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How it works

One way of working. Three kinds of project.

Every engagement starts the same way: a conversation about the restaurant, an agreed scope and plain reporting. What happens in between depends on the service.

The shared approach

01

Conversation

The restaurant, how bookings work today and what isn't working.

02

Scope

What's included, agreed before work starts.

03

The work

Different for each service, as set out below.

04

Plain reporting

What changed, what was done and what happens next.

Restaurant websites

01

Conversation

What the restaurant needs, how bookings work today and what isn't working.

02

Scope and quote

Pages, features and integrations agreed before work starts.

03

Build and review

You see and approve the site before it goes live.

04

Launch

Redirects, Search Console and tracking checked on launch day.

05

After launch

Your team handles everyday updates; ongoing SEO is available as a separate monthly service.

See restaurant websites

SEO and Google Maps: the Moolah Method

Stage 1

Audit — Understand the opportunity

We start by establishing where the restaurant actually stands, in its own market, against the venues competing for the same searches.

Where are potential guests finding competitors instead of you?

The outcome is a clear priority map — not a generic 80-page SEO report.

Review areas may include

  • Google Search visibility
  • Google Maps rankings
  • Google Business Profile
  • Website technical health and on-page SEO
  • Citation consistency and local authority
  • Referring domains and reviews
  • Restaurant directories and platforms
  • Competitors and the booking journey
  • Available performance data

Stage 2

Build — Strengthen the foundation

Before chasing growth, we make sure the restaurant is sending strong, consistent signals across the places search engines and guests rely on.

Unglamorous work, done properly, is usually where the first measurable movement comes from.

Work may include

  • Correct local business information everywhere it appears
  • Improve the Google Business Profile
  • Build and correct citations
  • Optimise the pages that carry commercial weight
  • Implement relevant structured data
  • Improve internal linking and local relevance
  • Resolve technical issues holding the site back
  • Improve restaurant-platform consistency

Stage 3

Grow — Expand discovery

With the foundation stable, we widen the range of searches where the restaurant can realistically compete.

Illustrative search types only. Priorities depend on the market, the menu and what the data supports.

Work may include

  • Target additional high-intent restaurant searches
  • Improve Maps visibility
  • Build authority and acquire relevant links
  • Expand local landing-page opportunities
  • Optimise for occasion, cuisine and location intent
  • Monitor competitors and improve search snippets
  • Identify emerging opportunities

Examples of high-intent searches

  • private dining Dublin
  • best Sunday lunch Dublin
  • steak restaurant Dublin
  • group dining Dublin
  • romantic restaurant Dublin
  • restaurant near [location]

Stage 4

Measure — Track what actually changed

Reporting exists to answer one question: is the restaurant easier to discover and easier to book than it was?

A ranking is useful. A booked table is better.

Figures measured directly are labelled separately from figures correlated with the work.

Reviewed continuously

  • Rankings and Maps visibility
  • Organic traffic and search demand
  • Google Business Profile performance
  • Competitor movement
  • Booking-platform metrics where available
  • Covers and bookings where supplied
  • Commercial trends over time

Continuous improvement

The stages do not end. They repeat.

Markets move, competitors respond and search behaviour shifts. Each measurement cycle sets the next round of priorities.

  1. 01

    Audit

  2. 02

    Build

  3. 03

    Grow

  4. 04

    Measure

  5. Loop

    Reassess

  6. 06

    Grow

The first 90 days

What the opening quarter usually looks like.

A guide to the shape of the work, not a fixed schedule.

Month 1

Foundation & Baseline

  • Audit
  • Tracking setup
  • Competitor review
  • Google Business Profile review
  • Technical priorities
  • Citation audit
  • Initial corrections

Month 2

Implementation & Authority

  • On-page improvements
  • Citations
  • Structured data
  • Local authority
  • Maps optimisation
  • Priority content improvements

Month 3

Expansion & Learning

  • Ranking movement
  • Discovery opportunities
  • Authority development
  • Competitor response
  • Performance analysis
  • Next growth priorities

Exact priorities vary by restaurant, market, website and starting position.

Want to know what your first 90 days would focus on?

Get Your Free Visibility Audit

The method, proven

What this system has produced.

Every figure below is taken from a published case study, measured by an independent platform — not by us.

+33%

Cover growth, year on year

Chef-led landmark venue, Aug 2024 – Mar 2025, while the 75-venue benchmark fell 9%

OpenTable

42pt

Gap versus market benchmark

Percentage-point spread across the same period

OpenTable

#7

Google local results position

"best restaurants in dublin city centre"

BrightLocal · Local Finder

29.8K

Clicks from Google Ads for a new restaurant

Dublin restaurant with no search presence yet, Aug 2025 – Oct 2026, €0.27 a click

Google Ads

Onboarding

What we need from you.

Moolah handles the technical work. We need enough access and context to understand the business and measure performance properly.

