Why Google Hates Your Bar

People who are looking for a cool bar to go to usually look on Google. This is why it’s so important to show up within the first few pages (preferably the first page) of a Google search.

Some bars succeed on Google, and some fail, and if you’re reading this post, I have the feeling that yours is failing. I’m here with some good news for you though, your bar doesn’t have to fail. There’s one proven trick that works every time, just so long as you deliver on it…

Successful bars have a gimmick.

It’s true. Successful bars do have a gimmick, and the most successful bars have really awesome gimmicks. What’s a gimmick? It’s your completely unique offering to the world. It’s your declaration to the people you want as your customers, and it’s your secret weapon that tells the world “this bar rocks.”

Sadly, your bar may not rock. Yet.

Maybe your bar is the one that everyone walks past, but no one ventures into. You’ve seen this bar. It’s the one that no one really knows the name of… you know, the one that opened on the corner of those two streets. It’s covered in green or black paint, has some big windows that are ridiculously tinted, and whenever you walk by you notice that they have some sign listing their Friday night $7 all-you-can-eat Fish and Chips deal and a $2 Miller Lite draft special on Mondays.

Don’t be that bar. Stand out.

Here are 3 irresistible gimmicks to start you thinking. Now, mind you, if you Google these bar gimmicks, these bars show up really fast in the search results. New customers are finding these bars on Google—or they’re hearing about them through friends, ‘cause these bars are awesome.

Be the turtle racing bar.

This bar has a really successful gimmick. They race turtles. Seriously. I heard about this bar months ago from a friend of a friend here in Chicago, and the other day I thought “Hey, that would make for a great blog post!” I had no idea what the bar was called, but when I typed “turtle racing bar Chicago” into Google, the answer was clear. This place is called Big Joe’s. They don’t even have a website to get ranked in Google, they just rock the turtle racing scene. The link I provided is actually their Yelp page, where pretty much everyone agrees that Friday night turtle racing packs the people in. If you want to watch a video of turtles racing, be my guest.

Be the Geek Bar.

The Geek Bar’s gimmick is so successful that it hasn’t even opened yet and everyone wants to go. This bar’s theme is that they cater to geeks, specifically board game geeks. They will have large enough tables to spread out games, they will have an in-house game library, their waitstaff will apparently wear lab coats, and they will offer drinks that have geeky names, served in test tubes. Don’t believe me that it’s a popular idea? They started a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign in which they aimed to raise  $9,750. Twenty-four hours later they had met their goal, and so far they’ve raised a whopping $44,538. If that isn’t a successful gimmick, I don’t know what is.

Do something easy, be the Doodle Bar.

Okay, okay. I get it. You don’t want to race turtles, you don’t want geeky board gamers in your bar… what is something you can do? Well, London figured out an awesome idea, The Doodle Bar. At this bar, people are given a bunch of markers and then they have the freedom to draw on the walls, the floors, the furniture, the waiters… if it’s a surface, the people can doodle on it. C’mon, you know you want to go, and you know it’s brilliant. Here’s a great video of people doodling in the Doodle Bar.

What are some great bar gimmicks that you’ve run across?

Photo licensed by FromSandToGlass