ll also see two spots where you can add your Google Analytics 4 measurement key and your Facebook Pixel key. Once you add that information, it can take up to 48 hours to see data appear in your Google Ads and Meta Ads accounts.
(Example of an Analytics report. The red box shows the editable date range and overall data for the designated date range. The purple box shows all days in the date range, and you can hover over them to get each day’s stats. The yellow box shows where you can input the Google Analytics 4 measurement ID. The blue box shows where you can input your Facebook Pixel key.)
If you’re not sure how to set up or locate your Google Analytics 4 account or Facebook Pixel account, please refer to the links provided to find support on their websites:
The ID will look like G-XXXXXXXXXX.
Important: Your ID will be created specifically for Menufy.
The Meta/Pixel key will be a 15-digit number included in the code provided when you choose Install Code Manually.
If you are unsure what to do with the code, you can send it to Menufy at performance@menufy.com, and our experts can assist.
Measure Success: Conversion Tracking with Menufy
After you have set up your Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager accounts, you can create a new conversion action. Once you have set up your conversion goals, you can install the tag yourself and be provided with a code that you can email to us at performance@menufy.com.
Our experts will be able to find the information needed to ensure it is added to your Menufy website. Once applied, it can take 24-48 hours to see data on your Google accounts.
Below is a list of the three pieces of information we can install into your Menufy website:
Conversion ID
In the code you are given, you will see AW-XXXXX/YYYYYYYY. The AW-XXXXX is the conversion ID that we will input into your account. Alternatively, we can add your Google Analytics 4 measurement ID, which looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX.
Conversion Label
In the code you are given, you will see AW-XXXXX/YYYYYYYY. The YYYYYYYY is the conversion label that we will input into your account.
Place ID
To find your place ID, visit this website and search for your restaurant on the map. You’ll see your unique place ID in the information bubble that appears.
Currently, Menufy has the capability to add one Google tag, but our rockstar development team is continuously improving our analytics setup and has plans to expand in the future.
THE LAST BITE
SEO, Google Analytics 4, and Google Tag Manager form a powerful trio for website optimization. By understanding their roles and how they work together, you can gain valuable insights into your website's performance, make data-driven decisions, and ultimately achieve your online goals.
Menufy can assist your restaurant by adding a website profile description and keywords that appear in search results, optimizing your restaurant's Google Business Profile, offering a tool to add your Google Analytics 4 measurement ID and Meta/Facebook Pixel key to your account, and installing limited Google Tag Manager codes to your website.
Our partners can expect to start seeing improvements on the UI (user interface) of Menufy websites and enhancements to our analytics capabilities by the end of this year! If you have any questions or need further assistance, please email us at performance@menufy.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
NIKKI FINLEY, SR. DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST
Nikki got her start in the restaurant industry when she was 15. She also spent some time working at tech startups in Chicago. Utilizing her many years of experience in the restaurant and tech space, she’s spent the last 5 years assisting Menufy clients with their premium marketing services.