Bonfire helped us move away from phone-heavy bookings and into a smooth, reliable online flow. Weekday reservations are up, the phones are quieter, and our team can focus on service. The shift brought balance and real stability to the restaurant.
Weekday Lulls & Friction-Filled Bookings
Angel Falls Grill had earned a loyal following for its South American-inspired menu, but that popularity clustered around weekends. Tables were full on Fridays and Saturdays. Weekdays, not so much.
Behind the scenes, another friction point slowed momentum. Many customers called to avoid online booking fees, creating phone traffic that strained staff and disrupted flow. With limited seating, every missed or mismanaged booking carried weight.
The opportunity was clear:
- Smooth out demand by lifting weekday traffic
- Shift customer behaviour toward online reservations
- Build organic visibility in niche, high-intent categories like “steak,” “South American,” and “gluten-free”
Shifting Booking Behaviour with SEO and SEM
We launched a combined SEO and Google Ads campaign designed to shift customer habits, lift weekday reservations, and secure Angel Falls Grill’s place in key search categories.
It started with a performance audit. Conversion tracking in GA4 was misfiring, clouding the true return from paid and organic traffic. We resolved the tracking issues early, then moved quickly into implementation.
In SEO, we:
- Published content targeting high-intent, cuisine-specific searches (e.g. “best steak in Perth,” “gluten-free restaurants”)
- Ran backlink outreach to secure coverage from relevant, trusted sources
- Optimised the Google Business Profile with fresh content and local signals
- Conducted regular technical audits to maintain crawlability and Core Web Vitals
In Google Ads, we:
- Targeted midweek-friendly terms like “date night,” “family-friendly restaurants,” and seasonal campaigns like “Valentine’s Day”
- Refined audience targeting with segments such as “Cooking Enthusiasts” and “Nightlife Enthusiasts”
- A/B tested ad copy and landing pages to reduce phone dependency and promote online booking
- Added image extensions and adjusted device bidding to prioritise high-converting traffic
In Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) and performance analytics, we:
- Used heatmaps and A/B testing to understand why users still called instead of booking online
- Repositioned the phone icon and reduced its prominence across devices
- Updated booking journey copy to surface the booking fee earlier and reset expectations
The combined effect was subtle but decisive: more customers booked online, fewer reached for the phone, and the entire flow moved with less friction.
Double-Figure ROI
The campaign delivered an 11.5× ROI, with an estimated $416,400 in revenue attributed to Bonfire-managed traffic.
- 2,776 bookings were directly driven by SEO and Google Ads
- Organic traffic rose 3.5% year-over-year, with January 2025 marking a new all-time high
- A/B testing led to a 13.5% increase in online bookings, easing pressure on phone lines
- Page 1 keyword rankings jumped from 17 to 61, with 84% of tracked terms now holding top positions
Strategic budget shifts and weekday-focused campaigns helped smooth demand across the week, reshaping both booking behaviour and traffic patterns in the dining room.
