Searching the Internet to find food trucks is even more popular than walking around town hoping to stumble across one. According to a June poll from Vistaprint, 37% of U.S. internet users say they first discover small businesses through online listing research. If your food truck’s website and online listings are out of date or non-existent, your food truck is missing out on those potential customers.
Online food truck directories such as Food Truck Reviews and Yelp are designed for consumers. They help consumers find information about your food truck, menu, catering information, hours and how to contact you. Accurate and consistent online listings also boost your search engine optimization (SEO) and improve your food truck’s online reputation.
Not sure where to begin? No problem! Today we share a couple simple ways to make sure your food truck’s online listings are in order.
Maintaining Your Food Truck’s Online Listings
- Make sure your major bases are covered. There are hundreds of online business listing directories, but not all are created equal in terms of traffic, reach or customization options. Start by creating or verifying your free food truck listing with Google and our Food Truck Reviews.
- Make a plan. Do you have time to regularly manage your listings, or is this a job for a member of your food truck team? Do you need to create new content about your food truck menu or services? Make sure you schedule reminders for regular listings maintenance.
Don’t Think It’s Just You
If you’ve never considered your online listings, don’t feel that you are the only one. Many food truck vendors are overwhelmed or confused by even basic online marketing. This is reflected in some of the seemingly contradictory findings from a survey we conducted last year:
- 50 percent of food truck vendors have seen online listings for their mobile food business that are not accurate.
- 70 percent of vendors say they don’t have the time to manage listings on all of the sites that consumers use.
- Only 23 percent of food truck owners have a good sense of how online listings drive traffic to their service window.
The Bottom Line
So what does this mean to you? It means that most food truck online listings are likely to losing you business. You need to provide content that consumers increasingly look for and rely on to help make decisions on which food truck to next visit. Because of this, it means that original errors in the listings are likely never corrected.
RELATED: How To Protect Your Food Truck From Fake Online Reviews
Have you claimed or added your online listing at Food Truck Reviews? If not, get over there now, not only is it easy, it’s FREE!