How to increase restaurant sales begins by being found at the right time and place: online. According to Bright Local, 87% of consumers use Google to find local businesses—and StatCounter shows that Google dominates search with nearly 90% market share. When diners search “best ramen near me,” your listing needs to be ready to capture their order. Let’s explore five proven, data-backed strategies to help your restaurant win those searches and convert them into repeat sales.

Ranking higher means more visibility—and more diners. It’s the foundation of your restaurant marketing strategy, and online presence. According to Blogging Wizard, businesses in the top three SERP positions tend to have over 200 reviews, and 75% of them have fully completed their Google Business Profile descriptions.

Meanwhile, Cube Creative finds that complete GBP listings are 7× more likely to get clicks than incomplete ones. Local searches also pack purchase intent—76% of mobile local searches lead to a visit within 24 hours, and 28% end in a purchase, according to DashThis.

• Claim and verify your GBP.
• Fill out every section—business description, categories, hours, menu, website.
• Add 15+ high-quality photos to maximize engagement.
• Monitor GBP Insights to optimize views, calls, and direction requests. (Google Support)

Quality photos of your tasty food should be a priority. Why?

Because visual appeal sells.

A study published in the International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT) found that food photography has a strong positive correlation with restaurant sales—indicating that attractive food photos significantly influence customer decisions.

According to Charles Spence’s 2016 study in Appetite, the concept of “visual hunger” captures how enticing images of food trigger physiological and psychological responses. This is a what it means to be “eating with our eyes.”

Action steps to drive sales with better food photos:

• Replace blurry smartphone pictures with professionally styled images.

• Showcase top-sellers, seasonal dishes, and high-margin meals.

• Maintain consistent lighting and styling across platforms.

• Rotate visuals seasonally to keep content fresh and engaging.

Reviews are your social proof engine—and one of the most powerful ways to increase restaurant sales organically. According to Precise Creative, customers are 2.7 times more likely to view a business as reputable if its Google Business Profile is complete, which includes having a strong base of recent reviews. That trust directly influences clicks, orders, and foot traffic.

Meanwhile, data from The Media Captain shows that over 50% of Google Business Profile interactions lead to a website visit, meaning your listing’s review count and quality can literally guide people from search to checkout. And the volume matters too—businesses with 200+ Google reviews are far more likely to rank in the local map pack, where the top three results get the vast majority of clicks.

Put simply: reviews don’t just build credibility—they drive discovery, traffic, and revenue.

• Prompt every happy customer to leave a review via receipts, follow-up emails, or signage.

• Respond to all reviews—especially negative ones—with empathy and solutions.

• Promote milestone achievements—“Now over 200 reviews!”—as marketing material.

If you’re looking at how to increase restaurant sales, this should include improving how your menu looks and reads—because diners often order with their eyes and imagination.

A study covered by Time found that renaming dishes with vivid, sensory descriptions—like turning “seafood filet” into “Succulent Italian Seafood Filet”—can increase sales by up to 28% and even lead diners to pay more. Meanwhile, CS Connect reports that pairing menu items with high-quality photos can lift sales by 30% or more, reinforcing the power of great visuals.

To streamline the process, many restaurants are now turning to AI tools to help generate rich, flavorful menu descriptions that highlight textures, ingredients, and emotions. It’s a fast, effective way to elevate your menu and make every item more crave-worthy—without starting from scratch.

• Write flavorful, emotion-driven item names and descriptions.

• Add quality food photos to highlight top dishes.

• Use AI tools to speed up copywriting—then personalize.

• Keep menus consistent and seasonally updated across all platforms.

How to increase restaurant sales goes beyond one-time orders—it’s about staying top of mind in your neighborhood. That’s where local marketing tools like GBP posts and targeted email campaigns shine.

According to BrightLocal, 88% of consumers who run a local search on their smartphone will call or visit a business within 24 hours. Even more impressively, 18% of those mobile local searches lead to a purchase within the same day, compared to just 7% for non-local searches. These aren’t just clicks—they’re real customers. Similarly, Google data shows that 76% of mobile searches result in a business visit, and 28% result in a purchase.

To stay in front of high-intent local diners, restaurants are increasingly using GBP Posts to share offers, events, or limited-time menu items—right where hungry searchers are already looking. These posts appear directly in your Google listing and can be updated as often as you’d like. Pair this with targeted email marketing to past customers within a 3–5 mile radius, and you’ve created a powerful loop of visibility, reminders, and reorders.

1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile: Complete every field, post updates, and add great photos to rank higher and get discovered more often.

2. Use High-Quality Food Photos and Descriptions: Pair dishes with crave-worthy visuals and flavorful descriptions to boost conversions and check sizes.

3. Build a Strong Review Presence: Prompt reviews, respond consistently, and hit key volume thresholds (like 200+) to increase trust and rankings.

4. Upgrade Your Menu for Marketing: Use AI to write compelling descriptions, keep your menu fresh and seasonal, and align it across platforms.

5. Run Local Marketing Campaigns: Use GBP posts and targeted emails to re-engage past diners and reach high-intent local customers.

Want to put these strategies into action—without doing it all yourself?

At Beyond Menu, we help local restaurants like yours get discovered, look amazing, and grow sales with tools built for the real world (and real kitchens).

👉 See how we help restaurants grow »