Sometimes, trying to figure out where to start is the hardest part. I love this analogy that I have always used. Day One of deciding you are going to start to become an active marketer is like you’re a warship like back in the days of the pirates getting ready to set sail and leave the dock. Day after day, it is a voyage to parts unknown. As long as each day you are actively doing something with your marketing, you will look back in a year’s time and not only see a difference, but your war chest will be filled, and your ship will be ready to go to battle year after year.

Where do the ideas come, from, you may ask? We had a managers’ meeting where I had a giant easel and wrote down every idea that the 40 managers came up with.

Marketing Ideas

Events

• • All-you-can-eat wing night
  • Anniversary parties
  • Beer/pizza tastings
  • Bike night
  • Book It
  • Beer events
  • Cocktail contests
  • College nights
  • College specials
  • Holding car washes for charities in our parking lots
  • Host live podcasts
  • Guest bartenders
  • Holiday parties
  • Kids cooking classes
  • Kids eat free day
  • Late-night happy hour
  • National holidays (including brand-new ones)
  • Open mic nights
  • Pizza-eating contest
  • Secret menu
  • Ticketed events
  • Trivia night
  • VIP events

Specials

• • Adding a “challenge” menu item
  • Bar exclusive specials (dine-in only)
  • Beat-the-clock specials
  • Buy-one-get-one frees on slow weekdays
  • Catering promotions
  • Coupons
  • First-responder special
  • First-of-the-month special
  • Hospital staff discount
  • Hotel front desk incentives
  • New dessert promotion
  • Sell slices for lunch
  • Sports uniform discount
  • Senior citizen discount
  • PTA partnership
  • Report card rewards for straight As

“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.”

– Gen. George S. Patton

Advertising

• • Business-building flyers
  • Handing out menus at local conventions
  • Customer surveys
  • Door hangings
  • Sell merch
  • Trick-or-treat coupons
  • Ten receipts, free pizzas

Other

• Business card fishbowl
• Business of the week
• Cooking classes
• Customer sweepstakes
• Early-bird specials
• Hot-and-ready pizzas
• Selling pizzas at sporting events
• Staff contests for upselling

Marketing That Resonates

As you can see, there are a ton of random ideas, but I am sure there are a few that resonate with you. Many resonated with us, and we implemented many of the ideas. We have done specifically really well with offering discounts on specific days, along with taking advantage of having so many holidays, such as “National Calzone Day.” In the next installment, I will break down exactly how to implement ideas into your pizzeria and marketing plan.

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Pizza Marketing Ideas that Resonate | Building Blocks appeared first on Pizza Today.

Third-party ordering apps have found enormous success and restaurant apps can too. It may be time to develop or update your first-party channel to capture app users.

The reason? Food carryout and delivery apps have become a daily or weekly habit for many Americans. Two-thirds of consumers have used a food-ordering app at least once for takeout, delivery or both, according to the Consumer Food Insights Report from Purdue University. The study also found that 45 percent of consumers use food-ordering apps at least once per week.

The good news is a majority of consumers (58 percent) would rather order directly from a restaurant, according to an NCR Voyix’s 2025 Customer Experience Report. The study also found that the reason consumers order directly included convenience, customization and loyalty incentives.

Consumers, especially those 18-44, have become accustomed to the convenience, speed, order tracking and ease of ordering that come with third-party apps. Those features are now readily available for restaurant mobile apps.

Atlanta, Georgia-based Blaze Pizza and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Vocelli Pizza recently updated their mobile app experiences with different goals in mind.

Blaze Pizza launched its first mobile ordering app in 2016. What was state of the art then has been updated and enhanced with advances such as push notifications and a news feed. This year, though, it was time for the fast-casual pizza chain to overhaul its app strategy and launch a new ordering and loyalty app with Thanx. “We knew we had outgrown our previous platform,” says Vice President of Marketing Casey Terrell. “It was highly customized, difficult to maintain, and slowed down our ability to innovate. With digital now accounting for more than a third of our traffic – and our goal to push that to 50 percent or higher – we needed a system that could evolve with us. The timing was right because our brand has been undergoing a broader transformation – from menu innovation to store redesign – and this new app is a foundational piece of that digital modernization strategy.”

