The Free Online Marketing Tools Every Restaurant Should Use
Running a restaurant is hectic. You have a million and one things going at once. So if you have an opportunity to make your life a little easier, you should take it. If you can use tools to simplify and streamline your systems, you should use them.
To help you identify tools that can make your life less stressful as a restaurant owner or manager, we compiled this list of free online marketing tools.
Each of these online marketing tools will make your life easier and your promotional efforts more effective. They will save you time and money and allow you to focus on more of your restaurant and less on your digital marketing.
#1) Google My Business
Google My Business is a business listing. It’s a free profile that any business can create. Every restaurant (in fact, every brick-and-mortar business) needs a Google My Business listing.
What It Does: When you create a Google My Business listing, your business is added to Google Maps and will appear as a rich result in Google Search.
Why You Need It: A Google My Business listing:
- Helps more customers find you via search.
- Gives you an opportunity to introduce your brand to customers from the search results page.
- Offers you a place to curate customer reviews.
- Boosts the local SEO for your website.
How to Get Started: You can create your Google My Business page for free today. Then, use our tips to optimize your Google My Business page.
#2) Google Analytics
Google Analytics is another free product from Google that is essential for every restaurant. Google Analytics is a dashboard that shares information about the way people use your website.
What It Does: When connected to your website, Google Analytics can track and monitor the activity on your website. It shares information about how people found your site, how many people use your site, who is using your site, and what they do on your site, among other insights.
Why You Need It: Google Analytics is essential because it is free and can offer extremely valuable information. Google Analytics helps you:
- Learn about the demographics of your audience.
- Identify which marketing campaigns are the most effective so you can boost them and get even more results.
- Identify which marketing campaigns aren’t working so you can stop running them to save time and money.
- Identify what your customers are most interested in, as you can see which pages they viewed and ignored.
- Get an idea of how much work will be needed to boost your website traffic.
How to Get Started: Create a Google Analytics account. Follow directions to set up a property in your account and add code to your website to start collecting data.
Need help with setting up your Google Analytics account and creating reporting that shares your most important data? Learn more about making sense of your data and analytics.
#3) MySuite
MySuite is a suite of marketing tools by MyArea Network. It’s a free local marketing platform designed for businesses that want to connect with nearby customers.
What It Does: When your business signs up for mySuite, you get a business profile on your Local Area Site. Local Area Sites are platforms organized by city area codes that attract readers and customers in that region.
You also get access to a suite of marketing tools that help you monitor marketing analytics and promote your business from one simple dashboard. With MySuite, you can easily launch brand awareness and lead generation campaigns for your restaurant.
Why You Need It: It’s free to sign up for mySuite, get your business profile, launch your analytics dashboard, and access on-demand marketing campaigns. With MySuite, you can:
- Create a business profile that attracts local customers.
- Boost your local SEO.
- Curate your analytics data and put it in one central location.
- Set-up text marketing campaigns.
- Add events to local listings to boost attendance.
- Post display ads to our popular Local Area Sites.
- Create coupons and vouchers and manage redemption.
How to Get Started: Create your free account and sign up for mySuite today. Then, make sure you know how to get the most out of your account. Contact us for a demo so we can walk you through all of the marketing tools and opportunities in your free account. Request your free demo today.
More Online Marketing Tools for Restaurants
These are just a few examples of free online marketing tools for restaurants. In addition to these tools, restaurants also need tools that aid in marketing automation. You need a tool for:
- Customer relationship management
- Online ordering
- Email marketing
- Paid digital ads
- Social media scheduling
There are many platforms that offer tools for these categories. You need to research the capabilities of each category and find the online marketing tool that is best for your restaurant's unique needs and customers.
Setting Up Automated Restaurant Marketing Strategies
The right restaurant online marketing tools can make your life so much easier. When you can have tools for marketing automation, data and analytics, and quick-launch marketing campaigns, you can take the pressure off of your marketing and get back to running your restaurant.
At MyArea Network, it’s our goal to make marketing easier for restaurants.
We want to help relieve the stress and confusion around online marketing so you can focus on serving customers in your business -- not driving them through the doors. If you need help setting up the free online marketing tools mentioned here or choosing the best platforms that can simplify and automate your promotions, we’re here to help.
Schedule a free consultation to learn more about how we can help you streamline your entire marketing process and drive more local customers to your restaurant.
