Marketing for restaurants, bars and delivery in 2026: Ya.Karty, delivery aggregators and guest retention

HoReCa is a niche with the shortest decision-making cycle of everything I have worked with. A person thinks for 15-30 minutes: where to go for dinner, where to order rolls from. No multi-week warm-up funnel. I opened my phone, found it, came or ordered. And that is why the standard performance approach with long training of auto strategies does not work here - only those channels that stand in the way of a person at the time of decision-making work.

In 2023, I worked with a bar in Moscow on a budget of 30K ₽/month. In 4 months, weekday attendance increased by 40% - without a seasonal effect and without new dishes on the menu. Only redistribution of channels and mechanics of working with reviews. I'll tell you exactly what we did and why.

HoReCa specifics: why regular performance doesn’t work here

In most niches, advertising works like this: a person sees an ad, clicks, reads, thinks, and may return in a week. HoReCa does not have this time. “I want to eat nearby” is an impulse. It has a lifespan of 20-40 minutes.

This means several things. First: content marketing and SEO work for HoReCa only if the establishment has recognition - otherwise a person will not read your article “the best burgers in Mitino.” Second: retargeting with a long window is pointless - by the time the ad reaches the user tomorrow, he has already had lunch elsewhere. Third: geoservices (Ya.Maps, 2GIS) are the most important channel, because a person with the intention of “eating nearby” goes there first.

Another feature: HoReCa is perhaps the most review-dependent niche. Yandex research showed that when choosing a restaurant, 73% of users look at ratings and reviews before going to the site. Rating 3.8 vs 4.6 is not subtlety, it’s a 2-3 times difference in traffic.

Ya.Maps and 2GIS for a restaurant: rating, photo, menu - this is not an option

A detailed analysis of working with geoservices is available in separate article about Yandex.Maps and 2GIS for business, here are the specifics for HoReCa.

Three things are critical for a restaurant that are not critical for other local businesses. The first is a photo. Not the interior, but the dishes. A person chooses with his eyes: a beautiful plate matters more than a description. Minimum 15 photos, preferably 25+, all professional or at least well lit. Second, the menu is right on the card. Y.Maps allows you to download a menu with prices - this reduces the decision-making barrier: you don’t need to go to the website. A third of users look at the menu directly in the card and make a decision there. Third - rating 4.5+. The entry threshold for competitive visibility is 4.3, the comfort zone is 4.5 and above.

According to 2GIS: in Moscow and St. Petersburg, 2GIS is weaker than Ya.Kart in terms of coverage, but in million-plus cities in the Urals and Siberia it is often stronger. If you work in the region, check both services. The filling mechanics are the same, the value of organic traffic is comparable.

In HoReCa, a card on a geoservice is a showcase. Rating 3.8 - curtains closed and lights turned off. Advertising will bring traffic, the storefront will convert it.

Delivery aggregators: commission mathematics and when is it profitable?

Yandex Food, Scooter, Delivery Club - aggregators provide ready traffic, but charge a lot for it. Commission 25-35% of the order plus packaging costs. On a small check this is killer.

The math is simple. Pizzeria with an average bill of 800 ₽: commission 28% = 224 ₽, packaging 50 ₽, a total of 274 ₽ goes to the aggregator and packaging. 526 ₽ left for groceries, kitchen, delivery (if your own) and margin. If food cost is 35% of revenue = 280 ₽, then the margin before other expenses = 246 ₽. It works if the kitchen is busy and delivery does not require separate personnel.

Sushi bar with a receipt of 1800 ₽: commission 28% = 504 ₽, package 80 ₽. 1216 ₽ left. Food cost 40% = 720 ₽. Margin before other expenses = 496 ₽. Already more interesting. Plus, repeat orders go through the aggregator application - retention is provided by the aggregator.

When an aggregator is not needed: low bill and high food cost. A pie shop with a receipt of 350 ₽ works at a minus on the aggregator. When the aggregator works well: average check from 1000 ₽, high repetition rate, expensive niches (sushi, pizza, burgers). An aggregator is a paid display on someone else’s shelf. The traffic is ready, but the margin for it is high.

Geotargeting 2 km: setup in VK Ads and Direct, real CPC and CPL

Geo-radius of 2-3 km is optimal for most restaurant concepts. This is an area from which a person is ready to travel by car or walk. Next, you need a strong reason (author’s cuisine, unique concept).