Flexibility and ease of use were top priorities for the Blaze team when building the app. “We needed a loyalty and ordering system that could be updated in real time, without months of development,” Terrell says. “Features like card-linked loyalty, in-app exclusives, and personalized messaging were critical to improving the guest experience. We also wanted a more scalable platform that could reduce costs and allow us to move fast without the operational friction of a custom-built solution.”

Blaze Pizza’s app needed the flexibility to change features, settings and information quickly. “For multi-unit pizza chains, the key is launching ordering apps that can evolve as quickly as the business itself,” says Thanx CEO Zach Goldstein. “Traditional custom apps are often complex, costly and slow to innovate. Whether it’s updating your menu for local tastes, rolling out a new offer overnight, or personalizing rewards for your most loyal slice lovers, modern tech should make those things easy – not harder. The days of being locked into clunky, custom systems are over.”

When Toni Bianco joined Vocelli Pizza as CEO over a year ago, he knew it was time to enhance the pizza chain’s mobile experience, while also honing in on the macro scope of engagement and integration.

“We saw an opportunity to improve the customer experience by making it more relevant and seamless across all channels,” he says. “By partnering with LOKE – a customer-engagement engine focused on personalization, payments, and ordering – we’ve been able to deliver a unified digital experience that better reflects what today’s guests expect.”

He continues, “We needed the ability to deliver personalized experiences not just through e-mail and SMS, but directly within our mobile app and website. Location-based marketing, customer segmentation and integrated campaign tools were also critical to reaching customers with the right message at the right time.”

After nine months in development, Vocelli Pizza rolled out its new digital footprint and ordering app. “We can now leverage customer data more effectively to deliver relevant content and offers in real time,” Bianco says. “That includes personalizing the experience across our digital assets – from app to web to messaging – improving customer satisfaction and ultimately driving higher sales.”

The key to building out your restaurant apps lies in the strategy and planning. Apps are not one-size-fits-all. Evaluate the needs of your customers, the systems you currently have in place, your engagement and marketing strategy and how you will encourage customers to use your app as their go-to dining choice.

Marketing & Conversion to Your Ordering App

A major component of incorporating a new ordering app into your restaurant is marketing it and getting people to download the app and use it frequently. One aspect of your strategy should include converting third-party customers to use your restaurant’s app. Lead with your strengths.

Here are a few marketing ideas to convert third-party users to your restaurant’s ordering app:

• Market your app to your e-mail and text lists.
• Offer something special to your loyalty members.
• Put a QR code on your pizza boxes and packaging to lead customers directly to a download.
• Don’t forget to promote your app on your digital and paper receipts and in store.
• Train your staff to promote the app.
• Run social media campaigns with specials and promo codes for app users.
• If available, you can also run geofencing ads to target new customers.

Denise Greer is Executive Editor at Pizza Today.

Read the August 2025 Issue of Pizza Today Magazine

In this issue, we announce Pizza Today’s 2025 Pizzeria of the Year. Find out how the owners turned a failing pizzeria purchase into a fast-growing pizza business. Learn how to make a sourdough starter. It’s Green Season! Green Chile, that is. Explore menu ideas that add New Mexican flavors to your pizza. Find out which strip mall locations work best for pizzerias – and how to maximize traffic. Discover why pizzerias are going with custom mobile apps to capture sales and return visits. Tap into addictive bar menu options to increase check averages. Go to the August Issue.

The post Answering your pizza fans’ APP-etite appeared first on Pizza Today.

Uncle G’s Pizza crushes sales on Fridays and Saturdays in Birmingham, Alabama. What about the rest of the week? Owner George Gilliam faced a common pizza restaurant issue, the slow days.

Slow days create domino effects for pizzerias. They still require a significant staff. If you go too lean on staffing, customer service is impacted. Waste can increase when product must be prepped and not sold. Potential revenue is not being captured as consumers decide on dining options every day of the week.

