Start a Blog for Your Restaurant with These 5 Easy Restaurant Blog Ideas

If you own a restaurant, you may think that the only things you need on your website are a few food photos, a menu, and a page to book reservations. However, so much more goes into online restaurant marketing. A menu alone is not enough to make your restaurant stand out online! (Especially if it’s a PDF menu and not a live web page—more on that later.) On the other hand, blogs are a powerful way to increase your SEO score, rank high in the Google search results, and build excitement over your delicious dishes.

Now, if you’re a chef, writing may not be your art form. You probably prefer creating new recipes and finding inspiration at the local farmers’ market. Don’t worry. I’m here to help take you through the restaurant blogging process. First, let’s get started with why you need a blog for your restaurant business. Then, we’ll move on to important blogging tips restaurant owners should keep in mind. Finally, I’ll help you jumpstart your restaurant’s blog with your first five ideas.

Why an Online Menu isn’t Enough to Market Your Restaurant

To rank high in Google search engine results, you need many web pages filled with keywords. Unfortunately, menus don’t typically have lots of keywords.
If your online menu is a PDF, then it’s not even counting toward your SEO score at all. This is because only live web pages rank in Google.
Today, customers want to know more than just what’s available to order. People are coming to your website to understand the atmosphere, story, and talent in the kitchen.

Why Blogging Will Help Your Restaurant Book Reservations

Blogs allow you to easily drop keywords into your website. For example, keywords could include the type of food you serve and your city. These keywords get you seen by nearby people searching for restaurants.
Blogs can be used to help promote foodie events. Again, keywords will help people who are searching for fun things to do in town find your event!
Blogs are also a great way to highlight new menu items and seasonal specials. Dive in and go into greater detail about the ingredients, recipe, inspiration, and chef.

Since you know why a blog is essential and how it can help build your restaurant business, let’s dive into tips to get started! Writing can be intimidating. Keep these tips in mind to approach each blog post with confidence.

Blogging Tips for Restaurants That Other Writers Won’t Share

#1 Get Attention with Photos, Keep it with Words

When it comes to food, the photos are going to capture attention first. So whenever you post a blog, make sure to include pictures of meals, drinks, or action shots in the kitchen. Once you get their attention with a great photo, keep it with words. In your restaurant blog, you can go into all the details. Was this a recipe passed down for generations? Do you grow the herbs on-site? People want to know!

#2 Stay Local

When blogging about your restaurant, location is key. People are most likely searching for restaurants in town or Googling restaurants in cities they plan to visit. Make sure the city your restaurant is located in is included in every blog post. For example, an SEO-rich blog title could be “Our Recipe for the Best Tacos in San Antonio.” If you’re a taco place in San Antonio, people will search the keywords “tacos” and “San Antonio” to find you.

#3 Get Personal

Today, over 60% of customers are looking for an emotional connection with the brands they support. While you may have fantastic food, your recipes aren’t what book reservations. You are the secret ingredient! In your blogs, make sure to highlight what makes your restaurant unique. This could be the vendors you buy from, the story of the head chef, or the inspiration behind the most popular recipes.

5 Easy Blog Post Ideas for Restaurants

Don’t get hit with writer’s block when you sit down at the computer to write a blog post. Here are 5 easy restaurant blog ideas you can come back to for inspiration. Bookmark this page, so you always have them nearby.

1. Promote Menu Updates and Specials

Blogs are a great place to update customers on new menu items and seasonal specials. Menu update blogs are great for restaurants that change their menu frequently. Here are two examples.

Summer Cocktails Blog from Maverick in San Antonio

Specialty Menu Blog from Biga in San Antonio

2. Share Popular Recipes, Cooking Tips, and Pairings

Every restaurant has that one dish, cocktail, or dessert that always leaves customers wanting the recipe. Why not share it on your blog? (If it’s a top-secret recipe, maybe share an “at home” version that doesn’t give away the big secret.) Next time a customer asks, you can send them to your blog page! Here is an example.

Cocktail Recipe Blog from Maverick in San Antonio

3. Highlight the Chefs

Your restaurant blog page is also a great place to highlight your chefs. For example, you could conduct an interview or have your chefs write up their opinions about some of their favorite dishes. Learning about the person cooking their food helps customers build a personal connection.

4. Feature Your Vendors

If your restaurant focuses on farm-to-table ingredients and local vendors, why not highlight them in a blog post? Your vendors will appreciate the shout-out, and customers will love knowing where their food comes from. Make sure to ask your vendors to share the blog with their followers. Here is an example.

Vendor Highlight Blog from Maverick in San Antonio

5. Promote a Foodie Event

Blogs also make it easy to promote foodie events. In a blog post, you can explain what the event is, build excitement, give event details, and provide a link to purchase tickets. Again, people searching for fun things in town will have a better chance of finding your event if you add some keywords. Here is a good example.

Foodie Event Blog from Maverick Texas Brasserie in San Antonio

Are you ready to start your restaurant blog?

Starting a restaurant blog can feel like a challenge. It requires creativity, patience, and consistency. In a busy restaurant, it can be difficult to make time to dedicate to blogging! If you find that you really hate writing or that it takes too much time, it may be worth it to outsource your blogs to a professional copywriter. I’d love to help find the 1,000 words your pictures contain and build your digital web presence with SEO-rich keywords. Let me know if you ever want to discuss ideas!

Let me write your blog and share your voice.

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Blogging Tips for Restaurants