In VK Ads: setting up geolocation by point with a radius in meters. For an establishment in a sleeping bag - 2000-2500 m. Format - carousel with photos of dishes, CTA “Book” or “View menu”. It wouldn’t hurt to add a point of interest “food and restaurants.” CPC in geo-radius with high-quality creative: 8-20 ₽. CPL (click → booking or call): 180-450 ₽.

In Yandex Direct: keywords with a geotag - “Mitino restaurant”, “cafe near Vykhino metro station”, “Babushkinskaya food delivery” - plus bid adjustments for polygons of the desired areas. The campaign wizard can handle a restaurant with a budget of up to 20-25K ₽/month; then manual campaigns with well-developed groups are better. CPC on search: 25-60 ₽. CPL: 250-600 ₽ depending on the niche and competition.

About setting up VK Ads - more details in guide to the new VK Ads account. There is also the logic of look-alike and retargeting.

Channel table for HoReCa with CPL and labor costs

Learn more about online reputation management and review monitoring in article about ORM and SERM.

Working with reviews: how to increase your rating from 3.8 to 4.5 in 3 months

This was one of the first steps in the bar case. Rating 3.8 on Y.Maps - while 80% of real guests were satisfied. It’s just that satisfied people don’t write, but dissatisfied people write willingly.

The collection mechanics that were launched: after the bill, the waiter sent the guest a link to Y.Cards via the QR code on the card with the receipt. Card text: “If you liked everything, leave a review, it’s important to us.” Review conversion: 12% of guests who were given a card. With 80 guests per day, that’s 9-10 potential reviews per day. Within a month, we received 80+ reviews with an average rating of 4.6.

At the same time, they responded to all the old negative reviews - calmly, without excuses, with specifics. This also affects the ranking: Yandex takes into account the owner’s activity. After 3 months, the rating increased from 3.8 to 4.6. Organic traffic from the card increased by 35%.

For more details about systemic work with reputation, read guide to ORM and online reputation management.

Restaurant TG channel: not content marketing, but retention

Most restaurant TG channels die after 2-3 months - because they are run as “content marketing”: beautiful photos of dishes, recipes, stories of the chef. This doesn't work for retention. Something else works.

A TG channel scheme for a restaurant that gives a measurable result: a promotional code once a week (discount or “dessert as a gift”), announcement of a new dish or special menu in advance, the ability to book a table through a message to the bot. Three types of posts, that's it. CTR of promotional codes with the right mechanics is 8-15%. For a channel with 300 subscribers, this is 24-45 uses of the promo code per month.

How to recruit subscribers: QR code on the tables (“Subscribe - get a 10% discount on your next visit”), stories on VK with the announcement of the channel, mention of the channel when responding to reviews on Maps. Without a budget - slowly but organically. With a small budget (5-10K ₽) - target a geo-radius with a subscription offer.

Read more about monetization and strategy of TG channels in article about monetization of the Telegram channel.

Case: bar in Moscow, budget 30K ₽/month, result +40% of guests on weekdays

Bar with 60 seats, residential area, 2023. Weaknesses at the start: rating 3.8 on Y.Maps (12 reviews in total), a card without a menu and normal photos, a VK group that was maintained once every two weeks. Budget 30K ₽/month, task is to increase weekday evenings (Friday-Saturday they were already good).

What we did in 4 months:

• We completely redesigned the card on Ya.Kartakh: 22 photos (taken in one evening with a smartphone), updated menu with prices, all answers to old reviews.
• We launched the mechanics of collecting feedback through cards on the tables. In 3 months - 95 new reviews, rating 4.6.
• VK Ads with a geo-radius of 2.5 km: carousel with photo “Evening at the bar” + offer “Cocktail as a gift on weekdays when you book a table.” Budget 10K ₽/month. CPL 340 ₽, 29 new guests in the first month.
• TG channel: created from scratch, in 3 months 280 subscribers via QR on tables and target. Weekly promotional code "Tuesday - 2 for 1 for beer." CTR 11%, 30 uses per month.
• The remaining 20K ₽ - Yandex Direct for requests “bar + district”.

Result after 4 months: average occupancy on weekday evenings increased from 28% to 39%. In money – approximately +180K ₽ revenue per month. ROI on marketing budget: 6x. The most important thing is that the increase in organic traffic from Maps by 35% after increasing the rating still works for free.

About the approach to marketing for local businesses in general - read more in article about marketing services and local businesses.

If you want to sort out channels for your establishment or delivery, write to Telegram @dipustovalov or through form on the website. Let's start with a card audit on Ya.Kartakh - free of charge.

Related materials: CPA calculator, landing page conversion benchmarks, content plan template for SMM.