Birmingham, Alabama-based Uncle G’s Pizza creates aggressive daily specials strategy to rebound slow sales days

Instead of chalking it up as a loss and focusing on weekends, Gilliam set a strategy into motion to turn his slowest days into high-volume sales days. He focused on increasing sales with daily specials one slow day at a time until he covered the entire week. “This kind of aggressive weekday programming has brought in the traffic and revenue we needed on nights that used to be dead,” he says. “I’ve built out a weekly schedule that gives people a clear reason to visit every single day.”

Let’s examine how Gilliam approached each day and the order he tackled them.

Wednesdays

“I first wanted to crack Wednesdays, and I just came out of the gate with a buy one, get one half off deal,” he says. “It just wasn’t quite enough to get people to really care.” So he went BOGO on whole pan pies. The deal focused on Detroit-style pies only, though the pizzeria is also known for its New York-style pizza. The BOGO deal worked. “What used to be sub-$1,000 sales days are now consistently hitting $2,500 to $3,000.”

Gilliam moved onto another day that he wanted to boost sales.

Tuesdays

Gilliam rolled out a 90-percent off an appetizer with the purchase of a whole pie. With Uncle G’s limited appetizer menu, attaching an app promo was feasible for a Tuesday.

Recently, Gilliam added a Singo musical trivia event to Tuesday evening, which also increased beer sales.

Thursdays

Courtesy of George Gilliam.

Uncle G’s Pizza launched a Thursdays-only all-you-can-eat buffet for $14.99 and 11.99 for children 12 and under. He says, it’s aggressive pricing but being priced in the sub $15 range tipped the scales for customers. “We’ve seen those slow Thursdays double or even triple in sales.” Uncle G. resides in a former CiCi’s Pizza so retrofitting the restaurant to operate lunch and dinner buffets with a midday shutdown worked in the space and for the team.

Sundays

Sundays promotion became a Build Your Own New York-style pizza starting at $9.99 for a small and $16.99 for a large. “Sundays before that deal, we were doing like maybe averaging $1,200 in sales in the restaurant, and I think now we’re averaging around $1,800 to $2,000 with that deal,” he says.

Mondays  

Then Monday was added to the schedule with a 20 percent off Detroit-style pizzas. Gilliam says Mondays are still challenging so he added Trivia to mix.

Gilliam reiterates that these aren’t new ideas. But he took a step back and evaluated strategies that will work for his restaurant, not overwhelm his kitchen and will drive Uncle G’s bottom line up.

The key to launching promotional strategies, Gilliam says, is having a limited and focused menu and pricing it so the promotional days can be absorbed.

Going with grassroots marketing has been essential to strategies success. Uncle G’s promotes the days through its social accounts, e-mail and in store. It’s designed as weekly programming that Gilliam says people can build into their routines. “It takes time, and it takes really consistent messaging to get a new thing out to people and to make people understand it and have it be part of their routine.” Gilliam is playing the long game with the strategy.

Dive deeper into Gilliam’s Slow Days conversation on The Hot Slice Podcast. Thursday, July 31, Gilliam goes one-on-one with Executive Editor Denise Greer about his slow days strategies and his thoughts and approach to AI in the pizza business. Go to podcasts.

The post Doubling to Tripling a Restaurant’s Slow Day Sales appeared first on Pizza Today.

“Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page ad.”
— Richard Branson

The first time I ever used a PR company, it was not to promote any of our amazing feats. It was by accident. We had a crisis, and I needed a PR company to manage the situation. Once they had that situation under control, they told me to permanently make that the motivation I needed to tell my story. The biggest thing to understand there is that everyone has a story to tell. 

I am one of those operators who always looks for the next big thing when it comes to advertising. At first, that’s how I looked at working with a PR team – mainly because it cost money. But once I understood that they wanted to tell my story and then highlight my triumphs and unique moments, it all came together. The advantages that came from having a PR team were huge and measurable. Business grew 20 percent the first full year that we used a PR company. I cannot strongly suggest using one enough.

