SEO for cafés

How people choose a café

Café searches are short and immediate: coffee near me, brunch, breakfast, somewhere to work on a laptop, somewhere dog-friendly or a café with vegan cakes. Most people decide from the map listing. They scan photos, check opening hours, glance at reviews and pick somewhere close that looks right. Your website matters less for that first choice, but it matters for the details that tip the decision, such as the menu, dietary options, accessibility, events and catering.

The Business Profile does the heavy lifting

For a café, the Google Business Profile is effectively your shop window in search. Get the essentials exactly right:

• The most specific primary category, such as café or coffee shop.
• Accurate opening hours, including bank holidays and seasonal changes. Arriving at a closed café produces bad reviews.
• Attributes such as outdoor seating, Wi-Fi, wheelchair access and dog-friendly, where they apply.
• Fresh photos of real food, drinks and the space, taken in natural light.
• A link to your menu and any ordering or catering pages.

Food standards and allergens

Your food hygiene rating is public and many people check it. Display requirements differ between the UK nations. Customers with allergies need confidence that you can tell them about the 14 major allergens. Clear information on your website, plus a note on how to ask staff, helps them choose you.

Keyword themes

• Products: speciality coffee, matcha, homemade cakes, sourdough, brunch dishes.
• Dietary: vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free options, where genuinely available.
• Use cases: laptop-friendly, meeting friends, family-friendly, dog-friendly.
• Services: takeaway, catering, cakes to order, private hire.
• Location: street, neighbourhood, nearby landmark or station.

A small website that works hard

Most cafés need only a few pages: home, menu as HTML text rather than just an image or PDF, about, catering or private hire if offered, and contact with a map and opening hours. Keep it fast on mobile data. If you roast your own coffee, bake on site or source locally, tell that story, because it sets you apart from chains.

Working and meeting

Many people now search for somewhere to work for an hour or meet a client. If you welcome laptops, say so and mention power sockets, Wi-Fi and any quieter times of day. If you'd rather keep tables free at lunch, say that too. Being upfront sets expectations and attracts the customers who suit your café best.

Community content

Events such as open mic nights, art exhibitions, workshops and seasonal menus are worth a page or Business Profile post. Local press and community websites are more likely to mention and link to a café that's part of local life.

AffordSEO for cafés

AffordSEO's £99 plan keeps your site technically sound and fast, improves page titles and headings, suggests content improvements and drafts them for your approval and includes Business Profile checklists and post suggestions. See what's included.

Café owners' questions