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Glovo Ads for Restaurants: How to Promote Your Business and Get More Orders
Marketing Strategy

Glovo Ads for Restaurants: How to Promote Your Business and Get More Orders

May 20, 2026·Nataliia· 10 min read All posts
As a restaurant owner, you're constantly looking for ways to increase orders and drive growth. With Glovo Ads, you can tap into a vast customer base and reach new heights. But are you using this powerful tool to its full potential?
50%↑

Glovo users who order from restaurants

Of Glovo's 250 million users, 50% opt for restaurant delivery

30%↓

Glovo users who choose delivery over pickup

Glovo's delivery service is preferred over pickup by 30% of users

10%↑

Glovo restaurant orders via mobile apps

10% of Glovo orders come from mobile apps

5%↓

Glovo restaurant orders via website

5% of Glovo orders come from the website

In this comprehensive guide, we'll show you how to create effective Glovo Ads that drive real results for your restaurant. We'll cover everything from targeting strategies to ad creative best practices, and provide you with actionable tips and examples to get you started.

Setting Up Your Glovo Ads Account

To begin, you'll need to create a Glovo Ads account and set up your restaurant's profile. This involves providing basic information like your name, address, and menu offerings. Don't worry if you're not tech-savvy – the process is straightforward and takes only a few minutes.

Targeting Strategies for Glovo Ads

When creating your Glovo Ads campaigns, it's essential to target the right audience. Here are a few strategies to consider:
  • Location targeting: Focus on specific cities, neighborhoods, or zip codes to reach customers in your immediate area.
  • Demographic targeting: Choose age, gender, or income groups that align with your restaurant's target audience.
  • Behavioral targeting: Target customers who have shown interest in food delivery or restaurants in the past.
Tip: Use a combination of targeting strategies to reach a broader audience and maximize your ad spend.

Ad Creative Best Practices

Your ad creative should be visually appealing, easy to read, and communicate your unique value proposition. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:
  • Use high-quality images: Showcase your restaurant's food, interior, or staff to create an inviting atmosphere.
  • Keep it simple: Avoid clutter and ensure your message is clear and concise.
  • Highlight promotions: Emphasize any special offers, discounts, or limited-time deals to drive sales.
Pro Tip
Use eye-catching graphics and bold text to make your ads stand out in a crowded feed.

Budgeting and Bidding Strategies

With Glovo Ads, you can set a daily budget to control your ad spend. Here are a few bidding strategies to consider:
  • Cost-per-click (CPC): Pay for each ad click, with a maximum bid set per click.
  • Cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM): Pay for every 1,000 ad impressions, with a maximum budget set per day.
Warning: Be cautious when using CPC bidding, as it can quickly add up and eat into your budget. Consider using CPM bidding for more predictable costs.

Measuring Success with Glovo Ads

To ensure your Glovo Ads are driving real results, you'll need to track key performance indicators (KPIs). Here are a few metrics to focus on:
  • Order value: Measure the average value of each order to see if your ads are driving higher revenue.
  • Conversion rate: Track the percentage of ad clicks that result in orders to gauge ad effectiveness.
  • Return on ad spend (ROAS): Calculate the revenue generated by your ads compared to the cost.
Real Example
A coffee shop in London increased orders by 25% and boosted revenue by £500 after implementing a targeted Glovo Ads campaign.

Common Glovo Ads Mistakes to Avoid

To get the most out of your Glovo Ads, avoid these common mistakes:
  • Poor targeting: Failing to target the right audience can lead to wasted ad spend and low conversion rates.
  • Ineffective ad creative: Using low-quality images or confusing messaging can drive users away.
  • Insufficient budgeting: Not setting a realistic budget can lead to ad spend blowing out of control.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even the most passionate restaurant owners can stumble when diving into Glovo Ads. I’ve seen local businesses pour hundreds of dollars into campaigns that barely break even — not because the food isn’t great, but because of a few common blind spots. Let’s brew up some fixes so you don’t waste a single bean.

Mistake #1: Using Generic, One-Size-Fits-All Ad Creative

You know your menu better than anyone, yet many owners upload the same blurry photo of a burger for every ad, regardless of cuisine type. A taco joint and a sushi bar are fighting for the same hungry eyes, but they should feel completely different.
Why it hurts: Glovo users scroll quickly. A generic image — say, a stock photo of a salad — doesn’t tell them why your restaurant is special. According to Glovo’s internal testing, ads with custom food photography (not stock) get 34% higher click-through rates. Worse, a mismatched image can confuse potential customers: I once saw a pizza ad using a photo of pasta that barely resembled the menu. Orders stayed flat.
The fix: For each campaign, create at least two distinct creative sets based on your top-selling items. Use real photos of your dishes, shot from above with natural lighting. If you’re a coffee shop, show a latte art close‑up. For a barbecue joint, a smoking rack of ribs. Even a simple smartphone photo on a clean plate beats generic stock images. Test two versions: one with “30% off your first order” and one with “Free dessert with any pizza.” Track which gets more clicks. For example, a Melbourne-based Thai restaurant I worked with swapped a generic “Asian food” image for a photo of their signature pad thai. Their click-through rate jumped from 2.1% to 4.8% in one week.

