How To Get Your Food Truck Found by Search Engines

Everyone seems to know the impact that search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing can have for your mobile food business website. However understanding how to get your food truck website in search results can be a mystery. In this article we’ll shed some light on getting your food truck found online and discuss the three primary factors that affect your website’s search ranking and what you can do to improve it.

Key Factors To Getting Your Food Truck Found

Website design

If your website was built using the best standards and practices for a fast-loading, optimized website, then you’ll be in good shape. WordPress-powered websites are particularly well-optimized for search engines.

Please Note: Flash-based websites are bad! If your website was built using Flash, it’s basically invisible to Google, so avoid using Flash.

Content

The text included in your website heavily impacts which keywords your website will rank for. The more relevant keywords you include in your website, the more likely your site will show up when someone types those keywords into Google.

For example. Include “Your Cuisine in Your City, Your State” a few times throughout your website. By doing this, there’s a good chance your site will begin ranking for this term and similar ones.

Off-site optimization

The third factor is off-site optimization. This includes things that happen outside of your website itself. A key factor is the number of links from other websites that point to yours. So it’s a good idea to make sure your site is listed in all of the key food truck websites or directories, with links pointing to your website.

Another form of off-site optimization is social media activity. Google now factors in the number of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other social media chatter about your website, so as we also explain; it’s a good idea to be active on at least a few social networks.

Improving your search engine results

Now that you understand the factors that affect your ranking in Google and other search engines, let’s look at how you can start getting your food truck found:

Key words/terms

Think about key search terms that people might search for that should lead them to your food truck. Key search terms would probably be the type of cuisine you serve, your city name, and of course your truck’s name.

Be sure to include these terms within the pages of your website, so that Google will detect and index your site.

Title tag optimization

The title tag contains the text shown at the top of the web browser. Your homepage title tag should include your food truck name, the city you’re located in, and perhaps the type of cuisine you serve.

For example, a good title for a food truck’s homepage would be: Your Food Truck | Gourmet Italian Cuisine in Your City, Your State. Please note that editing the title tags of your website may require some code editing on your website, so you might need to ask your developer about this.

Fresh, new content

When it comes to your food truck website, don’t set it and forget it. Search engines reward websites that come out with fresh new content. Use your website to regularly post new content like blogs. Highlight upcoming events or even just a couple new photos of customers or employees each month.

Google Places

Be sure to register your food truck with Google Places. Not only will you show up in search results but your truck will be found in Google Maps. It goes without saying that you should include your website URL and contact info in this listing.

Food truck directories

Mobile Cuisine, Yelp, Roaming Hunger, and Food Trucks In as well as local food truck directories. Not only do these provide great exposure to your target audience, but they’re a great source of off-site links pointing to your website. These links will definitely help your ranking in search engines.

The Bottom Line

I am going to be completely honest. Getting your food truck to show up on the first page of Google results is no simple task. It can take weeks, if not months, to achieve (this is why there are so many SEO consultants these days). It’s not a simple switch that can be turned on overnight.

But with the use of the easy-to-implement tactics we’ve shared in this article, coupled with a well-optimized website design, new and existing customers will be able to find your food truck on Google, Yahoo or Bing in no time.

Do you have any other SEO tips for getting a food truck found online? If so, please share them on social media. Twitter | Facebook