Restaurants 'don't maximise web opportunity'

Published: 26 January, 2011

Restaurants have been urged to do more to promote their restaurants online, and to use the web to allow bookings.

Research from Livebookings has found that 39% of restaurants surveyed don't have a website and 25% don't promote their site anywhere on the internet, meaning they're invisible to the 53% of consumers who often research restaurants online before reserving a table

Seventy-one per cent of people said Google was their preferred method of searching for restaurants. But only 42% of restaurants use search engine optimisation to improve their online rankings and 23% have never checked how easy their site is to find online.

Miles Quest of the British Hospitality Association said: "It's clear from this research that the internet is playing an increasingly important role in how consumers are finding and booking restaurants. We urge restaurateurs across the UK to carefully consider how successful their online activity is and if it's either non-existent or not performing strongly to act swiftly, as the numbers of diners searching online is only going to increase."

Livebookings is running a new series of Academy events for restaurateurs, beginning in February, aimed at helping them maximise profits.

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