SEO and Google Ads for restaurants in 2026: how to fill tables from Google

1. How people choose a restaurant: what the studies say

There is no official figure on how many diners check the menu online before going: the numbers in circulation come from companies selling restaurant software. What does exist are solid academic studies on what happens when information is online:

The practical reading is clear for an independent restaurant: online reputation acts as a brand. A chain is already known. You depend on what people see of you on Google.

And competition is large. Spain had 83,714 restaurants and cafés and 163,890 bars at the start of 2024, according to INE data compiled by the Spanish hospitality association. Spain also received 96.8 million international tourists in 2025: many search for where to eat on their phone and in their language.

2. The Business Profile: first and free

When someone searches «where to have dinner» or «Italian restaurant» nearby, the first thing they see is the map. There, the Google Business Profile rules. This is what to keep up to date:

Reviews: asking properly

• You can ask with a Google link or QR code, on the bill or receipt.
• You cannot give anything in return: a dessert or a drink for a review is banned by Google.
• You cannot ask only happy customers, or have employees leave reviews.
• Reply, also to bad ones, without arguing. The person reading your reply is the next customer.

We go into more detail in our guide to local SEO and Google Maps.

3. The website: the menu as text, not a photo

Many restaurants have their menu as a photo or a scanned PDF. It works for printing, but has three problems:

1. 01Google understands it less well. It indexes a PDF's text if it can be copied, and tries to read it if it is an image, but does not index photos inside the PDF. As text, Google can also bring it to your Business Profile.
2. 02It reads badly on mobile. Pinch-zooming a PDF is not the best way to convince anyone.
3. 03It is not accessible. Accessibility guidelines ask for real text, not images of text. Spain's Law 11/2023 covers e-commerce services, although microenterprises providing services are exempt, so most small restaurants are not affected.

Allergens: online too

EU Regulation 1169/2011 requires information on the 14 allergens also for unpackaged food, and for distance selling that information must be available before purchase. In Spain, Royal Decree 126/2015 sets it out for restaurants. If you take online or takeaway orders, allergens must be visible before paying, not only on delivery.

Structured data, without expecting miracles

Restaurant markup helps Google understand your hours, cuisine, menu and location. It is worth adding, but Google has no rich result of its own for restaurants or menus, and shows no stars for reviews you control on your own site. The «accepts reservations» field is valid, but Google documents no effect.

4. SEO: which searches to work on

A restaurant does not compete for «restaurant». It competes for specific searches, and almost all are won on the map or on a page of your website:

The pages that usually perform best are the menu, a groups and events page and, if you get tourists, the English version. A neighbourhood restaurant does not need a recipe blog to rank.

5. Google Ads for restaurants: when and how

Google Ads makes sense once the profile and menu are in good shape and you want more covers on quiet days, to launch a new venue or to fill a season. If the profile has bad reviews, the ad only sends people to read them.

Which campaigns usually work

• Search with location. Ads on Google for searches like «Italian restaurant near me», with your address and distance. They need the Business Profile linked.
• Performance Max for store goals. It uses your Business Profile and appears on Maps, Search, YouTube, Display and Gmail to bring people to the venue. It cannot be limited to Maps only.
• Smart campaigns, better not to start with them. Google announced in 2026 the end of their API support and recommends moving to Performance Max.

What Google measures and what it can optimise

How much to invest? Google sets no minimum. The budget is daily, and on a given day it can spend up to double, but in a month it never exceeds 30.4 times the daily budget. What each click costs depends on your city and competition, and there is no official figure for restaurants: the serious approach is to check Keyword Planner for your area before deciding.

If you wonder whether Google or social media is better, we compare them in Google Ads versus Meta Ads. For a restaurant, Meta usually works for awareness and Google for capturing people already searching.

6. Advertising drinks: what the law says

A bar or restaurant advertising its wine list or cocktails has its own rules, on Google and in law:

In practice: if you advertise your restaurant, focus on the food, the place and the occasion. If you advertise drinks, no «open bar» or drinks as rewards, and in Colombia always add the notice on sales to minors.

7. Delivery: commissions and your own channel

Delivery platforms bring orders but keep a share of each. Uber Eats publishes 30% in Spain with its delivery and 15% if you deliver or the customer collects. Others do not publish their rates. As an official reference, New York capped those commissions by law at 15% for delivery plus 5% for other services.

Your own channel does not replace platforms, but it can take back part of the orders from customers who already know you. Google lets you set your own ordering system as the preferred option in your Business Profile. According to Spain's INE, in 2024 24.9% of people aged 16 to 74 had ordered restaurant food online in the previous three months.

8. What changes with artificial intelligence

Google's AI Mode has been available in Spanish since September 2025. In some countries it already lets you find a table and book from the answer itself: in April 2026 it reached the United Kingdom and other countries, and the booking is completed on the booking provider's site. As of November 2026, Spain and Colombia are not among them.

When it arrives, what will have the edge is the same as today: a complete profile, a booking system connected to Google, a readable menu and good reviews. If you want to know how AI assistants recommend you, we cover it in how to appear in ChatGPT.

9. Where to start and what it costs

1. 01Complete the Business Profile. Real hours, menu, photos, attributes and booking link.
2. 02Put the menu on your website as text, with allergens and prices, and link it from the QR and from Google.
3. 03Ask every customer for reviews, giving nothing in return, and reply to them.
4. 04Create a groups and events page if you take them.
5. 05If you get tourists, add English.
6. 06Once all that is in place, try Google Ads on your quiet days, measuring calls and directions.

10. What about Colombia?

Google works the same, with two practical differences. All alcohol advertising must mention that sales to minors are banned (Law 124 of 1994). And delivery platform commissions weigh heavily: the Colombian restaurant association ACODRES spoke in 2023 of commissions between 15% and 35%.

The sector is large but very informal, and there is no single official count of restaurants. According to DANE's household survey, accommodation and food services employed about 1,834,000 people in 2025. With so many small venues, a well-kept Business Profile already makes a difference.

With us, a bespoke website starts from COP 3,590,000 and local SEO from COP 1,050,000 a month, as indicative prices. We work remotely, and can travel if needed.