Search Trend Marketing

The Internet offers valuable insights into user interests, with this report focusing specifically on the restaurant industry. While some platforms claim dominance in certain areas, online trends often tell a different story. It’s evident that users continue to rely on Google and other search engines for comprehensive answers. Although ratings have been influential, the rise of fake reviews has cast doubt on their authenticity.

Your Customer on The Internet

The following charts highlight a clear surge in user interest in topics like Pizza (red line) and Restaurants (blue line) when searching on Google. These searches outperform others, such as Yelp and DoorDash, by up to 70%.

Google Searches Trend in the US

The key issue with platforms like Yelp (green line) and DoorDash (yellow line) is their business model, which aims to compete in areas where Google excels.

Over the past decade, Yelp has struggled to meet user needs, evolving into a private marketing platform that sells restaurant data to competitors. Recently, Yelp has introduced new services for restaurants, but their value often doesn’t justify the cost, especially given their strategy of using restaurant data to favor higher-paying advertisers.

The downward trend of the green line representing Yelp, contrasted with the rising blue line for restaurants in 2024, highlights a clear shift: users are losing interest in Yelp’s services while restaurants are ramping up their own digital marketing efforts.

This shift underscores that restaurants no longer need to rely on third-party platforms; instead, they can achieve greater visibility and control by investing directly in their own digital marketing strategies. By leveraging Google and Artificial Intelligence, restaurants can not only bypass these declining platforms but also secure more effective and tailored results.

The Internet for Local Business

The global reach of the internet adds complexity to promoting a business effectively across all channels. Social media advertising may reach users worldwide, but it doesn’t guarantee engagement from local audiences. To stand out in local searches, businesses can use various digital marketing strategies, one of which is localizing content.

The Internet in Selected Cities in SoCal

Let’s begin by analyzing Google Search Trends for Southern California (SoCal) compared to nationwide searches across the US. We selected cities in Orange County to reach a population of 3 Million users:

• Anaheim
• Irvine
• Santa Ana
• Huntington Beach
• Garden Grove
• Orange
• Fullerton
• Costa Mesa
• Mission Viejo
• Westminster
• Lake Forest
• Newport Beach
• Buena Park
• Tustin
• other cities with less than 70,000 inhabitants

In SoCal, the trends closely mirror those of the entire country, with a strong focus on restaurants (blue line), making up 60% of searches. Yelp searches (green line) perform slightly better in SoCal than nationwide, though they remain a smaller portion of overall interest.

In SoCal, the top searches related to restaurants, which account for up to 60% of search interest, include Mexican and Italian restaurants. In comparison, Yelp-related searches—like ‘Yelp Los Angeles,’ ‘Yelp review,’ and ‘Yelp restaurant’—average around 10% of the search interest.

Google Searches Trend in SoCal – CA – US

This analysis suggests that a website with a well-executed digital marketing strategy can capture a significant portion of the 60% interest in the restaurant category. By addressing user preferences effectively, businesses can expand their reach within SoCal. This approach offers a clear advantage over the limited 10% interest in Yelp, which is further undermined by concerns about unreliable reviews. 

High Searches Hit

Google recorded peak search volume for the term ‘Restaurant,’ with an estimated 20 million searches in an area of just 3 million people.

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