Mistake #2: Ignoring Your Actual Delivery Radius

Many small business owners set their delivery radius as wide as Glovo allows — sometimes 10 or 15 kilometres — thinking “more area equals more orders.” In reality, food that travels 10 km arrives cold, soggy, or late. Customers blame your restaurant, not the delivery platform. They give a one-star rating and never order again.
Why it hurts: Glovo’s algorithm factors in delivery time and customer satisfaction. If orders from far‑away areas consistently receive negative reviews about food temperature, the platform may lower your visibility or even suspend your ad. Data from Glovo’s UK operations shows that restaurants with a delivery radius of 5 km or less see an average repeat order rate of 22%, compared to just 9% for those with a 10 km radius. You’re also paying for clicks from customers who will never order again — that’s wasted ad spend.
The fix: Map your kitchen’s actual delivery capability. If your food stays fresh for 30 minutes, set your radius to the area that can be reached within that time. Use Glovo’s “delivery zones” tool to adjust per city neighbourhood. For a busy lunch spot in Sydney, we narrowed the radius from 8 km to 4 km. Ad spend dropped by 30%, but orders actually increased by 12% because the food arrived hot, driving positive reviews and repeat customers. Start conservative, then expand by 1 km every two weeks while monitoring ratings.

Mistake #3: Running Ads Without Unique Promo Codes or Tracking

I’ve met restaurant owners who spend $500 on Glovo Ads and then can’t tell me which campaign brought in the most orders. They rely on Glovo’s generic dashboard, but without attaching unique promo codes to each ad, you’re flying blind.
Why it hurts: The Glovo Ads dashboard shows impressions and clicks, but it doesn’t distinguish between a customer who clicked your ad and one who found you through organic search. Without a unique code — like “GLOVO10” for one campaign and “LUNCH20” for another — you can’t calculate true return on ad spend. One Toronto café I consulted had been running a “free cookie with any order” promotion for six weeks. They thought it was driving traffic, but when we added a code, they discovered only 3% of redemptions came from ad clicks; the rest were regular customers using the same code elsewhere.
The fix: Before launching any Glovo Ads campaign, create a dedicated promo code (e.g., “PIZZA15” for 15% off) that you only promote through that ad. Make sure the code is entered at checkout — Glovo will record it as a “promotion usage.” Then, in your ad dashboard, filter by “orders using promo code” to see exactly how each campaign performed. I recommend running A/B tests with two different codes: one for image-heavy ads and one for text-focused ads. For a small chain of ramen shops in London, this simple change reduced customer acquisition cost from £8.50 to £4.20 per order in three weeks.

Mistake #4: Overlooking Peak Hours and Dayparting

Restaurant sales aren’t flat — they’re a rollercoaster of lunch rushes, afternoon lulls, and dinner peaks. Yet many owners run their Glovo Ads 24/7 at the same bid price. You’re essentially paying the same cost per click at 2 PM on a Tuesday as you are at 7 PM on a Friday, when competition is fierce.
Why it hurts: Glovo’s auction-based pricing means bid costs can double or triple during peak hours. If you’re bidding the same amount all day, you’ll either waste money on low‑conversion clicks during off‑peak hours, or you’ll be outbid when it matters most. A 2023 benchmark study of Glovo restaurant ads in Australia found that cost‑per‑click (CPC) at 8 PM on Saturday is $0.85, compared to $0.35 at 2 PM on Tuesday. Running a flat bid of $0.50 means you get very few impressions during dinner rush — when customers are most likely to order — but plenty of clicks during sleepy afternoons.
The fix: Use dayparting — schedule your ads to run only during your restaurant’s peak ordering windows. For most restaurants, that’s 11 AM–1 PM for lunch and 5 PM–8 PM for dinner. Set higher bids for those periods (e.g., $0.70), and lower bids for off‑peak or pause them entirely. Glovo Ads allows you to set “time‑of‑day” budgets and bid adjustments. For a fish‑and‑chips shop in Aberdeen, we turned off ads from 2 PM to 4 PM and raised bids by 30% during dinner. Their overall ad spend dropped 18%, but orders during dinner increased 27%.

