Marketing for Mexican and Hispanic Restaurants in the US: Google, Menus, Ordering and Reviews

Key takeaways

• From your Google profile you can set a preferred provider for pickup and delivery, or add your own ordering link, and remove apps you don't use: they have 5 business days to take their link down.
• Delivery apps take a commission on each order. New York City caps them at 15% for delivery, 5% for basic service, 20% for enhanced service and 3% for payment processing; elsewhere it depends on the app and the plan you sign, so read your contract.
• Menu changes on Google take 24 to 48 hours to show on Maps and Search: update prices before you raise them at the register, not after.

How do you market a Mexican restaurant in the US?

Start with your Google profile, because that's where most visits are decided: a full menu, real dish photos, correct hours, an order button and answered reviews. Then decide what role delivery apps play and how you turn people who found you there into direct customers. Social media comes last, for seasonal dishes and events.

Diners don't search for "restaurant" in the abstract. They search for a craving, an occasion, or something nearby and open now:

How do I put my menu on Google?

Use the menu editor in your profile, available to food and drink businesses. You can build the menu with sections, dishes, descriptions and prices, add a link to your menu, and upload a photo or PDF. If Google finds several menus, you choose which one shows.

• Write dishes by their real name with a short English description: "Birria de res: slow-braised beef in chile broth, with consomé". You match people searching "birria" and people who've never had it.
• Pick your preferred menu. If an app has outdated prices, Google lets you choose which menu appears under the full menu tab.
• Don't rely on a PDF alone. A text menu can be read and searched; a blurry photo of the printed menu can't.
• A specific category. If you're a taquería, "Taco restaurant" describes you better than "Restaurant". Google asks for the most precise category, plus a few secondary ones.

Delivery apps or your own ordering?

Both, with different jobs. Delivery apps put you in front of people who've never seen you, in exchange for a commission on each order. Direct orders (pickup through your link, phone or your own system) leave you more margin and the customer's contact. The goal is a first order through the app and a second one direct.

In your Google profile, open the food ordering section and mark a provider as preferred for pickup, delivery or both. In the US you can accept pickup or delivery orders right from your profile and add your own links. Put a card in every app bag with a QR code to your direct link.

What photos does a restaurant need?

Real photos of your best-selling dishes, the dining room, the storefront and the sign, so people recognize you when they arrive. Google publishes guidelines for profile photos. Add new photos when the menu or space changes, and check the ones customers upload: if one is outdated or misleading, flag it.

How do I get more reviews without breaking the rules?

Ask everyone, with no conditions: a QR code on the receipt or table with the direct link. Google doesn't allow discounts or free items in exchange for reviews, or pressuring guests to review while on the premises. No "free dessert for five stars", and no handing them a tablet at the table.

Reply to reviews in the language they were written in. One reply to a complaint about wait times that says what you changed persuades more than ten "thanks!" replies. When a customer names a dish, that review also helps you show up when someone searches for it.

Attributes, posts and seasons

Turn on the attributes that apply, like outdoor seating, Wi-Fi or "Latino-owned", and use profile posts for anything that changes. A Mexican restaurant's calendar has clear peaks:

• Lent: seafood and fish Fridays.
• Cinco de Mayo: announce hours, specials and reservations weeks ahead.
• Mexican Independence Day (September 16): pozole, chiles en nogada, events.
• Día de Muertos: pan de muerto and a special menu.
• Christmas: tamales by the dozen. Open pre-orders in November and post them on your profile.

For the rest of the profile basics (name, consistent details everywhere, Spanish pages), see our local SEO for Hispanic-owned businesses guide.

Mistakes we see often

• Holiday hours never updated: the customer shows up and you're closed.
• An app's year-old prices showing as your main menu on Google.
• Stock photos instead of your own dishes.
• The order button pointing to an app you no longer work with.

If you want your restaurant to show up when someone searches for your dishes in your city, see our SEO for US businesses service or get in touch. We work in English and Spanish, on your time zone.