Restaurant online reputation: 7 ways to attract more diners

For a restaurant, online reputation isn't a minor detail: it's what decides whether a hesitant customer walks through your door or the one next door. Average rating, photos, replies to reviews... it all matters. Here are 7 ways to keep it in good shape.

1. Aim for a rating above 4.2

That's the psychological threshold below which customers move on. Every tenth of a point counts, and is earned through recent, positive reviews.

2. Build up a steady stream of recent reviews

A review older than six months carries less weight. Set up a regular collection process (a QR code on the tables, a word from the waiter) — see our techniques for getting more reviews.

3. Reply to every review, quickly

A restaurant that replies within 24 hours shows it genuinely cares about its customers. That includes weekends — which is exactly when most reviews come in.

4. Make your photos count

Dishes, dining room, atmosphere: great photos make people want to book a table. They're often what tips the decision.

5. Manage several platforms at once

Google, TripAdvisor, TheFork, Facebook... your customers leave reviews everywhere. Keep an eye on all of them, not just Google.

6. Turn criticism into improvement

A complaint that keeps coming up (waiting times, noise) is pure gold: fix it, and say so in your replies.

7. Automate what can be automated

Keeping on top of all this, service after service, is impossible to do by hand. Igor reads your reviews across all your platforms, drafts a reply in the customer's language and sends it to you by email. You keep the final say, without spending every evening on it. Discover our plans.