For restaurants
Local SEO for restaurants. Get found on Google and ChatGPT.
People pick where to eat in a few minutes, often on a phone, often while already hungry. They now ask ChatGPT or Gemini things like "best tacos near me" or "quiet place for a birthday dinner". If your menu, hours and dishes are hard to read online, those tools have nothing to point at, so they suggest the place down the street.
Free audit for your restaurant · No signup · About a minute
What your customers ask AI
Questions like these decide who gets the call. Does ChatGPT name you, or someone else?
- “Where can I get the best gumbo in New Orleans that isn't a tourist trap?”
- “What's a good restaurant near me with gluten-free options that takes reservations?”
- “Which Mexican restaurants in San Antonio are open late on a Sunday?”
What Google and AI look at for restaurants
A menu that can be read as text
Google and AI assistants read words, not photos of a laminated menu. A menu typed out on your website and added to your Google profile lets them match a question about "birria" or "vegan ramen" to you.
A specific cuisine category
"Restaurant" alone is vague. A category like "Thai restaurant" or "Seafood restaurant" tells Google what kind of food you serve before anyone reads a review.
Hours people can trust
Diners get annoyed when they show up to a locked door. Holiday hours, kitchen closing times and brunch hours on Google need to match what you really do.
Photos of real plates
Recent photos of your own dishes and dining room help people decide, and they show Google the profile is active. Stock photos and a single blurry logo do the opposite.
5 fixes you can make this week
- Type your full menu onto your website as a normal page, with dish names and prices, and keep the PDF only as an extra.
- Pick the most specific cuisine as your Google primary category, like "Vietnamese restaurant", and add "Restaurant" or others only if they fit.
- Add your reservation link and your direct online ordering link to your Google profile.
- Set special hours on Google for the next holidays you will close early or open late.
- Mark your dietary options on Google and on your menu: vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal, as long as you truly offer them.
Tip: on Google, pick “Restaurant” as your primary category, or a more specific one if it fits better. On your website, ask your web person to add LocalBusiness structured data using the schema.org type Restaurant.
Getting more reviews, the right way
Ask every table the same way. A small card with a QR code that opens your Google review page works well when it comes with the check, or a line on the receipt. Staff can mention it to everyone, not only the regulars who are clearly having a great night. Never offer a free dessert, a drink or a discount for a review. Google removes reviews like that and can restrict your profile, and the FTC bans rewarding diners for positive reviews.
How Kip helps restaurants
- Every week, Kip asks ChatGPT and Gemini questions like the ones above and tracks whether they recommend you, and who they pick instead.
- Every month, Kip re-runs your audit and emails a short report with your next fixes, in plain words.
- On Pro, Kip tracks nearby competitors and emails review requests to your customers in your business's name.
The free audit works today. Paid plans open to founding members in small groups: reserve a spot.
Questions from restaurants
My menu is a PDF. Is that a problem?
It's not wrong, but it's weak. Search engines and AI assistants read PDFs poorly and phones show them badly. Put the same menu on a normal web page as text and link the PDF for anyone who wants to print it.
Should I reply to bad reviews?
Yes, calmly and briefly. Thank them, address the specific problem, and invite them to contact you directly. Future diners read your reply more than the complaint. Don't argue or share private details.
Do delivery apps help my Google ranking?
They can make you easier to find, but they are not a replacement for your own Google profile and website. Make sure your name, address and hours on the apps match Google exactly, so nobody sees conflicting information.