A restaurant marketing agency costs whatever the agreed work costs under the pricing model you sign. We do not publish Jay Street prices, and a fee from another restaurant is a weak guide for yours. In a 2022 Association of National Advertisers survey, 82 percent of respondents used a fee in at least one agency agreement, up from 68 percent in 2016.
Published November 2, 2026 · Updated November 2, 2026
Labor-based fees were still the most common form in that study. Smaller advertisers were much more likely to use one, at 76 percent. A fixed or output-based fee pays for a named set of work. The respondents were national advertisers, not independent restaurants.
Four ways a proposal can price the work
ANA, Trends in Agency Compensation, December 13, 2022.
Ask which line is in the proposal. Incentive use fell to 41 percent in the 2022 report, from 61 percent in 2013, and most respondents said they do not know whether it improves the work. Our vetting guide is the shortlist version.
How much restaurant marketing costs depends on which lines you add up. A retainer pays for the partner's labor. Photos, pages, and tools sit outside it. Google says there is no way to pay for a better local ranking, so a Google Ads investment does not buy the free Maps pin. The jobs are in the services guide. Staff versus a partner is in the in-house guide.
Keep the lines separate
A percent of media is still a fee model. Ask what the percent is calculated on.
A shared fee drifts toward the room that already gets the searches. Give each address its own line, as the multi-location guide does. Apply the same test on our restaurant marketing agency page.
We do not publish a standard term. Name the first period, whether it renews, and how many days of notice end it. The restaurant should keep admin on the ad accounts and the profiles. Google says the client account owns its data, and an admin can unlink a manager. If the agency created the account, move ownership before the first invoice. Exit questions are in leaving your restaurant marketing agency. Identity work is in the branding guide. Partner types start in the partner-selection guide.
There is no public number that fits one dining room. Write the jobs, then ask which pricing model pays for them. Keep the partner fee, the media investment, and production on separate lines so a proposal from another city is not your budget.
A retainer usually pays for ongoing labor, such as weekly search changes and a monthly read of reservations. A project fee pays for a named set of deliverables. The ANA survey treats those as different fee methods. Ask which hours or outputs the line includes.
A percent of media can reward a larger Google Ads investment even when the extra dollars do not bring reservations. If a proposal uses that model, ask what the percent is calculated on and what happens when you pause a campaign.
Name the first term, how it renews, and how many days of notice end it. Say who keeps the ad accounts, the profiles, the photos, and the reports. A short notice window is a problem if moving admin access takes longer than that window.
Bring the jobs you need and the lines you already pay. If you want to partner with us, request an introduction. Scope and any fee stay in that conversation.
Published by Jay Street Media. Cited figures come from the sources. This page does not publish a Jay Street price.