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With online ordering growing to over 185 million people expected to use delivery services by 2025, it’s become a necessity to tap into guests' radar from a digital presence. From email marketing and social media, to paid ads and more - digital marketing has shown to be an incredibly effective way for restaurants to generate new guests and retarget repeat guests.
Alongside the popularity of organic content shared by restaurants for their guests, paid advertisements across popular sites such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, have generated over 50% more sales than organic content.
With the success of paid advertisements being undeniable with an average of 200% ROI — we're accessing the top 5 converting paid ads for restaurants and providing ad templates for your next advertising campaign.
Top 5 Paid Ad Campaigns
Working alongside a pay-per-click model, restaurants only pay when a guest clicks on their ad and visits the site. To emphasize, guests do not have to complete an order for restaurants to be charged utilizing these campaigns, so it’s pertinent that the paid ad speaks to the guest and adequately displays a real-time promotion or offer to increase the odds of a sale after they click on the ad.
For more insight on successfully setting up your next paid campaign, download these templates.
When selecting a paid advertising platform, it’s important to identify success rates and define your restaurant’s target audience to spread your budget further.
Google Search
Restaurant Google Ads
Google is the first place people go to find a restaurant near them, making this the number one place to run ad campaigns. No other marketing tactic will provide access to a constant stream of pre-qualified leads 24 hours a day, 7 days a week like Google Search ads.
Google Search Ad Benefits:
Access new guests who are searching for your type of food and/or your competitors
Increase revenue and loyalty by targeting existing guests
Advertise and prioritize new franchise locations
Promote your mobile app and loyalty offering
Convert your web guests into app guests
For more insight on successfully setting up your next paid campaign, download these templates.
Google Maps
Why restaurant ads on Google Maps is a great strategy
It’s incredibly common for people to search for “x food near me” when looking for a new cuisine or restaurant to try in a selected area. With Google Maps ads, restaurants are able to place themselves at the top of the list on the location results page, increasing brand awareness and the probability of new and repeat guests.
Google Maps Ad Benefits:
Locate new guests who are actively searching for your type of food
Display your restaurant for guests who are searching for your competitors
Nurture your existing guests
Increase brand awareness
For more insight on successfully setting up your next paid campaign, download these templates.
Google Display
Google display ads for restaurants
Google Display network represents millions of websites that you can use to advertise your menu. It’s best to target the sites that your potential and existing customers visit daily, ensuring high click-through-rates and conversions.
Google Display Ad Benefits:
Connect with your guests anywhere they are
Find new guests by targeting specific websites - i.e., displaying your ads on restaurant review websites and blogs
Increase brand awareness into new networks, accessing millions of people
For more insight on successfully setting up your next paid campaign, download these templates.
Youtube
Using Youtube for restaurant advertising
Over one billion hours are watched on YouTube every day, which is more than what Netflix or Facebook generates across their platforms. With Youtube ads able to be segmented based off of the type of video, restaurants are able to touch point their current and/or potential guests utilizing this platform.
Youtube Ad Benefits:
Speak to new guests by advertising on relevant videos - i.e., display an ad for your restaurant on a YouTube video about burger recipes reviews
Re-target your existing/repeat guests to increase revenue
Increase brand awareness
Need help with building your paid Youtube ads?
Facebook / Instagram
Facebook paid ads restaurants / Instagram restaurant ads
Social media platforms are popular digital settings for people to discover new things — restaurants included. Reigning as top social platforms for paid ad conversions, Facebook and Instagram hold strong networking ability for restaurants and businesses, with 49% of Facebook users using the application to find new restaurants and 75% of Instagram users visiting a brand’s website after seeing a paid post.
Facebook / Instagram Ad Benefits:
Find new guests utilizing these platforms’ extensive targeting capabilities - i.e., target potential guests that live in your restaurant’s delivery radius, who are interested in your type of food, and more
Find new guests by using lookalike audiences based off of similar interests
Increase revenue by targeting your existing guests
Access to advertise on all Facebook channels, including Messenger and Marketplace
Access to advertise on all Instagram channels, including reels, stories, and in-feed posts
Need help with building your paid Facebook and Instagram ads?
Design Equals Performance
Your branding is your look and feel and that is just as important as the placement of these paid ads. This doesn’t mean flashy ads and an expensive graphic designer — when advertising for your restaurant, keep it simple and showcase the delicious food you serve.
Some tips we recommend before launching your paid advertising:
Promotions: Always include the incentive or promotion at the beginning and end of an ad campaign and make sure it’s the primary focus to draw your guests’ attention
Photography: Add variation to your photography by showcasing your ingredients rather than just the final dish
Logo: Prioritize promoting brand awareness by including your brand logo on each asset
Copy: Ad copy should remain short and sweet — on average, guests will see your ad for only a couple seconds so the copy should be clear and include the name of the menu item
Call-to-action: Always include a call-to-action statement/button to redirect your guests to make an online order and/or download your mobile app
More Resources
Building out your paid ad strategy is now as easy as downloading templates and plugging in messaging and imagery. From marketing and loyalty to online ordering and more, Lunchbox has you covered — check out some of our favorite marketing resources below.
