Source: Media Outreach
F&B brands need to take a strategic approach to their SEO efforts so that they can achieve impactful results fast.
The market is getting more competitive than ever, and with rising inflation, material and logistic costs, businesses with thin margins such as those in the food and beverage industry are among those most hard hit by the current market conditions.
It is therefore extremely critical that F&B businesses make the most out of every marketing dollar they spend, whether on paid advertising such as ppc ads or organic searchability to capture more attention from consumers.
These businesses definitely can’t afford to waste unnecessary time and money on “spray and pray” methods that yield little to no customer acquisition or sales.
While F&B brands have traditionally looked to social media as the go-to marketing channel, many are realising that investing in getting their website found on search engines yields a higher return on their marketing investment.
However, search engine optimisation as a marketing channel has always been shrouded in myths, half-truths and misconceptions; and it is easy for food businesses to be distracted by fancy techniques or “hacks” and spend their energies on activities that don’t move the needle on their searchability goals.
To help food and beverage brands stay focused on the key elements that drive the most significant impact on their search engine rankings, Stridec recommends the top 3 SEO strategies as follows:
1. Use simple language on the website
The primary purpose of a search engine such as Google is to return the most relevant results to a user’s query and this is no different for food-related queries, which are largely centred around searching for a particular type of food or cuisine, or looking for recommendations or “best” food options to explore.
Most F&B brands however tend to overlook or forgo simple language in favour of more flowery and abstract-sounding copy to try and sell a certain mood. However, it wouldn’t matter at all if the website fails to be searchable and found in the first place.
Because this is actually quite a prevalent phenomenon with a lot of food and beverage websites, whichever brand that makes the effort to implement this adjustment to their content will see a noticeable bump to their search rankings fairly quickly.
This is an effective quick-win method that produces results fast and is a cornerstone of the overall SEO strategy that Stridec recommends to any business right at the start of their SEO journey.
Using this strategy, Stridec was able to help an Italian restaurant in Singapore get indexed by Google for a range of keywords related to Italian food or cuisine and start ranking just days after implementation.
2. Optimise the product category pages
For F&B businesses that are e-commerce enabled, the online sale channel is definitely one that cannot be ignored, as more and more consumers are getting comfortable with placing orders online for food items, especially more so post-pandemic.
Creating and optimising product category pages to be highly tuned for searchability is a key success factor in this and has a direct impact on the potential sales that the business can achieve.
Key optimisation areas to address include: the title and main heading of the product category page, having meaningful descriptions of the products presented on the page, as well as a question and answer section that addresses the typical concerns that a consumer would have when buying such food products online.
It is recommended that the main keyword related to the product category should be included in the title and main heading text, and placed as close to the start as possible. The keyword and its variations should be included throughout the rest of the text on the category page, in a natural manner. Otherwise, suspicion of keyword stuffing can arise, which will earn a frown from Google and result in a potential ranking decline of the website.
By implementing this, Stridec helped a Singapore cake shop gain massive search exposure and traffic to its website for its birthday cake and cake delivery offerings.
3. Build backlinks to the website
Backlinks, which are links from other websites that point back to one’s own, have been and continue to be one of the most essential criteria for ranking well on Google.
In general, the more links pointing back to a website, the more likely it is to rank higher and above the competition for its target keywords.
However, not all backlinks are created equal, and some can even cause more harm than good.
How effective the backlinks are in pushing a website’s search rankings are influenced affected by a few factors, including whether the backlink comes from a website in a similar or relevant industry, an authoritative and well-regarded site, or a popular and well-trafficked blog.
Success in link-building hinges on thorough research and preparation, as well as a clear and actionable acquisition plan. However, most businesses including the F&B ones, generally lack the knowledge, skills and resources to do it on their own in a precise and sustainable manner.
As such, it is recommended that food and beverage brands leave this aspect of SEO to the specialists and engaged experienced SEO agencies like Stridec to handle it on their behalf.
This strategy was instrumental in pushing Qwang, a new Singapore Vietnamese food brand onto top positions on the first page of Google search results for its target keywords within 4 months of launching its website.
Play it smart, play it strategically
“There are many factors that influence how well a website performs in SEO, but not all factors create significant impact,” explained Mr. Alva Chew, lead SEO consultant at Stridec.
“It is important that food and beverage businesses understand this and play smart to focus their energies and resources on only those factors that make an actual difference to their search visibility so that they can achieve their goals in the most effective and efficient manner possible”.
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– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.