Like anything in life, there are good PR firms and bad ones. Since I was very happy with mine, let me tell you what I found was great about them beyond the increase in my sales. I liked that we met every other Friday on a 30-minute phone call. It kept the communication clear and moving. Having a creative team you are working with and not just one person at a PR company is important. We had a team of three that we worked with consistently.

They helped brainstorm what we could do and how we could have win-win partnerships with many in the community. They had a lot of existing relationships that they leveraged and made introductions for us. Asking a PR firm what other clients with aligned goals they work with and then judging for yourself if there are any natural synergies would be a wise move. They held a yearly deep dive with my key team members – and from those meetings, we were able to build out real goals and strategies.

One of the strategies after my story was told and known was to tell the story of our team members and managers. We positioned them as leaders in the community and told that story to smaller news outlets that focus on hyper-local news. We had a story that landed front and center in the newspaper. The firm then expanded past print and did a great job landing us on TV.

Since most PR is a crapshoot, the best thing you can do to up your odds is tell compelling stories. We feed the homeless and do community outreaches often. To me, it felt natural that we do those things (and I assumed everyone did that). It is unique, as it turns out, and the news loves stories like those. In the end, we eventually graduated to doing our own PR in-house and added a marketing team. In next month’s column, I will tell the story of how we created our marketing team – with me as the first member of that team!

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza

Read the July 2025 Issue of Pizza Today Magazine

Who are this year’s Rising Stars in the Pizza Industry? We profile six up-and-comers who are making their mark on pizza. Discover why the Grandma style pizza is spreading across the country. See why your pizza could benefit from whole-grain flour. Brush up on inventory management best practices. Learn how to take your products to the retail market. Go to the July Issue.

The post Public Relations Fuels Sales | Building Blocks appeared first on Pizza Today.

While the messaging behind some of the billboards launched in other areas might appear combative – one billboard for Chicago reads, “Yes, Pizza. Not Casserole,” for example – Anthony stresses the campaign is meant to initiate a “friendly food fight” that ultimately is positive for the entire industry. “It elevates the national conversation. It gets people talking about what they love,” he tells Pizza Today.

People are certain to be talking Saturday, when fashion designer Justin Haynes debuts a pizza-inspired collection at District NHV to benefit the Feeding Families Foundation, which ensures the families of hospital patients get enough to eat. The event is a collaboration between Haynes and Michael Pollack, an artist whose sculpture celebrating Connecticut pizza debuted this week at the Tweed-New Haven Airport. Pollack also is the artist behind the 9,000-pound, 13.5-foot-tall steel and concrete pizza slice statue currently located outside Modern Apizza in New Haven.

Later this year, the state Office of Tourism will debut an official Connecticut Pizza Trail. Twenty of the first spots on the trail already are chosen, having been selected by public vote. Anthony stresses that state pizza operators who aren’t on the short list shouldn’t worry; the full pizza trail will include 100 pizzerias that are geographically and stylistically diverse.

As for the Better Pizza in Connecticut campaign, Anthony says the website and phone number recently launched to solicit opinions about Connecticut pizza have generated largely positive response. “State pride is at an all-time high,” he says, adding that the University of Connecticut’s basketball championships in 2023 and 2024 might have played a role. “Some of the focus on the things that we do very well has actually helped state pride.”

The post Connecticut Starts ‘Friendly Food Fight’ Pizza Tourism Campaign appeared first on Pizza Today.

“There could be no definition of a successful life that does not include service to others.”
– President George H.W. Bush

Having a purpose and a clear vision about giving back to the community is inherent to the success of any charitable campaign. Many times, we are asked from all directions to donate and help organizations. Last month, I spelled out strategies about how we organize campaigns and make the most of those opportunities for all involved. This month, I want to detail one of our most aggressive and successful campaigns. It was a win-win for all involved, and it has birthed numerous other promotions in the same spirit afterward.

