Local SEO Case Studies > Independent Restaurant, Southwest London
Photos courtesy of Osteria Antica Bologna, Southwest London.
Osteria Antica Bologna is a well-established traditional Italian restaurant in South West London.
We asked their Chef Marzio to share his experience of working with us on his restaurant SEO. Here’s what he had to say…
What can you tell us about your local business?
Established in 1990, Osteria Antica Bologna is a traditional Italian restaurant on Northcote Road in the vibrant Clapham Junction area of Battersea, Southwest London.
We offer good, traditional Italian food with fresh ingredients and attentive service.
Our passion for authentic Italian cuisine is evident in every dish we serve, from traditional pasta and risotto to delectable seafood and grilled meats.
What challenges were you facing before working with us?
We’ve never had a problem retaining existing customers. In fact, some of our regulars have been visiting us ever since we took over in 2009, and many of our new customers come via referrals from existing customers.
With our location on Northcote Road, there’s a high footfall, so walk-ins provide a steady flow of new and existing customers too. Referrals are great for us, but our challenge has always been bringing in new customers who may be new to the area and don’t yet know us.
But, as there’s a reasonably high turnover of rentals in and around Clapham Junction, we wanted to let new residents and anyone visiting the local area know we are here. We were also keen to increase bookings on quieter days and quieter times of the day.
We run our social media marketing in-house and have a healthy following, which is an excellent way to engage with our existing customers. But it’s not generating awareness or bookings from new potential customers.
With a limited marketing budget, we engaged LocalMark to help us drive more new customer bookings using local SEO.
What have you achieved since working with us on your restaurant SEO?
We were already ranking well for brand-related terms such as “osteria antica bologna”.
But LocalMark's initial analysis revealed that we weren't appearing nearby on Google for obvious search terms including "italian restaurant", and "italian restaurant clapham junction".
This left us missing out on opportunities to attract reservations from all the potential customers who were new to or visiting the area.
…and what results are you seeing?
Within the first 3 months, LocalMark’s work on SEO for our local restaurant had dramatically increased our restaurant’s rankings for these and other keywords from 5th and 18th to 1st and 2nd position.
This vast improvement means that everyone within easy walking distance of our restaurant now sees our Osteria among Google’s top search results before our competitors - including some very well-known chain restaurants.
As a result, weekly organic search traffic has increased by more than 50% since the start of the campaign, and our Google Business Profile now generates dozens of website visits and calls each month.
Most importantly, we regularly see more new customer bookings weekly, even during traditionally quieter times. We’re also seeing our reviews steadily increase.
Has anything exceeded your expectations since working with us?
We didn’t know much about restaurant SEO before we started working with you on this campaign, but we’re really happy with the results.
It’s been very easy working with you. We’ve received clear guidance on what needs to happen and what’s being worked on.
But most importantly we’re seeing an amazing improvement in the ranking, which in turn has meant a steady flow of new customers, wow!
“It’s been very easy working with LocalMark. We’ve received clear guidance on what needs to happen and what’s being worked on. Most importantly, we’re seeing an amazing improvement in the ranking, which in turn has meant a steady flow of new customers, wow! ”
Ready to talk local SEO?
We’re the trusted local SEO partner to dozens of local businesses across the UK. To explore how we can help you increase your businesses visibility on Google, and attract more local customers, arrange a free consultation with one of our local SEO experts today.