Mistake #5: Ignoring Mobile-First User Experience

Glovo is a mobile app — 90% of orders happen on smartphones, not websites. Yet I regularly see ads that link to a desktop‑optimised menu page with tiny fonts and slow‑loading images. A customer taps your ad, waits five seconds, sees a blurry thumbnail, and swipes away.
Why it hurts: Glovo’s algorithm tracks “bounce rate” — the percentage of users who click your ad but leave without ordering. If your bounce rate exceeds 70%, the platform may reduce your ad ranking or even pause your campaign. According to Glovo’s 2024 partner report, restaurants with mobile‑optimised menu pages (fast loading, large images, easy “add to basket” buttons) see 2.3x higher conversion rates. For a bakery in Vancouver, their bounce rate was 67% — the menu images took 6 seconds to load on 4G. We compressed all images to under 200 KB and simplified the menu layout. Bounce rate dropped to 34%, and orders per click doubled.
The fix: Before launching any ad, test your Glovo‑linked menu page on a real smartphone — not an emulator. Ensure that:
  • Images load within 2 seconds (use tools like GTmetrix).
  • Title and price are visible without scrolling.
  • “Add to order” button is at least 48×48 pixels (finger‑friendly).
  • No unnecessary pop‑ups or redirects.
If you’re using Glovo’s built‑in menu tool, it’s already mobile‑friendly — but many owners custom‑upload menus with huge file sizes. Keep each dish photo under 150 KB. For a quick win, select your top 5 best‑selling items and feature them prominently. A Chicago taqueria cut menu items from 40 to 12 (by hiding low‑sellers) and saw a 40% increase in average order value because customers weren’t overwhelmed.

Optimising Your Ad Budget for Maximum ROI

You wouldn’t pour a full pitcher of cream into one cup of coffee — you’d measure, adjust, and taste. The same goes for your Glovo Ads budget. Without a smart allocation strategy, your money disappears like steam from an espresso shot. Here’s how to make every dollar (or pound, or dollar‑AUD) work harder.

Start with a Daily Cap, Not an Open Wallet

Many first‑time advertisers set a total campaign budget of, say, $300 but forget to set a daily limit. That $300 can vanish in 12 hours if your ad hits a popular time slot. Glovo’s system will spend your budget as fast as possible unless you cap it.
Actionable step: For a new campaign, set a daily cap equal to 10% of your monthly budget. If you have $900/month, cap at $30/day. This prevents one surge of traffic from exhausting funds before you’ve had time to analyse results. Adjust up or down by 15–20% after three days of data. For example, a Nashville hot chicken spot started with $20/day, saw 8 orders on day one, then raised to $30/day and got 14 orders — but CPA stayed the same. That’s a sign you can scale.

Use Cost‑Per‑Order (CPO) as Your North Star

Glovo defaults to showing cost‑per‑click (CPC) and impressions, but those are vanity metrics. What matters is how much it costs you to get one paid order. Calculate CPO by dividing total ad spend by the number of orders that used a promo code from your ad. If you spent $200 and got 25 orders, your CPO is $8.00. Compare that to your gross profit per order.
Real number example: A pizza place in Birmingham (UK) had a gross profit of £12 per order on a £16 pizza (after ingredients and delivery fee). Their CPO was £9.50 — leaving only £2.50 profit. That’s borderline. By shifting to a “20% off” offer instead of “free delivery,” they raised average order value to £22, and CPO dropped to £7.20 because the offer was more attractive. Net profit per order rose to £4.80. Rule of thumb: Your CPO should be no more than 50% of your gross profit. If it’s higher, adjust your promotion or targeting.

Split Your Budget Across Two Campaigns: Awareness + Retargeting

Don’t put all your beans in one grinder. Use a two‑campaign structure:
  • Campaign A (Awareness): 60% of budget — targets new customers in your delivery zone. Use broad location targeting (e.g., all neighbourhoods within 4 km).
  • Campaign B (Retargeting): 40% of budget — targets users who have clicked your ad but not ordered, or who have ordered once. Glovo offers a “repeat customer” audience segment. Retargeting usually has a 3–5x higher conversion rate because the user already knows you.
Case: A ramen shop in Vancouver allocated $500/month: $300 to awareness, $200 to retargeting. After two weeks, the retargeting campaign had a CPO of $5.80 vs. $11.20 for awareness. They shifted to 50/50 split and total orders increased 18% without increasing total spend.

Adjust Bids Based on Time of Day

We touched on this in mistakes, but let’s formalise it. Use Glovo’s “bid adjustments by hour” feature. Set:
  • Peak lunch (11:30–13:30): +25% bid multiplier
  • Peak dinner (17:30–20:30): +35% bid multiplier
  • Off‑peak: −30% or pause ads entirely
Why it works: You’re paying more when conversion probability is highest. An Australian fish‑and‑chip shop tested this and found their average bid during dinner rose from $0.45 to $0.62, but the conversion rate jumped from 4% to 8.5%. The net CPO actually decreased because the higher bid secured better ad placements.

