Getting catering orders costs hours first and ad dollars second. The hours go to calling offices, answering inquiries quickly and building a menu people can order from without a phone call. The dollars only matter if you buy clicks, and advertisers pay up to $12.54 for a single top-of-page click on terms in this space. A click is not an order. Most catering buyers want a quote, a date and a reply, so a click that never turns into a conversation is money gone. Keep that number in mind through the rest of this page.
Why the hours matter more than the budget
Catering is booked by a person with a deadline: an office manager planning a lunch, a parent planning a party, a coordinator planning a conference. They rarely browse. They ask a friend, check a few Google listings and message whoever looks easiest to hire. Your edge is usually how fast and clearly you answer, not how loudly you advertise.
A small search with a pricey auction
About 50 searches a month are spread across the whole cluster, and 17 distinct phrasings were merged into it. Demand also swings. The phrase itself reached 90 a month in May 2026 and fell to 10 in September 2025. Note too that many of these searches come from owners asking how to find orders, not from buyers looking to hire a caterer. Paid search on this topic is a narrow, expensive channel, and you should not build your plan on it.
Start with people who have already eaten your food
Your best leads are past customers, regulars and anyone who has praised your food. Message them with a short offer: you cater, here is the menu, here is how to ask for a quote. Ask a few who work at larger companies whether they handle lunch orders and who you should talk to. One warm introduction usually beats a month of cold outreach.
Make the ordering path obvious
Put a catering page on your site and your Google profile. Show sample menus, how far ahead people should book, your delivery area and a simple inquiry form. Add real photos of trays and setups. If a buyer has to guess whether you cater at all, they will move on to someone who says so plainly.
Channels, ranked by effort and cost
| Channel | Cost in hours | Cost in dollars | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past customers and referrals | Low | None | Repeat office and family orders |
| Google profile and reviews | Moderate | None | Buyers comparing local options |
| Direct outreach to offices and planners | High | Low | Recurring weekday lunch orders |
| Event and venue partnerships | Moderate | Low | Weddings, parties, corporate events |
| Paid search ads | Moderate | Highest | Buyers searching right now |
Reviews carry a lot of weight in this business, because a stranger is trusting you with their guests. If yours are thin, see our guide on [how to get customer reviews without awkward asks](/guides/how-to-get-customer-reviews) before you spend anything on ads.
If you test paid ads, keep it small
Run ads only after your catering page and response routine work. Limit them to your delivery area and to buyer phrases, such as catering for a type of event or office lunch catering near you. Exclude job seekers and recipe searches. Set a weekly cap you can afford to lose, and run the test for a fixed stretch before judging it.
Count orders, not clicks
Track the number of inquiries, quotes sent, orders booked and the revenue from each. Make sure phone calls and form submissions are recorded, because many catering leads call. A short tracking check up front tells you whether your numbers are real. Without it, you cannot tell a good ad from a bad one.
Your plan for this week
Write the catering page, message your best past customers, tidy your Google profile and set up a way to log every inquiry. Do those four before any ad money moves. If the leads come in and you want help sharpening paid campaigns or checking that your tracking is accurate, an outside specialist can take that on. It is an option, not a requirement.