I am sure it has crossed your mind to have a famous person promote your company. Whether that person is an athlete, celebrity or – in this day and age – an “influencer.”  There can be many benefits to that strategy. We have had great success with retired athletes, specifically those who have a foundation. Being the championship city that it is, Pittsburgh has many respected former athletes who still have name recognition. We had been approached for years from current athletes’ agents or their marketing teams about working with them, but the price tag was exorbitant.

We had been approached by former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier’s foundation about working with Ryan and supporting his foundation, The Ryan Shazier Fund for Spinal Rehabilitation. Ryan and his team do great work with many people of all ages dealing with spinal cord injuries, including children. He gets them the support and resources they need and, many times, gives them the foundation to work toward walking again. We met with his team and pitched them this idea: We would hold an online contest where customers would submit their soon-to-be-award-winning pizza, and five finalists would get to come to the restaurant to have a bake off. Ryan would be a judge (along with members of our team). The winner’s pizza then would end up on the menu, and a portion of the proceeds then would go back to Ryan’s foundation.

Ryan’s team loved the idea.  Notice there was no dollar amount tied to him working with us – just a promise to donate a portion of the proceeds back. Once it was agreed that Ryan would come out and judge, we got to work promoting the online contest. Our customers got to go to one of our pizzeria locations to buy a pizza kit, make their pizzas at home and then post the pictures of their creation to our Facebook page. The turnout was great. After a few weeks of promoting it, we picked five finalists. We then invited them to the restaurant for the bake off.  Ryan was there to help judge. The winner was a chicken parm pizza. The creator was awarded a huge trophy and free pizza for a year!

For the next two months, we ran the pizza as our limited-time offer. It was a very popular pizza – and from the social media side, we had many shares and likes from the online contest. At the end of the contest, Ryan came to one of our locations for a big-check presentation. He was hoping for $2,500, and we surprised him with a check for $5,395! The local media picked up the story, and it got us a ton of press. This was a big win for all involved, including the people he was helping to walk again. We have used this formula of giving back to various foundations and creating a pizza to do it many times over. The free press from this is incredible.

In the next installment of Building Blocks, we will talk about “all things press releases.”

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza

Read the June 2025 Issue of Pizza Today Magazine

This month, we focus on restaurant technology. See what’s hot in tech trends this year. Explore kitchen automation that can save labor costs and improve quality. See how digital menu boards can help you stay on top of menu prices in a fluctuating economy. After a record-breaking Pizza Expo and International Pizza Challenge, we explore pizza trends from the world pizza competition. Find summer dessert inspiration. Discover how to take your side salads to entree status. Go to the June Issue.

The post Giving Back with a Purpose | Building Blocks appeared first on Pizza Today.

Back then, marketing was about pounding the same message into the same heads over and over – familiarity breeds trust, and trust breeds business. Now? Same game, just a different playing field. Instead of paper in the mailbox, it’s pixels on your phone. Instead of being “above the fold” in a newspaper, you’re trying to land above the scroll on someone’s feed.

Yes, the tools are cheaper today. A reel costs nothing to post. A viral video is free – kind of. But you do bear the mental burden of your time, creativity and consistency. And now, you’re not just competing with other pizzerias in your Yellow Pages – you’re battling makeup tutorials, travel influencers and dancing dogs for your customers’ attention.

That’s where quality and quantity come in.

There’s a story I always revert to: A pottery class was split in two. One half was told, “You’re graded on making the perfect pot.” The other? “Make as many pots as you can.” Who made the best pots? The quantity group. Why? Because repetition breeds refinement. Trying over and over – not just waiting for the perfect moment – makes you better, faster and more instinctual.

The same thing applies to online content. You want to make great posts? Don’t obsess over one “perfect” video that shackles you never to make anything because, “It’s not good enough,” or “I’ll look dumb.” I wholeheartedly encourage you to look dumb. Make more. Shoot more. Post more. The quality will come as a byproduct of doing the reps.

