What does MyBizGrade check?

We analyze your website speed, SEO tags, Google reviews, social media presence, and accessibility. Each area gets its own score and letter grade.

How is the grade calculated?

Each category is scored from 0 to 100 based on real data from your site. The overall grade is a weighted average across all five categories.

Yes, the full audit and grade are completely free. You can upgrade to a Pro report with copy-paste fixes for $39 if you want help improving.

What's in the Pro report?

You get a priority action plan, copy-paste ready fixes for every issue, time estimates, and a downloadable PDF. It tells you exactly what to change and how.

How long does the audit take?

Most audits finish in under 30 seconds. Complex sites with many pages may take up to a minute.

Do you store my data?

We store your audit results so you can revisit your report. We never sell your data or share it with third parties.

How often should I check my grade?

We recommend running a new audit every month. Your online presence changes as you update your site, get new reviews, and post on social media.

MyBizGrade was built by a small team of developers who wanted to make online presence auditing simple and affordable for small businesses.

Restaurant Online Presence: Why Reviews Are Your #1 Marketing Tool

# Restaurant Online Presence: Why Reviews Are Your #1 Marketing Tool A hungry person pulls out their phone. They search "restaurants near me." Google shows a map with three options. Each one has a star rating, review count, and photos. That person picks the restaurant with the best combination of ratings and recent reviews. They do not pick the one with the best food. They pick the one with the best online presence. This is how 90% of new restaurant customers make their decision in 2026. Your food matters enormously for keeping customers. But reviews and online presence determine whether those customers walk through your door in the first place. ## The Restaurant Customer Journey Starts Online Before a customer tastes your food, they go through a predictable online journey: 1. They search Google or Google Maps for a restaurant 2. They scan the star ratings and review counts in the map pack 3. They click on 2-3 options and read recent reviews 4. They look at photos (food photos, interior, ambiance) 5. They check the menu (on your website or Google listing) 6. They decide and either call, book online, or walk in Every step in this journey happens on a screen. If your restaurant is invisible at step 1, or looks bad at step 3, the customer goes somewhere else. They never know your food is better. ## Why Restaurant Online Reviews Beat Every Other Marketing Channel You could spend thousands on Instagram ads, print flyers, or run a radio spot. None of those channels convert as well as a strong review profile. Here is why: **Reviews are trust.** A stranger telling another stranger "the pasta here is incredible" carries more weight than any ad you run. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. **Reviews are free.** Your customers write your marketing copy for you. Each review is a micro-advertisement seen by hundreds of future customers. **Reviews affect your Google ranking.** Google uses review quantity, quality, and recency as ranking factors. More reviews with higher ratings push your restaurant higher in search results and the map pack. **Reviews are permanent.** A Facebook post disappears from feeds in hours. A Google review stays visible for years, influencing customers long after it was written. The math is simple: a restaurant with 200 reviews averaging 4.6 stars will outperform a restaurant with 30 reviews averaging 4.8 stars. Volume and recency matter as much as the rating itself. ## How to Get More Restaurant Reviews (Starting Today) Most restaurant owners wait passively for reviews. The ones who dominate their market ask for them systematically. **Train your staff.** Your servers and front-of-house team interact with every customer. Train them to say: "If you enjoyed your meal, we'd love a Google review. It helps us a lot." This single habit generates 5-10 new reviews per week for busy restaurants. **Use table cards or stickers.** Print small cards with a QR code linking directly to your Google review page. Place them on every table, near the register, and by the exit. The easier you make it, the more reviews you get. **Follow up with online orders.** If you use online ordering or delivery, send a follow-up text or email 30 minutes after delivery. "How was your meal? Leave us a quick review: [link]." Timing matters. Ask while the experience is fresh. **Respond to every single review.** This is the step most restaurants skip, and it costs them. When you respond to reviews, it signals to Google your business is active. It also shows future customers you care about feedback. For positive reviews, keep it personal: "Thanks, Maria! Glad you loved the short rib tacos. Hope to see you back soon." For negative reviews, stay calm and professional: "We're sorry your experience didn't meet our standards. Please reach out to us at [email] so we make it right." [Check your restaurant's review score right now with a free grade from GradeMyBiz](https://grademybiz.vercel.app). ## Google Business Profile: Your Restaurant's Digital Storefront Your Google Business Profile is the most viewed page about your restaurant online. More people see it than your website, your Instagram, or your Yelp page. **Keep your hours accurate.** Nothing frustrates a hungry customer more than driving to a restaurant listed as "Open" on Google and finding it closed. Update hours for holidays, special events, and seasonal changes immediately. **Upload food photos weekly.** Restaurants with more than 100 photos on their Google profile receive 520% more calls. Post photos of your best dishes, specials, events, and dining room. Use natural lighting. Skip the filters. **Add your menu.** Google lets you add menu items directly to your profile. Customers browse your menu right from the search results page without visiting your website. Fill this out completely, including prices. **Use Google Posts for specials and events.** Running a happy hour special? Hosting live music on Friday? Post it on your Google profile. These posts appear prominently and expire after 7 days, so they always look fresh. **Enable online ordering and reservations.