Introduction
The Wild Artichoke, an art-filled eatery in Yorba Linda, CA, specializes in California cuisine with French and Italian influences, featuring signature artichoke dishes. Known for its upscale dining experience, the restaurant offers great cocktails, vegan dishes, and a kids’ menu, catering to a wide audience. Despite its strong local reputation, The Wild Artichoke faced challenges in maximizing its online visibility and engagement in a competitive market. This case study explores how a comprehensive digital marketing strategy transformed their online presence, driving significant growth in visibility, engagement, and conversions over a 30-day period (March 13, 2025, to April 11, 2025).
Challenges
The Wild Artichoke faced several challenges in the digital landscape:
- Local Competition: Competing with numerous dining options in Yorba Linda required standing out in local search results and review platforms.
- Mobile Optimization: With 95% of GBP views coming from mobile devices, ensuring a seamless mobile experience was critical.
- Conversion Rates: Despite high visibility, converting online engagement into bookings and visits needed improvement (e.g., only 78 bookings from 1,631 GBP interactions).
- SEO Visibility: Ranking for niche keywords like “vegan restaurants” or “farm-to-table dining” was essential to attract diverse customer segments.
- Ad Efficiency: Balancing ad spend (e.g., $1,002.55 on Yelp, $165.73 on Meta Ads) with conversion rates required optimization.
Strategy
To address these challenges, a multi-channel digital marketing strategy was implemented:
- Google Business Profile Optimization: Enhanced the GBP profile with high-quality images, regular updates, and a focus on mobile-friendly features to boost local discoverability.
- Social Media Engagement: Leveraged Instagram and Facebook to increase reach and engagement through visually appealing posts, stories, and targeted content.
- Paid Advertising: Utilized Meta Ads and Yelp Ads to drive targeted traffic, focusing on link clicks and conversions while optimizing ad creatives.
- SEO and Content Marketing: Created content to rank for key local search terms, securing first-page rankings for categories like romantic dining, brunch, and farm-to-table.
- Review and Reservation Focus: Encouraged reviews to maintain a 4.6 rating on GBP and promoted Yelp reservations to convert leads into diners.
Results
The strategy yielded impressive results across all channels, transforming The Wild Artichoke’s digital presence.
Google Business Profile (GBP) Growth
The Wild Artichoke achieved 45,821 profile views and 35,432 searches on GBP, with 1,631 interactions. This included 632 website clicks (+272.2% vs. Mar 2024), 485 direction requests (+85.5%), and 78 bookings (+21.9%). Mobile optimization was key, as 95% of views (39,700) came from mobile devices.
Key GBP Metrics
| Metric | Value | Change vs. Mar 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Total Profile Views | 45,821 | +406.3% |
| Total Searches | 35,432 | +756.9% |
| Website Clicks | 632 | +272.2% |
| Direction Requests | 485 | +85.5% |
| Bookings | 78 | +21.9% |
GBP Performance: 45,821 profile views and 35,432 searches.
Social Media Engagement Surge
Instagram and Facebook campaigns drove significant engagement. Instagram achieved 6.8K reach (+314.3%) and 381 content interactions (+39.1%), while Facebook recorded 7.6K reach (+42.0%) and 395 link clicks (+48.8%).
Social Media Metrics
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 6.8K (+314.3%) | 7.6K (+42.0%) |
| Content Interactions | 381 (+39.1%) | 79 (+182.1%) |
| Link Clicks | 256 (+100%) | 395 (+48.8%) |
Instagram Growth: 6.8K reach with a +314.3% increase.
Meta Ads Performance
Meta Ads delivered 19,639 views and 654 link clicks with a $165.73 spend. The “Review Ad2” campaign excelled with 153 link clicks at $0.30 each, while the Instagram “Spring into Flavor” ad achieved a cost-efficient $0.22 per click.
Meta Ads Metrics
| Metric | Value | Change vs. Previous Period |
|---|---|---|
| Total Spend | $165.73 | Not provided |
| Views | 19,639 | +22.2K% |
| Reach | 12,680 | +14.8K% |
| Link Clicks | 654 | +13.0K% |
Meta Ads Performance: 19,639 views and 654 link clicks.