Stories Over Side Work and Posts Over Prep

We must remember that visibility is the driver of revenue. And nothing important can become a victim of what’s essential. I’m not saying skip the tasks of the day, but don’t skip telling your story either. The prep will get done. But if nobody knows who you are? You’re invisible, no matter how good your food is.

Repetition, Visibility, Connection

Making inroads with the community is still the game – and it always will be the game. How many people see you and how often? When they see you, do they care? Building trust alleviates purchase anxiety and increases the potential for purchase pride.

I remember Jerry Seinfeld explaining why he chose Netflix to hold the Seinfeld catalog. He said it didn’t matter whether it was a network or Netflix, as long Seinfeld was showing on the “medium of the day.” That’s how you’ve got to think. Don’t romanticize the platform, romanticize the result: connection.

We need to be where our customers’ eyes are and show up consistently with content that reflects our restaurant’s values, food and vibe.

So, yeah. Everything’s changed. But really? Nothing has.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

Read the June 2025 Issue of Pizza Today Magazine

This month, we focus on restaurant technology. See what’s hot in tech trends this year. Explore kitchen automation that can save labor costs and improve quality. See how digital menu boards can help you stay on top of menu prices in a fluctuating economy. After a record-breaking Pizza Expo and International Pizza Challenge, we explore pizza trends from the world pizza competition. Find summer dessert inspiration. Discover how to take your side salads to entree status. Go to the June Issue.

The post Everything’s Changed and Nothing’s Changed | Mike’s Monthly Tip appeared first on Pizza Today.

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.”

– Helen Keller

I mentioned in last month’s column that it is important to give back to the communities that support us. Pizzerias can do that in a lot of unique ways. We frequently get asked for donations by different organizations and groups. Our goal is to help anyone who asks in any way we can. I am sure every pizzeria has been asked to donate gift cards. I personally think a gift basket with a gift certificate in it makes a much better statement, if done correctly. The basket should be a showstopper that sticks out on a table with other baskets. We make an estimated 8-10 baskets per week. It is a good opportunity not just to give back but also to get our name out there in a grassroots way.

One of the most unique ways we have been able to give back is to make our limited-time offer centered around a nonprofit group with a giving component attached to it. For example, we ran a 60-day campaign called Kora’s Strong Pizza. We had reached out to the Make-a-Wish foundation and asked them ways we could help provide wishes to kids in need. Our goal was to be able to provide for two wishes, which cost about $5,000 per wish. We asked if there were any kids who had a culinary wish. They told us that they had a child named Kora who already had received her wish of swimming with dolphins, but she considered herself a foodie and loved pizza. Kora was diagnosed with cystinosis, a rare genetic disease. We had 7-year-old Kora come in and design a pizza for our limited-time offer. We also reached out to the Pittsburgh Steelers and asked if they had any players looking for community outreach projects.

The Steelers told us that Larry Ogunjobi, their defensive tackle, was new to the team and was looking for ways to get involved with the community. We had both Larry and Kora come in, and we filmed the whole experience. Kora told us her favorite things to eat, then she and Larry came up with a pizza that ultimately consisted of a garlic butter sauce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, olives, roasted chicken, mozzarella and feta cheeses finished with a balsamic drizzle. Quite the palate for a 7-year-old!! We offered the pizza for $24 for a large and gave $10 to Make-A-Wish for every pizza sold.

In getting to know Kora and her family, we discovered that Kora’s mom had written a children’s book inspired by Kora called, “I Am Kora Strong.” Along with selling Kora’s pizza and donating $10 from every one sold, we also bought the books off Amazon and donated those sales back to Make-A-Wish as well. In two months, we exceeded our goal of raising $10,000 and providing two wishes to Make-A-Wish! We also delivered 20 pizzas to Kora’s elementary school, where she felt like a rockstar for the day. She gladly carried some pizzas to the rooms of the other students. This was a widely successful campaign!

In the end, yes, we are just pizza makers – but let’s not forget we can make the world a better place, one slice at a time. Next month, I will tell the story of the campaign that birthed the idea of giving back some of the proceeds.