  • Website access
  • Google Business Profile access
  • GA4 and Search Console access
  • Booking-platform data where appropriate
  • Restaurant information: menus, hours, service types, areas served
  • Key commercial priorities
  • Historical performance data where available

Communication

Clear communication. No SEO theatre.

Between updates you should always be able to answer four questions about the work.

  • What we worked on

    The specific work carried out in the period.

  • What changed

    Movement in visibility, discovery and, where data allows, bookings.

  • What we learned

    What the data suggests about the market and the competitive set.

  • What comes next

    The priorities for the following period, and the reasoning.

Reporting

An executive review, not a data dump.

The structure below is the shape of the review. Figures are drawn from the restaurant's own data, and labelled as measured or correlated.

Visibility

Maps and organic search

Reviewed each cycle

Discovery

Google Business Profile and restaurant platforms

Reviewed each cycle

Competition

Local competitor movement

Reviewed each cycle

Commercial

Bookings and covers where available

Reviewed each cycle

Priorities

What comes next, and why

Reviewed each cycle

Specialisation

Restaurant search behaves differently.

A guest deciding where to eat tonight behaves nothing like someone researching a considered purchase over several weeks.

That is why restaurant search work should not be run the same way as SEO for a solicitor, an ecommerce store or a software company. Those are strong disciplines in their own right — they simply answer a different question.

What restaurant discovery depends on

  • Immediate local intent
  • Maps visibility
  • Reviews
  • Location and proximity
  • Opening information
  • Menus and cuisine relevance
  • Occasion searches
  • Booking availability
  • Third-party restaurant platforms
  • Mobile and near-me searches

Positioning

Specialist, not generic.

A category distinction, not a claim of superiority.

Generic digital agencyMoolah Media

Focus

Multiple industries

Restaurants only

Channels

Many marketing channels

Local search, Maps, restaurant discovery

Scope

Broad SEO packages

Restaurant discovery and booking journey

Reporting

Standard reporting

Booking-focused measurement

Google Ads

01

Goal and budget

One clear goal per campaign, and a starting budget you approve.

02

Tracking and landing page

Conversion tracking set up and the booking route checked before spend starts.

03

Launch

Ads written in restaurant language, with keywords and locations chosen for intent.

04

Optimise and report

Budget pacing, regular optimisation, and plain-language reporting on spend, clicks and tracked enquiries or bookings.

See Google Ads

Common questions

Straight answers, before you enquire.

How long does restaurant SEO take?

Meaningful improvement develops over months, not weeks. It depends on competition in the market, the restaurant's starting position, the condition of the website and how consistent its information is across the web. Early movement often appears in profile and Maps visibility before broader search gains. We do not offer guaranteed timelines.

Can you guarantee Google rankings?

No. No legitimate SEO provider controls Google's rankings. What we commit to is disciplined work on the signals that influence visibility, and honest reporting on what moved.

Do you work with restaurants outside Dublin?

The work is not tied to one city. Get in touch with the restaurant's location and market and we will say plainly whether we are the right fit.

Do you manage Google Business Profiles?

We optimise and maintain the profile as part of the search work: categories, services, information accuracy, imagery guidance and performance review. Ownership of the profile stays with the restaurant.

Do you work with OpenTable and TripAdvisor?

We work on how the restaurant appears on those platforms — accurate information, consistent positioning and correct links — because they influence discovery. We have no formal partnership with them and no control over their algorithms.

Do you manage social media?

Moolah works on restaurant websites, SEO and Google Maps, and Google Ads; social media management isn't offered. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other social media management are not included in any package and are not offered as an add-on. On Growth+, Google Business Profile posts are included because they support Google visibility and local discovery.

What reporting do I receive?

A concise commercial review: what improved, what did not, where competitors moved and what we will prioritise next. Figures measured directly are labelled separately from figures correlated with the work. Cadence is agreed per engagement.

Can we start with just one service?

Yes. Each service can be taken on its own or alongside the others.

How much does it cost?

SEO starts at €445 per location per month, with package options above that; exact pricing is ex VAT where applicable. Restaurant websites and Google Ads management are scoped and priced on enquiry, because every build and campaign is different. Advertising spend is separate from the Google Ads management fee. The pricing page sets out the SEO packages in full.

Can you work with our existing website?

For SEO and Google Maps work, yes — we improve the site you have rather than replace it. If a website is too limited to support the work, we will say so and scope a rebuild as a separate website project. Nothing is replaced without your agreement.

Do you manage Google Ads?

Yes. Campaigns are planned around one clear goal — enquiries, bookings or awareness — with a budget you approve before anything is spent. We manage Google Ads only, not Facebook or Instagram advertising. Management is scoped and priced on enquiry.

How do we get started?

It starts with a conversation about the restaurant: how bookings work today and what isn't working. From there we agree the scope before any work begins. If you want a read on your search visibility first, the free visibility audit is the natural starting point.