Search Your Own Name. Who Shows Up First?
Try it now. Open Google and type your shop name plus your town. If you're lucky, your Google Business Profile card appears on the right. But in the main search results? Odds are Just Eat, Deliveroo, or Uber Eats is sitting above you — on your own branded search.
That's a problem. The customer who searched your name already knows you. They're a regular. They weren't browsing for options. They wanted to order directly from you — and the app intercepted them first, collected 14% commission for doing nothing, and made you invisible on your own turf.
This isn't bad luck. It's the way the internet currently works in favour of marketplaces. But it's fixable — and the fix is cheaper than a week's worth of commission.
Why Marketplaces Outrank You: Three Cold Hard Reasons
Google doesn't play favourites. It ranks the result it thinks best answers the searcher's intent. Right now, marketplace pages almost always look better to Google than a typical takeaway website. Here's why.
Domain authority. Just Eat's website has been earning links and trust signals for over fifteen years. Thousands of news articles, review sites, and food blogs point back to it. Google treats high-authority domains as more trustworthy by default. A brand-new or neglected takeaway website simply can't compete on raw authority — not overnight.
Structured data. Your listing on Just Eat has your menu presented in clean, machine-readable code — schema markup that tells Google exactly what you sell, what it costs, and where you are. Google loves this. It can display your kebabs or curries directly in search results as rich results. Most takeaway websites have a menu as a PDF or a JPEG — completely invisible to search engines.
Page speed and technical quality. Just Eat has an army of engineers optimising for Core Web Vitals. Their pages load in under a second on mobile. If your site loads slowly, has broken links, or isn't mobile-friendly, Google deprioritises it. The result: a marketplace page for your own shop ranks above your own website.
What This Costs You in Real Money
Every regular who finds Just Eat before finding you pays them 14% collection commission. That's not a delivery fee — that's Just Eat's cut just for a customer clicking collect on their platform instead of yours.
On a £30 collection order, that's £4.20 going to Just Eat. The same order through your own site using Takely Ordering costs roughly £1.91 all-in (4% flat = £1.20, plus approximately 2% card fees = £0.71). The difference is £2.29 — per order, from a customer who already knew your name.
Multiply that across your regulars over a month and the number becomes uncomfortable quickly.
For delivery, the apps make more sense — the logistics are real, the reach is real. But collection orders intercepted by a marketplace are dead margin. That customer was already coming to you. You paid for their loyalty with commission you didn't need to spend.
The Brand SERP: Why It Matters More Than You Think
"Brand SERP" is the results page when someone searches your name. These searchers have high intent — they're not comparing options, they've already decided. Losing this traffic to a third party is one of the most costly invisible leaks in your business.
A strong brand SERP for a takeaway looks like this:
- Your own website — first organic result
- Your Google Business Profile — panel on the right with reviews, hours, click-to-call
- Your social media pages (Facebook, Instagram)
- Press mentions or local food guides
- Marketplace listings — useful for discovery, not for stealing regulars
Right now, many takeaway owners have the marketplace at position one and their own website nowhere visible. Flipping that order is the goal.
The Takeback Plan: Five Steps to Own Your Brand Search
You can't out-authorise Just Eat overnight. But you can close the gap fast on the signals that matter most for local search.
| Step | What to do | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Real website | A proper indexed site, not a Facebook page or link-in-bio | Gives Google a result to rank for your name |
| 2. Schema markup | Menu items, prices, opening hours as structured data — not a PDF | Rich results, better crawlability, matches marketplace quality |
| 3. Google Business Profile | Claim it, fill every field, add photos, link to your site | Controls the knowledge panel on branded searches |
| 4. Consistent NAP | Same Name, Address, Phone on every directory (Yell, Yelp, Apple Maps, TripAdvisor) | Reinforces trust signals and local authority |
| 5. Fresh reviews | Ask every happy customer — by receipt, QR code, verbal ask | GBP reviews directly influence local pack ranking |
These five steps work together. A fast, well-structured website combined with a fully optimised Google Business Profile and clean data across directories is the formula. It won't happen in 48 hours, but it's measurable within weeks.
If you don't have a website yet, or your current one is a PDF menu buried on a slow page, that's the first thing to fix. You can see what's included in our Growth package — it covers all five steps above, built in seven days.
Schema Markup: The Bit Most Websites Skip
Schema markup is invisible code that tells search engines exactly what your page contains. Just Eat's listing for your shop has it. Your website probably doesn't.
For a takeaway, the most valuable schema types are:
- Restaurant schema — your name, cuisine type, address, opening hours, price range
- Menu schema — individual dishes, descriptions, prices, dietary flags
- LocalBusiness schema — phone, URL, area served
- Review/AggregateRating schema — pulls your star rating into search results
When Google can read your menu as structured data, it can surface your dishes in rich results — the kind that show a photo, price, and dish name directly in the search results page. Marketplace pages do this automatically. Your site should too.
