Gastronomy in the era of the coronavirus. Do positive reviews affect the visibility of restaurants in search engines?

What do you do when you are not satisfied with the service at a restaurant? In the past, you would call the manager in such a situation. Nowadays, we often see a completely different trend. The customer leaves. Their mood can only be recognized by the corners of their mouth tightening. They won't utter a word about their complaints, although they probably won't leave a tip either.

A few moments later, a new review about the establishment appears on the internet. Definitely negative. What's worse, anyone looking for information about the brand will see it. The right way to respond to negative comments is a topic for another text. It's important to know that positive opinions spread just as easily. And both influence the position in Google search results.

How did the gastronomy industry react to the crisis?

In Poland, there are over 60 thousand gastronomic establishments registered. On March 13, 2020, they were closed by government decision. Two months later, they reopened. Since then, restaurateurs have had to adapt to changing recommendations. These apply not only to aspects related to food preparation, but also to the distance between guests.

Many customers still avoid eating in public places. On one hand, this is influenced by fear of the coronavirus. On the other hand, people find it difficult to navigate in the new reality. Many of them have a mistaken image of dining in a restaurant during a pandemic. As a result, the income generated from gastronomy has drastically decreased.

What can be done to survive in the gastronomy industry during the coronavirus pandemic?

Above all, efforts should be focused on online advertising. This applies to both restaurants and bars that offer delivery, as well as exclusively stationary establishments. In the first case, it is quite obvious. Nevertheless, every entrepreneur in the gastronomy industry must understand that a huge change has occurred in society.

The coronavirus epidemic has moved people online. It has also increased their caution. Therefore, before visiting a particular establishment, they check reviews even more often than before the pandemic. And last year, it was said that over 90% of consumers check online reviews. Visiting a restaurant is no longer an everyday occurrence. People want to be sure that by booking a table, they are making a good choice.

Collecting reviews is completely free.

Yes, that's true. All you need to do is create a company account on a social media platform or create a listing on Google Maps.

In fact, the second option is almost mandatory for gastronomic establishments. Of course, there is no law regulating this, but if you are not visible on Google Maps yet, take care of it as a priority. You don't incur any costs for this, and you can gain a lot. Above all, food is usually ordered from the nearest area. Visiting an establishment also usually involves a city where your potential customer is located. That's why Google Maps has become so popular. If you're not there, you're losing customers every second.

How does positioning work?

Positioning involves a series of activities aimed at placing a website on the first page of search results. Your position depends on the content and images on your website. The code of the page will also have an impact on the ranking. If the website has errors and takes a long time to load, search engine algorithms (and readers) will lose patience with it.

There are, of course, many more factors. However, at the moment, two things are important.

1. The earnings of restaurants that are on the first page of search results are disproportionately higher than the income of the competition.

2. Reviews influence the position of the page.

Is there anything else to add? The more positive comments your customers write, the more money you will earn. Algorithms will take care of this. Their operation is based on recommending what may meet people's needs. And if your customers are satisfied, it is a clear sign to the algorithm that they should recommend you more often.

Reviews can be analyzed.

Based on the obtained reviews, you can find out what the biggest advantages of your restaurant are. Importantly, you will also find out what can be improved. What's best, once you find yourself on the first page of search results, you set in motion a kind of perpetual motion machine.

Firstly, social proof starts to work. Since your restaurant occupies such a high position, customers perceive it as trustworthy and popular. In such a situation, the probability that they will visit it is disproportionately higher. What will they do after their visit? They will leave a review.

What will that review be like? It depends on you. And here we come to the second property that drives reputation and position growth. Since you know the results of the review analysis, your restaurant becomes better and better. More precisely, it increasingly meets the needs of customers. In this way, you increase the likelihood of receiving a positive review... which affects positioning. You can use this mechanism endlessly.

So, does the coronavirus pose a threat to the gastronomy industry? Yes, it does. However, by acting wisely, you can achieve success now, which previously did not require fighting for.