Nick Bogacz is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza

The post Giving Back Matters | Building Blocks appeared first on Pizza Today.

Recently, a pizzeria operator reached out to us because his pizzeria wasn’t appearing in Google search results or on Google Maps, and the lack of online presence was hurting his business. While he was able to fix the issue, it is a reminder of just how much local search has become so ingrained into our culture. If your rankings on search and review sites slip, you will notice it in your bottom line.

I reached out to a foremost expert in the area to drill down an understanding of what’s happening with local search and the role you play in its results. Mike Blumenthal, co-founder and analyst of Near Media, has 20 years of local search and local marketing experience, as well as researching and reporting on reviews, local search and reputation.

When we talk about local search, Google is a majority of the focus. “Right now, that digital world that sends a lot of leads is primarily Google,” Blumenthal says. “We do see that changing over the next five years, but for now, Google has 90 percent market share and, in the local space, they have the best data set, and so people rely on them.”

Blumenthal encourages businesses to not look at search in terms of ranking specifically.

“Ranking is a sort of a false god,” he says. “It’s about visibility. It’s about engagement. It’s about brand understanding, and Google essentially in local SEO (search engine optimization) – unlike in traditional SEO – it’s about the entity that Google understands you to be.”

Search engine optimization is constantly evolving. It’s a multifaceted concept, and Blumenthal suggests you look past traditional SEO strategies such as loading keywords and links. “In traditional SEO, you worried about page visibility, and so you had to get links to that page,” he says. “Well, in entity SEO, you worry about brand visibility and getting that brand known so that the more people search for the brand, the more they engage with your brand, the higher it will rank. So, it’s a fundamentally different project than traditional SEO, even though most SEOs don’t understand that, and they sell sort of old school, get citations, get links.

“It’s about your brand, the strength of your entity,” he continues. “Now, when I talk about brands, Google likes to see a mix of brand queries and engagement in relationship, to show you more for keyword queries. There’s this reinforcing loop between brand and the entity where Google is looking for real-world understanding that people like this brand and look for this brand in relationship to others in your field.”

Your first priority is to make sure your search business page on Google and other search engines is 100 percent complete. “I think you need to fill in all the little details of Google, but particularly in your business, the menu. The menu should be all the details that Google allows, which is photographs, pricing details, etc.,” he says. Furthermore, keep the information up to date. Set time in your planner or checklist to stay on top of this important task.

Go beyond basic information. “If you’re a woman-owned business or a veteran-owned business, Google looks for those details. And if somebody’s looking for a woman-owned pizza parlor, you will show up,” Blumenthal says. “If somebody’s looking for a specific menu item, and you have it there, you’ll show up.”

Facebook, Yelp, Google, Tripadvisor And Zagat

Review sites play a vital role in your business. “Reviews are critically important as a first-level engagement,” Blumenthal says. “People don’t really read the reviews that carefully. They look at them as a mnemonic to indicate quality, and so they’re looking for 4.5 stars up. They’re looking for review quantity. Photographs are incredibly important, and it’s not just important to have good ones. It’s important to have good ones updated that are engaging to people.”

Through his work, Blumenthal found that replacing stock photos or bad photos with great photographs increased engagement on websites and Google, which in turn, increased Google rankings and conversions on the websites.

With Google’s new Maps chat AI, users can ask open-ended questions, and this is where review sites can help or hurt a business. “When they ask open-ended questions, Google is going to answer them, but sometimes they’re going to ask hard questions, like, ‘What does the broader internet say about this business, not just Google?’ And they’re going to pull in reviews from all the other sites, TripAdvisor and Facebook. So, if your business doesn’t look good there as well, Google’s going to say, ’Well, the good thing is this, but the bad things are said here, here and here.”

Getting Seen On Google

Next, your website is a key to your visibility. “It’s important that you have a website that shows and tells all the things you do,” Blumenthal says. “You have to start thinking of your website as a data feed to Google. This is where they learn about you. Google only has very limited number of categories, and so maybe your category is pizza restaurant, but maybe you are particularly good at calzones or burrata or something, and those types of things Google learns from your website. So, it’s important to have a website with a solid home page that links to your primary products and services.” He suggests that each major product has a dedicated page.