** Google integrates with services like OpenTable, Resy, and various ordering platforms. If a customer decides to eat at your restaurant, let them book or order without leaving Google. ## Yelp Still Matters for Restaurants Yelp has lost ground to Google for most business categories. But restaurants are the exception. Yelp remains a major decision-making platform for diners, especially in larger cities. **Claim your Yelp business page.** Add photos, update your hours, and write a compelling business description. Treat it with the same care as your Google profile. **Do not ask for Yelp reviews directly.** Yelp's algorithm filters reviews it suspects are solicited. Instead, focus your review requests on Google. Yelp reviews will come naturally from customers who prefer the platform. **Respond to Yelp reviews.** The same rules apply as Google. Thank positive reviewers. Address negative feedback professionally. Potential customers read your responses. **Upgrade your Yelp photos.** Yelp is a visual platform. Invest in a few high-quality food photos. They do not need to be professionally shot, but they should look appetizing with good lighting and composition. ## Your Restaurant Website Many restaurant owners question whether they even need a website when Google and Yelp show all the key information. The answer: yes, you need one. But it does not need to be complicated. **Your website needs four things:** - Your menu (updated, easy to read on mobile) - Your hours and location with a map - A way to order online or make reservations - Photos of your food and space That is it. A clean, fast, mobile-friendly one-page site beats a bloated multi-page website every time. **Do not use a PDF menu.** PDFs are hard to read on phones and impossible for Google to index. Use text-based menus on your website so Google understands what you serve and shows your restaurant for relevant searches like "best sushi near me." **Make sure your site loads fast.** If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load on a phone, more than half your visitors leave. Keep it simple. A homepage with your menu, hours, and a booking button is all you need. ## Instagram: The Visual Menu Instagram is the second most important social platform for restaurants after Google. It serves as a visual menu for potential customers. **Post your food consistently.** 3-4 posts per week keeps your profile active. Focus on your best-looking dishes, seasonal specials, and behind-the-scenes kitchen moments. **Use location tags and food-related tags on every post.** This helps local users find your content when browsing food posts in your area. **Repost customer content.** When customers tag your restaurant in their posts or stories, share it on your profile. This creates social proof and encourages more customers to post about their visits. **Instagram Stories for daily specials.** Use stories to promote today's special, happy hour, or behind-the-scenes content. Stories feel immediate and personal. They drive foot traffic for time-sensitive offers. **Do not buy followers.** An account with 10,000 fake followers and 5 likes per post looks worse than an account with 500 real local followers who engage with your content. ## Managing Negative Reviews Without Losing Your Mind Every restaurant gets negative reviews. A single bad review will not sink your business. How you handle it determines whether it helps or hurts you. **Never argue with a reviewer.** Even if they are wrong. Future customers will read the exchange and judge your restaurant by your tone, not the reviewer's complaint. **Respond within 24 hours.** Fast responses show you take feedback seriously. A template for negative reviews: "Thank you for your feedback. We take this seriously and would like to make it right. Please contact us at [email/phone] so we discuss this directly." **Look for patterns.** If three people mention slow service on Friday nights, you have a staffing problem. Use negative reviews as free consulting. They tell you what to fix. **Do not offer freebies publicly.** Saying "Come back for a free meal" in a public review response invites fake complaints. Handle compensation privately. **Flag fake reviews.** If a review is clearly fake (wrong restaurant, never visited, competitor sabotage), report it to Google or Yelp. Include evidence in your report. ## Track What Works Check these numbers monthly: - **Google Business Profile insights:** How many people viewed your listing, clicked for directions, called, or visited your website - **Review velocity:** How many new reviews did you get this month vs. last month - **Average star rating trend:** Is it going up or down over the past 90 days - **Website traffic:** Are more people visiting your site from organic search - **Online order volume:** If applicable, track orders from Google, your website, and third-party platforms These numbers tell the story of your restaurant's online presence. If review velocity slows down, restart your review request system. If website traffic drops, check your Google profile for issues. ## Your Restaurant Online Presence Checklist - Claim and complete your Google Business Profile - Upload food photos weekly - Add your full menu to Google (text, not PDF) - Enable online ordering and reservations on Google - Post specials and events on Google Posts weekly - Train staff to ask for Google reviews - Place QR code review cards on tables - Respond to every Google review within 24 hours - Claim and optimize your Yelp profile - Build a simple, fast, mobile-friendly website - Post on Instagram 3-4 times per week - Track review count, rating, and GBP insights monthly ## For more on this topic, read [Website Accessibility for Small Business: What You Need to Know](/blog/website-accessibility-small-business). For more on this topic, read [Business Directory Listings: Which Ones Actually Matter](/blog/business-directory-listings-matter).See Where Your Restaurant Stands Your restaurant's online presence is either bringing in customers or sending them to competitors. [GradeMyBiz](https://grademybiz.vercel.app) gives you a free, instant grade on your entire online presence: Google profile, reviews, website, social media, and more. It takes 30 seconds. You get a clear picture of what is working and what needs attention. [Grade your restaurant now →](https://grademybiz.vercel.app)