Stop paying to send users to stale reviews
If you’re running a restaurant right now, every dollar matters. Food costs are up. Labor is tight. Margins are thinner than ever. And yet, thousands of restaurants are quietly handing over $229 every single month on average to review sites like Yelp for advertising. That adds up to $1.41 billion wasted ad spend every year.
Why wasted? Because you’re not paying to bring people into your restaurant. You’re paying to send them to a page full of reviews you have no control over. Some of those reviews are years old. Some are unfairly negative. None of them reflect the energy and effort you put into running your restaurant today.
Paying for ads that work against you
When a diner clicks your Yelp ad, they land on the same page as your competitors. Instead of being excited about your menu or vibe, they are scrolling through reviews written by strangers who may not even represent your target guests. The worst part is that even if they were ready to try something new, the reviews often push them back into their usual routines.
I recently interviewed several restaurants for market research and one told me that this is the single most frustrating part of digital advertising. They don’t get clear returns, they can’t update the experience, and they feel like they are paying just to survive on platforms that don’t care if seats are filled.
Diners are already moving on
Gen Z diners aren’t reading Yelp the way previous generations do. They’re using TikTok and Instagram to decide where to eat, they want fresh content. They want to see the vibe. They want to know what their friends recommend, not some stranger from three years ago.
Every dollar you put into outdated ad platforms is a dollar you’re not putting into the places were diners are actually making decisions.
Advertising you can control
The truth is that restaurants need to be in control of their own story. That means updated, dynamic content, direct communication with potential guests, and a way to showcase what makes you stand out today. A burger of the week. A margarita special. A live patio show. Diners want to see that, and they want to know quickly whether it fits the vibe they are looking for.
Right now restaurants are pourding money into ads that were built for yesterday’s diner. It’s time to rethink where your ad dollars go. Stop funding platforms that make it harder for people to discover you. Start investing in tools that put your restaurant in the spotlight and turn planning into action.
The bottom line
Restaurants aren’t in the business of paying for clicks, they need to fill seats. If your ad budget isn’t driving new guests to your tables, then it’s just wasted spend. $229 a month may not sound like much, but across the industry it’s billions that could be used to grow your business and create experiences people actually crave.
It’s time to take that money back. We’re close to launching - sign up to get notified when we launch in your city! https://www.forkyes.app/for-restaurants