Yelp Lead Generation
Yelp drove 1.5K leads (+47% YoY), with 718 Yelp-driven covers (63% of 1,133 total covers, +77% YoY). Ads contributed 130K impressions and 497 leads, with a $1,002.55 spend.
Yelp Metrics
| Metric | Value | From Ads | Percentage of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Impressions | 197K | 130K | 66% |
| Total Leads | 1.5K | 497 | 32% |
| Yelp-Driven Covers | 718 | N/A | 63% of Total Covers |
Yelp Performance: 1.5K leads with 718 Yelp-driven covers.
SEO and Keyword Rankings
The Wild Artichoke secured first-page rankings on Google for six key search terms, including “Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in Yorba Linda, CA,” “Top 10 Farm-to-Table Restaurants in Yorba Linda, CA,” and more, boosting visibility across diverse customer segments.
Ranked Keywords
| Search Term | Ranking Details |
|---|---|
| Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in Yorba Linda, CA | Ranked in "Places" section; featured in articles by OpenTable, Yelp, and restaurantsuggest.com |
| Top 10 Lunch Places in Yorba Linda, CA | Ranked in "Places" section; featured in articles by Tripadvisor, OpenTable, and restaurantsuggest.com |
| Top 10 Dinner Restaurants in Yorba Linda, CA | Ranked in "Places" section; featured in articles by Tripadvisor, OpenTable, and restaurantsuggest.com |
| Top 10 Brunch Spots in Yorba Linda, CA | Ranked in "Places" section; featured in articles by OpenTable, Yelp, and restaurantsuggest.com |
| Top 10 Family-Friendly Restaurants in Yorba Linda, CA | Ranked in "Places" section; featured in articles by Tripadvisor and restaurantsuggest.com |
| Top 10 Farm-to-Table Restaurants in Yorba Linda, CA | Ranked in "AI Overview" section; featured in articles by restaurantsuggest.com |
SEO Success: First-page ranking for "Top 10 Romantic Restaurants in Yorba Linda, CA."
Impact
The multi-channel strategy significantly enhanced The Wild Artichoke’s digital presence:
- Increased Visibility: Achieved 45,821 GBP profile views, 197K Yelp impressions, 19,639 Meta Ad views, and first-page Google rankings for six key terms.
- Enhanced Engagement: Drove 381 Instagram interactions (+39.1%), 79 Facebook interactions (+182.1%), and 6,306 Meta Ad post engagements (+100%).
- Higher Conversions: Generated 1,685 total link clicks (632 from GBP, 395 from Facebook, 256 from Instagram, 654 from Meta Ads) and 718 Yelp-driven covers.
- Broadened Audience Reach: Targeted diverse segments (romantic diners, families, brunch enthusiasts) through SEO, aligning with 1.5K Yelp leads and 14.4K social media reach.
Recommendations for Future Growth
Building on this success, the following strategies can further elevate The Wild Artichoke’s digital performance:
- Mobile Optimization: Enhance the GBP profile and website for mobile users, as 95% of GBP views are from mobile devices.
- Ad Optimization: Improve Meta Ads conversion rates (currently 5.2%) with stronger CTAs and reallocate budget to high-performing campaigns (e.g., $0.22 per click on Instagram “Spring into Flavor”). Optimize Yelp ad creatives to increase the click-through rate beyond 5.3%.
- Social Media Strategy: Sustain engagement with interactive Instagram content (e.g., polls, stories) and increase Facebook posting frequency to maintain the +182.1% content interaction growth.
- SEO Expansion: Target additional keywords like “vegan restaurants in Yorba Linda” (380 GBP impressions) and add schema markup to enhance search visibility.
- Review Campaigns: Encourage more reviews via post-visit emails to build on the 4.6 GBP rating, driving trust and attracting more diners.
- Collaborations: Partner with local food bloggers to secure more article mentions, boosting backlinks and SEO.
Conclusion
The Wild Artichoke’s digital marketing transformation showcases the power of a multi-channel strategy in driving visibility, engagement, and conversions. By optimizing their Google Business Profile, leveraging social media, running targeted ads, dominating Yelp, and securing top Google rankings, the restaurant has solidified its position as a leading dining destination in Yorba Linda, CA. With continued focus on mobile optimization, ad efficiency, and SEO expansion, The Wild Artichoke is poised for even greater success in 2025.