It’s not just having the information on the site. How it is presented matters. “It’s important that the website has meaningful title tags and meaningful user focused content,” he says. “Now this isn’t keywords, because Google doesn’t work on keywords anymore. They work on sort of semantic word clouds. You do this using a title tag and content that reinforces it.”

There is no magic formula to be No. 1 on a Google search. “It’s not about gaming the system,” Blumenthal says. “It’s about building a great brand and having great pizza that people like and write good reviews about. If you can encourage them, when you’re in your business, to take a picture … and post, that’s another form of engagement, and it shows up in the reviews, and Google likes that sort of stuff.”

Denise Greer is Executive Editor at Pizza Today.

The post Put online search and reviews to work for your pizzeria appeared first on Pizza Today.

Now think about how many restaurant websites or social media profiles you’ve seen that make you hunt for what you need. Our customers are hungry, they want to order – but instead, they’re clicking through a maze of links, menus and notifications. By the time they find what they need, they’re over it – or worse, they’ve ordered from someone else.

If Amazon teaches us anything, it’s this: Simplicity sells. If you’re running a restaurant and want more online orders, you’ve got to stop playing hard to get. Here’s how to apply Amazon’s success to your online ordering.

Reduce Number of Clicks

Amazon knows every extra click is an opportunity to lose the customer. That’s why they have features like “Buy Now” and one-click checkout. Apply this to your restaurant’s website by making your menu and ordering system as direct as possible.

Think about your setup: How many steps does it take someone to go from “I’m hungry” to placing an order? If it’s more than two or three, you’re losing business. Don’t make people dig through your homepage or scroll past endless options to find the “Order Now” button. Put it front and center – big, bold and impossible to miss.

Funnel Traffic Where It Counts

Amazon doesn’t waste your time. Click an ad for headphones, and it takes you straight to the product page. No detours, no “look at these other 20 things you don’t care about.”

To achieve this in your restaurant, ditch Linktree or general website links on your social media. Someone clicking your Instagram bio isn’t looking to browse – they’re hungry and ready to buy. Make the link go directly to your online ordering platform. Not your homepage. Not a choice of multiple third-party menus. The faster they can order, the better.

Keep It Stupidly Simple

Amazon’s product pages are all about clarity: What is this? How much does it cost? How do I buy it? There’s no room for confusion.

Your online ordering needs the same vibe. Make your menu clean, with clear categories like appetizers, mains and desserts. Use real pictures for every item. Show me the pizza, not just the name “supreme pizza.” And for the love of all things holy, have a description that is just the ingredients. This is not story time; people don’t want to work to give you money.

Tips to Nail Online Orders

1. Get a Mobile-Friendly System: Most of your traffic is from cell phones. If your site feels clunky, you’re losing orders. Use a quick and easy platform that integrates with your social media platforms.
2. Prominent Buttons: Make sure “Order Now” or “Start Your Order” is the first thing people see. If they have to scroll, you’re doing it wrong.
3. Kill the Noise: No distractions, no unnecessary fluff. Keep the focus on ordering. Reduce the number of clicks.
4. Test It Yourself: Use your system. If it’s annoying, fix it. If you wouldn’t order from your setup, why would anyone else?

Close the Sale

Amazon’s secret is making the process so simple you don’t even think about it – you just do it. Your restaurant can do the same. Funnel people directly to the purchase. Make it stupidly easy for them to order. Keep the process clear and uncluttered.

People are hungry, not patient. Be the restaurant that gets it. The one that doesn’t make them jump through hoops. Nail this, and you’ll see the difference – not just in orders but in loyal customers who keep ordering because your site works and they want to eat.

Mike Bausch is the owner of Andolini’s Pizzeria in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instagram: @mikeybausch

The post What We Can Learn From Amazon | Mike’s Monthly Tip appeared first on Pizza Today.