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September 6, 2018

How to Increase Diner Engagement by 36% in 2 Minutes or Less

Need to make a change to your restaurant’s hours, amenities, or cuisines? Here’s how to update your restaurant details on Tripadvisor. These small changes take two minutes or less and can increase diner engagement on your Tripadvisor page by 36% or more.

The restaurant industry is constantly changing — that’s nothing new. As you experiment with new cuisines, add new amenities to your experience, or change your hours, you’ll want to make sure your online presence reflects those changes.

To make updates, you have to claim your listing — you can do so here — and it’s quick and free to claim. Then, it’s easy to update your Tripadvisor listing so that it accurately represents your restaurant. Plus, making these changes takes just minutes and doing so can dramatically increase your diner engagement.

Please note that any changes may take up to five business days to appear on Tripadvisor’s site.

Update Your Contact Information

Updating your general information is critical to making Tripadvisor work for your business. If someone is browsing through Tripadvisor looking to come to your restaurant, you’ll want to make sure they can see your website, call your restaurant, or otherwise contact you to make a booking.

Potential diners can see your contact information at the very top of your listing.

To update your contact information on Tripadvisor:

  1. Log into your Management Center.
  2. Choose “Name and Description” from the “Manage Listing” tab.
  3. From there, you can update your contact details, including phone number, website, and email address.
  4. You can also write a short description of your restaurant in the “Business Description” section. This is a great opportunity to give more information about your restaurant — if you have a mission statement, for example, you should include it. Otherwise, you’ll want to describe your restaurant’s cuisine, atmosphere, location, and anything unique worth highlighting, like live music on Thursdays or that you were featured on the Food Network.
  5. When you’re finished editing, click the orange “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

For more details on how to edit your contact information, see our guide.

Update Your Hours

There’s nothing more frustrating for a potential diner than making the trek all the way to your restaurant only to find it closed. Diners are often searching for restaurants near them at that moment, so they’re looking for restaurants that are open. If your hours aren’t listed, Tripadvisor won’t surface your restaurant to those diners — meaning you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.

Plus, when you list your hours, you’re more likely to see potential diners interacting with your page. Tripadvisor listings with open hours see 36% more engagement than those without them.

Potential diners can see your hours:

  • When they search for open restaurants near them.
  • When they arrive on your listing, if your restaurant is currently open, it will say, “Open Now” in the Overview section.
  • At the bottom of your listing under “Restaurant Details.”

To update your restaurant hours on Tripadvisor:

  1. Log in to the Management Center.
  2. Choose “Hours” from the “Manage Listing” tab.
  3. Scroll down to add or edit your open hours by clicking directly into the time slot. If you’re open 24 hours that day, check the box to the right that says, “Open 24 Hours.”
  4. If you have two different opening hours in one day, say, for two different meal times, click the blue text underneath the time slot that says, “Add more hours.” Another time slot will appear and you can edit those hours.
  5. If you’re not open on a particular day, click the trash can icon to the right of the time slot. This will mark you as closed on that day.
  6. When you’re done editing, click the orange “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.

For a full guide on how to update your business hours, click here.

Update Your Cuisine Types

Your restaurant experience starts with your food. The types of meals you serve and what cuisines you offer are the foundation of your restaurant concept. On Tripadvisor, that translates to a variety of categories associated with your restaurant so that someone searching for a restaurant like yours can find you.

Potential diners can see those categories:

  • When they search for restaurants like yours in the search results
  • On your listing at the top of the page
  • Under “Cuisines” in the Overview section of your listing
  • And at the bottom of your listing under “Restaurant Details”

To make sure potential diners can find your restaurant, think about your concept and define exactly what kind of food you’re serving. If it’s a mix of cuisines, that’s ok — just remember, on Tripadvisor, you can only choose five categories, so you’ll want to choose the five that best exemplify what your restaurant is all about. The only thing you won’t find are dietary restrictions like vegan and gluten free, as those are added automatically based on reviews and customer feedback.

