Catering Company Websites

Having a great looking website for your catering company has become almost essential over the last few years.

This article looks at the basic elements that you should be incorporated into catering company websites. It also looks at the purpose of a catering website and how you can bring in targeted visitors.

Your website should immediately convey a message on the home page that clearly states what your company is about, what you can do for your customers and how well you do it. Basic things to include on the home page include your catering business name, logo, contact information and details on what kinds of catering you do.

As you are in the food service business you really want to show off your food on the site. Include photos of many of the dishes that you specialize in. Ask some of your clients if you can also feature photos of some of the events that you have catered to

Add some positive testimonials from customers to your home page and you can also have another page dedicated only for this purpose. The more testimonials you have on the website the better. If the testimonials are from trusted sources then they will carry even more weight and be taken more seriously. 

Try to get visitors to take prompt action and to contact you immediately by offering some kind of promotion to them.

Customers will be interested in the kind of catering that you do and the kind of packages that you offer. Include some sample menus on your site to give them an idea.

It is great if you can include an 'About Us' page with background information on the company and the individuals behind it. If you have been in business for a while let visitors know when your company was established. Include photos and a profile of the company owner and all other important team members.

Most catering companies don’t put a lot of effort into promoting their website online. They have a site up that is likely to be useful only to existing customers or to people typing in the URL off business cards and print advertisements.

By focusing your efforts on bringing in web searchers to your site you can open up and target clients that you never had access to before. Keep in mind though that catering is essentially a local business and you don’t really need visitors from Australia visiting your site if you are a starting a catering company in New York.

One way to start your online marketing effort is to do a Google search using some search terms that you would expect people to use if they were looking for a caterer. For example you could type in ‘caterer in Dallas or ‘Dallas catering companies’. Take a look at the sites that turn up on the first page of Google’s search results. Then find out how you can get your company details and website link listed on these sites if you think that they are relevant.

Getting your own catering company website to rank highly on Google’s search results is a different matter. This takes time and search engine optimization knowledge and can be outsourced to experts if necessary. The process basically involves adding new content to you site frequently for Google to index as well as getting lots of inbound links coming into your site from other related, quality websites.

You can also pay Google for targeted traffic by setting up an Adwords campaign with them. The Adwords system allows you to have your advertisements featured alongside the natural search results when users do a search on specific keyword terms. You could target the term ‘Dallas catering companies’ among others if you were operating in that specific city.

Consider adding a mailing list to your website so that you can maintain contact with existing and potential customers. You can send out a newsletter updating customers about you services. By providing them with new menus and news about your services you will constantly be reminding them about your business.

To be successful these days in catering you can’t ignore the Internet. It is an essential tool for bring your business new clients and maintaining relationships with them. Put some time into creating and maintaining an effective catering business website and you will not regret it.