Platform Engine Optimization (PEO): What Shops That Rank #1 Do Differently
A data-backed PEO guide. We followed 10 restaurants and grocery brands across 13 delivery and grocery platforms and stores in 4 countries, and looked at what the winners have in common.
When someone is hungry, they open Uber Eats, Grubhub, Wolt or Foodi, type what they want, and order from the first few results. The shops at the top of those results get the order. So the question that decides a lot of a restaurant's delivery sales is simple: when a customer types your dish into the app, where do you show up?
Improving that answer is platform engine optimization, or PEO. It is search engine optimization, but for the search box inside a delivery or grocery app. The words customers type there are PEO keywords.
What we tracked
We followed 10 restaurants and grocery brands in the United States, Canada, Germany and Bangladesh. Every day, for each of their keywords, we searched each platform from the shop's own address and recorded where the shop's listing appeared: 743 daily rank checks across 13 platforms and grocery stores.
Eight of the ten reached #1 on at least one platform, and the other two reached #2 and #3. Each has its own case study with charts. Here is what the winners have in common.
1. They name items the way customers search
This was the clearest pattern in the data. Il Toro E La Capra in Las Vegas has an item called simply "Veal Parmigiana", and it was #1 for that search on Uber Eats on all 17 checks. Cousin's Burger sells a "Ribeye Cheesesteak" and held #1 for "cheesesteak" on 24 of 25 checks. Curry 36 lists "Pommes frites" and was #1 for "pommes" on every check.
We looked at this pattern across six restaurants in #1 on Uber Eats: what 6 top-ranked restaurants have in common.
What to do: make sure the word a customer types is in the name of an item you sell.
2. They own their signature dish
La Vaca Birria is named after birria, and it was #1 for "birria tacos" on Grubhub on 22 of 26 checks and on Uber Eats on 23 of 24, in the Mission District, one of the most crowded taqueria neighborhoods anywhere. DeLuca's Italian Restaurant was #1 for "truffle pasta" on both Grubhub and Uber Eats. Frank's Pizza House was #1 for "calzone" on Uber Eats.
What to do: pick the dishes you are known for and make them easy for the app to find: clear names, photos and descriptions.
3. Words in item names open extra doors
Apps match on the words inside item names, sometimes generously. For "truffle pasta", Uber Eats matched DeLuca's Truffle Riceballs, and DeLuca's was #1. For "avocado toast", Uber Eats matched Beans & Brews' Turkey Havarti Avocado Croissant, and Beans & Brews held a top-10 spot. La Vaca's "Grilled Cheese Burrito" put it at #1 for "burrito" on Uber Eats on 20 of 22 checks.
What to do: describe your items in the plain words people use. Every useful word is another search you can appear in.
4. Strong ratings keep them near the top
For "meatballs" on Grubhub, a crowded search with 68 results, DeLuca's had a 4.96 rating, the best of the top three, and it was in the top 4 on every one of 24 checks, reaching #1 on six of them. Il Toro E La Capra's veal parmigiana listing carried a perfect 5.0.
What to do: ask happy customers to leave a rating inside the app, on the platform where you most want to grow.
5. Big climbs happen, and daily tracking catches them
Beans & Brews went from #39 to the top 10 for "avocado toast" on DoorDash and stayed there. Dano milk powder climbed from #7 to #1 on Pandamart and held #1 for eight checks in a row. Cousin's Burger went from #6 to #1 for "cheesesteak" on Uber Eats in a single day. We charted these in the biggest rank climbs we tracked.
What to do: track rank every day so you see the trend and know when a change you made is paying off.
6. Every platform is its own opportunity
Each app ranks with its own signals. Curry 36 was #1 for currywurst on Uber Eats and in the top 6 of 100 on Wolt. Frank's Pizza House was in the top 3 for "pizza" on Uber Eats on 10 of 13 found checks, and reached #4 of 82 on SkipTheDishes. Winning on one app is a strong base for growing on the next.
What to do: check each platform you are on, separately, and grow where you are already close to the top.
7. Grocery brands win store by store
For grocery brands, every store's search is its own ranking. Dano reached #1 for "powdered milk" on Pandamart in Dhaka, was #1 or #2 on Meenabazar for most of the period, and held a steady top 10 on Chaldal. Chobani was in the top 3 for "greek yogurt" at 11 Chicago store listings, including #2 on Amazon and Whole Foods.
What to do: check each store, and each product line, on the words shoppers use.
A PEO checklist
- List your keywords. The 10 to 20 dishes or products customers actually type, plus your signature dish.
- Name items the way people search. The search word should appear in the item name.
- Add photos and descriptions to the items behind your keywords.
- Grow ratings and reviews on each platform.
- Check every platform you are on. Separately, from your own address.
- Track daily. Judge changes by the trend, and catch the wins as they happen.
- For grocery: check each store and each product line on its own words.
Questions about PEO
What is platform engine optimization?
Platform engine optimization (PEO) is improving where your restaurant, shop or product appears in the search results inside a delivery or grocery app, such as Uber Eats, Grubhub, Wolt, Foodi, Chaldal or Pandamart. It is SEO for the search box inside the app.
What do top-ranked shops in delivery apps have in common?
In the shops we followed, the clearest pattern was item names that match what customers type: "Veal Parmigiana", "Ribeye Cheesesteak", "Pommes frites". Strong ratings and a clear signature dish showed up again and again among the #1 results.
Is PEO the same on every delivery app?
Each platform ranks with its own signals, so the same shop can hold different positions on different apps. That makes every platform its own opportunity, and it is worth checking each one separately.
How often should I check my PEO rank?
Daily if you can. Ranks move: one coffee shop went from #39 to #7 for avocado toast on DoorDash between two checks. Tracking every day shows the trend and catches the wins as they happen.
Does PEO apply to grocery brands?
Yes. Grocery PEO is store by store. A milk powder brand we followed reached #1 for powdered milk on Pandamart in Dhaka, and a yogurt brand was in the top 3 for greek yogurt at 11 Chicago store listings.