What's for dinner? As a restaurant owner, don't you wish you could suggest your restaurant when someone asks that question? Millions of people make the decision every day on what restaurant to visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner. When hunger strikes, people turn to the internet to find what they are craving. Do they find your restaurant to satisfy their hunger?

Google your restaurant name and city. First things first, your restaurant should be listed on the map that appears with local businesses (Google Maps). If your restaurant is not listed there, you need to change that quickly! Appearing in the Google Maps section is free advertising. You can create your Google Places listing here so you will appear in the map results.

Now check out the rest of the Google search results. If you have a website, you should see your website listed near the top of the search results. If you do not have a website, do you see your restaurant information listed within the search results on other websites such as Yelp.com? 

Being listed on Yelp.com is beneficial for two reasons. While Google might be the "spaghetti and meatballs" of the internet, people also use other sites such as Yelp.com to find restaurants online. Yelp.com is one of many business directories that includes customer reviews of restaurants and other businesses. Over 30 of these search engines, internet yellow pages and local business directories allow you to place your business information online for free. What are you waiting for? Another reason these business directories are beneficial is that they tend to be displayed at the top of the Google search results (organic) for restaurant searches which will provide you with more free visibility. Here are a few more places to search for your business name and city: Yahoo.com, Bing.com, Superpages.com, Local.com and Urbanspoon.com. If you can’t find yourself on these sites, how will potential customers?

While it is essential to be found when people search for your restaurant by name, the challenge is to be found when people are searching for a type of restaurant (e.g. “Greek food” or “Mexican restaurants.”) Google the type of food you serve and your location city or zip code (e.g. “Italian restaurants in San Antonio” or "Greek food 78232"). Can potential customers find you? Or are they finding your competitor instead? Many of these directory sites allow you to choose categories where you want your restaurant to be listed on their site. Be sure to review and choose categories carefully so that you are found when someone is looking for the type of food that you offer. If the site allows you to choose five categories, be sure to select five to maximize your visibility.

What else should you include in your business listing? Check back in a few days for Part II: Content.