Growing online orders is only half the win; keeping the profit is the other half. Delivery apps take 30–40% effective (the numbers). Here’s how to grow orders and margin.
- 1. Get found by hungry searchers: Own local and "[cuisine] delivery/near me" search.
- 2. Make ordering frictionless: Prominent order button, crawlable menu, mobile-fast site, minimal taps to checkout.
- 3. Shift to direct ordering: Keep delivery apps for discovery, but move repeat customers to commission-free direct ordering.
- 4. Bring customers back: Email, SMS and loyalty turn one order into many — the cheapest orders you’ll ever get.
1. Get found by hungry searchers
Own local and "[cuisine] delivery/near me" search. See ranking on Google Maps.
2. Make ordering frictionless
Prominent order button, crawlable menu, mobile-fast site, minimal taps to checkout. See website must-haves.
3. Shift to direct ordering
Keep delivery apps for discovery, but move repeat customers to commission-free direct ordering. Platforms like Owner.com keep the profit and the customer data. See Owner.com vs ChowNow.
4. Bring customers back
Email, SMS and loyalty turn one order into many — the cheapest orders you’ll ever get. See email marketing and loyalty programs.
5. Promote the direct channel
Table tents, receipt inserts, and social all nudging "order direct next time" — often with a small incentive that still beats app commissions.
Like All India (Pittsburgh), Mintt (Monroeville) and Nino’s (Patchogue). Free 24-hour audit.
Get my free audit →📞 +1 302 342 0311Keep apps for discovery, own the repeat
The winning play isn’t abandoning delivery apps — it’s using them as a discovery channel while moving repeat customers to commission-free direct ordering. A new customer found via DoorDash costs 30%; that same customer ordering direct next time costs you nothing but the platform fee.
Promote the direct channel
- Receipt inserts and table tents: “order direct next time”
- A small direct-order incentive that still beats 30% app fees
- Email/SMS reminders with your direct link
- QR codes on packaging
The math that motivates
At $20K/month through apps at 30% effective cost, you hand over $72K/year. Moving even half your repeat volume to direct ordering recovers tens of thousands annually — money that goes straight to your bottom line.
The tools worth paying for
You don’t need every tool — you need the few that compound. A well-optimized Google Business Profile (free), a review-generation system, and a commission-free direct-ordering platform cover most of the ROI. Add email/SMS once you’re capturing customer data. Everything else is optimization on top of these fundamentals.
What to measure
- Map Pack ranking for your top cuisine + city terms
- Review count and velocity (recency matters most)
- Direct-order share vs delivery-app share
- Repeat-customer rate and email/SMS list growth
- Cost per new customer by channel
Frequently asked questions
How long until I see results from how to increase restaurant online orders? Foundational work often shows movement in 4–8 weeks; competitive results build over 3–6 months of consistent execution.
The fundamentals here are doable in-house. Bring in specialists once you plateau or run out of time to execute consistently.
Begin with the free 24-hour audit; it pinpoints what to fix first for your specific setup.
Related: increase direct orders · escape DoorDash fees · complete guide.