Zomato introduces ads on its mobile apps; doubles consumer reach for merchants

Zomato, the global restaurant search and discovery service, has announced the introduction of advertisements on its mobile apps, marking a significant leap in the value it brings to restaurants advertising on Zomato.

The users will now see in-line ads for restaurants contextual to their search and location, appearing on search result pages.

Zomato first launched its mobile apps in 2011 for Android and iOS; an app for Windows Phone was added subsequently. Today, more than 50 per cent of Zomato's 30 million plus monthly visits come from its mobile apps across the globe, testimony to the fact that local search is moving to mobile very quickly.

Zomato's revenue model is based on hyper-local advertising contextual to the user search criteria, where users searching for restaurants in a particular area see ads for other relevant dining establishments in and around that location. This allows restaurant businesses to target customers already searching for dining options in their catchment area.

At present, over 4,500 restaurant businesses in 15 countries globally advertise on Zomato, with the number of merchants increasing by the day. Zomato's mobile focus is also accompanied by the recently launched Zomato for Business application – an app built exclusively to help business owners engage with customers and drive business.

“Merchants have been eagerly waiting for this for a while, but we took our time as we wanted the ads to be as relevant to the consumer as possible. We experimented a bit over the past few months, and we believe we have the right product in place now. This increases the reach of our advertisements by 100 percent. We have been focusing on mobile as a company for a while now and this accompanied by the Zomato for Business app, which is already gaining traction steadily, holds great promise”, said, Pankaj Chaddah, Co-Founder and COO, Zomato.

“Working with Zomato ads has been a game-changing experience for our restaurants and hotels. The investment is well worth it. The increased exposure and customers that we are getting via the mobile ads is really helping to drive the traffic we need to our restaurants, not only in times of need but in general as well. We consider Zomato not only our partners in business but an integral part of our plans for the foreseeable future for all our restaurants online advertising needs. Truly a one-stop shop for more footfall.” said, Aftab Sayed, Senior eCommerce Manager, Dubai Marriott Hotels.

Zomato also added another country to its growing list of international locations today, with the launch of its section for Ireland. Zomato covers over 3,000 restaurants in Dublin, and is available on web and mobile (iOS, Android, and Windows Phone).

“We're excited to be launching Zomato in Ireland. We've been doing very well in our existing European markets, and we're looking forward to becoming an integral part of Ireland's vibrant dining culture. It's a nation that loves its food, and the vast number of internet and mobile users in the country gives us a great opportunity to do just that”, said, Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato.