Restaurant website SEO for UK takeaways

In short: For a takeaway, SEO is mostly local. Get a complete Google Business Profile with an Order online link to your own site. Keep your name, address and phone identical everywhere. Put your menu on the page as text, make the site fast on phones, and collect genuine reviews. Do those five and you'll beat most competitors on your street.

How people actually find a takeaway on Google

Most searches are one of three kinds:

1. "Near me" and area searches: "chinese takeaway near me", "pizza delivery Peckham". Google answers these with the map pack, the three businesses under the map.
2. Dish searches: "lamb doner wrap", "salt and pepper chips". Google matches them against menus and reviews.
3. Your name: "Golden Dragon Leeds menu". You should always be first for your own name. If a marketplace listing beats your own site, you pay commission on customers who were already looking for you.

Step 1: Google Business Profile (the biggest win)

• Claim and verify your profile at business.google.com.
• Primary category: be specific, e.g. "Chinese takeaway", "Fish and chips takeaway", "Kebab shop". Add secondary categories like "Delivery service" if they're true.
• Hours: set normal hours, special hours for bank holidays, and separate delivery and takeaway hours where Google offers them.
• Order online link: point it at your own ordering page, not only a marketplace. Here's how to add an Order online link to your Google Business Profile.
• Photos: real photos of the shop front (so people can find you), the counter and your best dishes. Add new ones every month.
• Description and services: say what you serve and where you deliver, in plain words.

Step 2: Make your name, address and phone match everywhere

Google cross-checks your details across your website, Google, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Facebook, Yell and marketplace listings. Use exactly the same business name, address and phone everywhere. If you moved or changed number, update the old listings too.

Step 3: On-page basics for a restaurant website

• Page title: "[Name] | [Cuisine] Takeaway in [Area] | Order Online", under about 60 characters.
• One clear heading (H1) with your name and what you are.
• Menu as text with dish names, descriptions, prices and allergen information. Don't use a PDF or a photo. See restaurant website examples for layouts that work.
• Area words people use: "delivering to Roath, Cathays and Splott" beats "we deliver locally".
• Address and hours in text in the footer, matching your Google profile.
• Your own domain. A domain you own (yourtakeaway.co.uk) builds value over time. With a food ordering website from Chefzi you can use your own domain.

Step 4: Speed and mobile

Most takeaway searches happen on phones, often on mobile data. Google's Core Web Vitals treat a main-content load under 2.5 seconds as good. Compress photos, avoid autoplay video and don't load the menu as a PDF. You can test any page for free at pagespeed.web.dev.

Step 5: Structured data

Structured data (schema.org markup) tells Google your business type, address, hours and menu link in a format it reads directly. A restaurant site should mark up Restaurant or FoodEstablishment with address, opening hours, `servesCuisine`, `hasMenu` and the phone number. Only mark up what's visible on the page, and never add star ratings you collected yourself to your own business markup, because Google ignores self-serving review markup.

Step 6: Reviews, the honest way

• Ask every customer: a line on the receipt, a card in the bag, a QR code to your Google review link.
• Reply to every review, good and bad, within a few days.
• Never buy reviews or offer a reward only for positive ones. Fake reviews are banned under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and Google removes them.

Step 7: Local links and mentions

Links from real local websites tell Google you're a genuine local business. Good sources for a takeaway:

• Your local council's business directory or "shop local" scheme.
• Local news, especially for a charity night, a new opening or a hygiene upgrade to 5.
• Schools, clubs and community groups you sponsor.
• Local food bloggers and "best of" lists for your town.
• Your suppliers' "where to buy" pages.

Step 8: Use your hygiene rating

Your Food Standards Agency rating is public, and many customers check it. Show or link it on your website. In Wales and Northern Ireland you must display it at the premises by law. See how ratings compare by council on our Research page.

A 30-minute monthly SEO routine

1. Add 3–5 new photos to Google Business Profile.
2. Reply to every new review.
3. Check your hours, including upcoming bank holidays.
4. Update any dish or price changes on your website (Google notices stale menus).
5. Search your own name. Is your website first?

Common restaurant SEO mistakes

• Pointing Google's Order button only at a marketplace.
• A menu that's a PDF or an image.
• Different phone numbers on different listings.
• Stuffing "best takeaway near me" into every sentence.
• No website of your own, just social media.

How Chefzi helps

Chefzi gives you a fast, mobile ordering website with the menu as text, on your own domain if you like, so your Google "Order online" link goes to you, with 0% commission. There's no setup fee, 3 months free, then £19 a month for cash or no-card payments, or £29 a month with online card payments through Stripe, per location, excluding VAT. Wondering about budget? See restaurant website cost.

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