This is one of the main reasons a real website beats a PDF menu — a PDF is invisible to search engines, full stop.
Reviews: The Local Rank Signal You Control
Google's local ranking algorithm weighs reviews heavily — not just the score, but the volume and recency. A shop with 200 reviews from the last 12 months will beat a shop with 40 reviews from 2022, even if both average 4.5 stars.
The right way to build reviews is simple: ask every satisfied customer. Print a QR code on receipts that links directly to your Google review page. Stick one on the counter. Mention it verbally. That's it.
What you must not do: buy reviews, post fake ones, or only ask customers you know will leave five stars (that's review gating, which breaches DMCC rules). Google's own guidance is clear — authentic reviews from real customers, asked fairly.
Just Eat reviews improve their ranking for your shop name. Your GBP reviews improve yours. You own the GBP. You don't own the Just Eat listing.
NAP Consistency: Boring But Critical
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. Google cross-references your business details across dozens of directories. If your name is "Spice Garden" on Google but "The Spice Garden" on Yell and "Spice Garden Takeaway" on TripAdvisor, those inconsistencies dilute your local authority.
Audit the big ones: Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp, Yell, Facebook, TripAdvisor. Make sure the name, address, and phone number match exactly — same punctuation, same format. It's a two-hour job that strengthens every other signal you're building.
If your shop has moved or changed number in the last few years, this is especially worth doing. Old incorrect listings actively harm your rankings. If you're not showing up on Google at all, inconsistent NAP is often the culprit.
How Long Until You See Results?
Honest answer: local SEO is not instant. Google's own guidance acknowledges that local ranking changes can take weeks to months to fully reflect. But you can see movement faster than most people expect, especially if you're starting from zero.
| Action | Typical timeline to see movement |
|---|---|
| Claim and complete Google Business Profile | 1–2 weeks |
| Launch a schema-marked website | 2–6 weeks for indexing and ranking signals to build |
| Fix NAP inconsistencies across directories | 4–8 weeks |
| Build review volume (10+ new reviews) | Ongoing — compound effect over months |
| Own position one for your brand name | Typically 2–4 months from a standing start |
The Starter package (£499 + £49/mo) gets a real indexed site with schema live in seven days, which starts the clock. The Growth package (£999 + £79/mo) adds the locally-targeted landing pages and review engine that accelerate the process — and wires in your existing ordering system so you're capturing orders directly the moment the traffic shifts.
When collection ordering through your own site is ready, you can also join the Takely Ordering waitlist to capture that direct traffic at 4% flat instead of 14%.
Just Eat will always have strong domain authority. But for searches of your own name in your own town, a well-built local website with the right signals should rank alongside or above their listing — not a guarantee, but built to get you there. See how commission rates compare to understand what you're currently giving away.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Just Eat appear above my own restaurant on Google?
Just Eat has far higher domain authority than most independent takeaway websites, plus perfectly structured menu data and fast-loading pages — signals Google rewards. Their listing is better optimised than most takeaway sites, so Google ranks it higher. The fix: a real website with schema markup, a complete Google Business Profile, and consistent business details across all directories.
Can I get Google to remove Just Eat's listing for my restaurant?
No — Just Eat's listing is legitimate and Google won't remove it. The goal isn't removal; it's making your own website and Google Business Profile strong enough to rank above it for searches of your name. Focus on building your own presence rather than trying to remove theirs.
How important is Google Business Profile for takeaways?
Very. Your GBP controls the knowledge panel that appears when someone searches your name — showing your phone number, hours, photos, reviews, and a direct link to your site. It's often the first thing a customer interacts with. An incomplete or unclaimed GBP is one of the biggest missed opportunities for local visibility.
Does having more Google reviews help me rank above Just Eat?
Reviews are a significant local ranking factor. More recent, genuine reviews improve your Google Business Profile ranking in the local pack. They won't single-handedly beat Just Eat's domain authority in organic results, but combined with a proper website and consistent NAP data, they form a crucial part of the takeback strategy.
What is schema markup and does my takeaway website need it?
Schema markup is invisible code that tells Google exactly what your page contains — dishes, prices, opening hours, location. Just Eat uses it on every listing. Without it, your menu is a PDF Google can't read. A site with proper schema can qualify for rich results — showing dish names and prices in Google search itself — the same visibility advantage the apps have.
How long does it take to rank above Just Eat for my own shop name?
Typically two to four months from a standing start — building a schema-marked website, completing your Google Business Profile, fixing NAP consistency, and growing review volume. Google's own guidance notes local ranking changes take weeks to months. No overnight fixes, but the steps are clear and the results compound.
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