To update your cuisines on Tripadvisor:

  1. Log in to the Management Center.
  2. Choose “Cuisines and Amenities” from the “Manage Listing” tab.
  3. Click “Edit cuisines” under Cuisine Categories. You can choose up to five.
  4. From there, you’ll be able to scroll through all the potential categories you would associate with your restaurant. Check the boxes to choose your categories.
  5. Click the orange “OK” button.
  6. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the orange “Submit” button.

For a full guide on all of our cuisine types, and how you can update them, click here.

Update the Meals You Serve

Along with your cuisines, you’ll want to make sure what meals you’re listed as serving is accurate. You can be listed for more than just breakfast, lunch, or dinner — drinks, late night service, and brunch are options too.

Potential diners will see what meals you serve:

  • When they search for restaurants like yours in the search results.
  • When they search for meals, like breakfast, in the search results.
  • At the bottom of your listing under “Restaurant Details.”

To update your meals on Tripadvisor:

  1. Log in to the Management Center.
  2. Choose “Cuisines and Amenities” from the “Manage Listing” tab.
  3. Scroll down to the question, “What meals does this restaurant serve?”
  4. Check the boxes to indicate which meals you offer at your restaurant.
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the orange “Submit” button.

For a full guide on how to edit your meals served, click here.

Add or Update Your Menu

Once potential diners find your listing, make them excited to try your restaurant by uploading a menu link. Knowing exactly what you offer can help potential diners decide that your restaurant is the right one for them.

Potential diners will see your menu link at the very top of your profile next to your location, phone number, and link to your website. To add the menu link:

  1. Log in to the Management Center.
  2. Choose “Menu” from the “Manage Listing” tab.
  3. Type in or copy and paste your menu link in the box underneath where it says “Menu URL.”
  4. Click the orange “Submit” button.

Your menu link will update immediately on your profile. If you change your menu frequently on your website, make sure to use the same URL or to update this link in the Management Center.

For a more detailed guide to adding your menu, click here.

Update Your Restaurant Amenities

When someone is looking for a restaurant, they’re looking for much more than the food. They want to know: Do they have parking? Is there wifi? Can I watch the big game? Make sure they know what the full experience will be like by updating your amenities.

Potential diners will see your choices if they search for a restaurant like yours that has a specific amenity, such as wheelchair accessibility, and at the bottom of your listing under “Restaurant Details.”

While your food might be what gets potential diners onto your listing, it’s your amenities that can give potential diners enough information to choose your restaurant. To update your amenities on Tripadvisor:

  1. Log in to the Management Center.
  2. Choose “Cuisines and Amenities” from the “Manage Listing” tab.
  3. Scroll down to the question, “What features and amenities does this restaurant have?”
  4. Click the “Edit Amenities” button.
  5. From there, you’ll be able to scroll through the list of potential amenities your restaurant might offer. Check the boxes to choose which ones apply to your restaurant.
  6. Click the orange “OK” button.
  7. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the orange “Submit” button.

For a more complete guide to updating your amenities, click here.

Manage Your Restaurant Location

he most important area of your listing? Your location, of course! It’s important that your customers can find you. Diners can see your location at the top of your Tripadvisor page underneath the name of your restaurant and in the “Location and contact” section underneath your photos.

To update your location:

  1. Log in to the Management Center.
  2. Choose “Location” under the “Manage Listing” tab.
  3. From there, you’ll be able to see your street address, city, region, and zip code.
  4. Include extra information if needed in the “Additional address information” section, such as your intersection, plaza, or square.
  5. When diners are on-the-go, they can use Tripadvisor’s map functionality to easily find your listing. To update your map pin, scroll down to the “Verify Map Pin” section of the Location page.
  6. Click “confirm” to verify your business location, or drag and drop the pin to its proper location to make changes. To help customers find you easily, we recommend placing the pin over your main entrance or parking lot if you have one.
  7. Click “Confirm” and then click the orange “Submit” button to make your changes.

Any updates you make should be live on the site within 24 hours. For a more complete guide to updating your location, or if you are moving, have more than one location, or are listed in the wrong city or town, please click here.

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