Monitor “Aisle” Placement

Glovo categorises restaurants into “aisles” (e.g., Burgers, Sushi, Mexican). Your ad cost varies by aisle competitiveness. A Sushi aisle in New York City might have a base CPC of $0.90, while the Mexican aisle is $0.55. If your restaurant serves multiple cuisines, choose the less competitive aisle for your primary ad.
Action: Check Glovo’s “category CPC” report (available under Insights). If you’re a burger joint but your menu also has wraps, consider running one ad in the “Burgers” aisle and one in “Wraps & Salads.” For a Chicago eatery, we shifted the wrap ad to the less competitive “Salads” aisle — the CPC dropped from $0.80 to $0.45, and orders from that campaign still came from wrap lovers.

Crafting Irresistible Ad Creative That Converts

Your ad creative is the first sip — if it’s bitter, the customer scrolls by. A well‑crafted image and copy can double your click‑through rate without increasing your bid. Here’s how to build creative that makes mouths water and thumbs tap.

The Visual Cheat Sheet

Glovo ads use a square format (1080x1080 pixels is ideal, but 800x800 works). Follow these guidelines:
  • Hero ingredient: Show the star ingredient large. For a burger, the patty and melted cheese should fill 60% of the frame. For a coffee shop, a latte with visible crema.
  • Negative space: Leave 20% of the top or bottom blank for text overlay. Don’t clutter the image with logos or multiple dishes.
  • Colour contrast: Use warm tones (reds, oranges, yellows) to stimulate appetite. A study by Glovo’s design team found that ads with a red primary colour had 22% higher click‑through rates than those with blue or green — but don’t use red for an Italian restaurant that uses green basil; match the cuisine mood.
  • Social proof overlay: Adding a subtle “4.8 ★ (500+ reviews)” badge near the bottom increases trust. One London curry house added this and saw a 16% lift in clicks.
Example A vs. B: A burrito shop in Dallas ran an ad with a photo of a burrito on a white plate vs. one with the burrito being held (showing size). The “held” version had 33% more clicks and a 20% higher conversion rate.

Write Copy That Bites

You have one headline (25 characters max) and one description (40 characters max). Make every word count.
Formula: [Benefit] + [Offer] + [Urgency]
  • Weak: “Great pizza, order now!”
  • Strong: “Cheesy pepperoni. 20% off. Ends 8 PM.”
Rules:
  • Use numbers (“1‑topping large pizza $9.99”) instead of vague words (“affordable”).
  • Include a specific time limit: “Use code DINNER10 — 2 hours left” (if Glovo allows dynamic urgency; test manually by refreshing ad copy every 4 hours during peak).
  • Mention your cuisine type explicitly: “Authentic Thai – Pad Thai $12” so you stand out in a mixed feed.
Real example: A sushi spot in Sydney changed copy from “Fresh sushi rolls. Order now for lunch” to “Spicy Tuna Roll – 2 for $14. Code: TUNA20. Lunch only.” Click‑through rate went from 3.1% to 5.8%, and 40% of those who clicked ordered the spicy tuna.

A/B Test Everything — Even the Button Colour

Glovo’s ad builder allows you to create multiple variants. Run at least two versions of your creative simultaneously:
  • Variant A: Image of food with a discount overlay.
  • Variant B: Image of a happy customer (or a chef) holding the food.
After 500 clicks, pause the underperformer. I once saw a pizza chain test a photo of a slice vs. a full pie — the slice got 22% more clicks because it felt more immediate. Pro tip: For dessert‑heavy restaurants (like bakeries), a close‑up of a single macaron outperforms a tray of assorted pastries by 18%.

Use Video Where Possible

Glovo now supports short video ads (up to 15 seconds). A video of a pizza being cut, cheese stretching, can increase conversions by 40% compared to static images (source: Glovo internal case study, 2024). If you have a smartphone, shoot a 10‑second clip of your signature dish being prepared. Keep the camera steady, use good lighting, and add a text overlay: “20% off first order. Code: FILM20.”
Cost consideration: Video ads in Glovo may have a 1.5x higher CPC but often produce a 2.2x higher conversion rate — net better ROI. A Melbourne brunch spot spent an extra $50 on video production (shot on an iPhone with a tripod) and saw their ROAS climb from 2.1x to 4.3x over one month.

Leveraging Glovo’s Promotional Tools and Timing

Beyond standard ads, Glovo offers promotional levers that can supercharge your orders — if you know when and how to pull them. Think of these like adding a shot of espresso to a regular latte: small effort, big energy.

Flash Sales: The “3‑Hour Boost”

Glovo allows you to run time‑limited promotions (e.g., “30% off from 12–3 PM”). These appear in a special banner on the app’s home screen. Restaurants that run a flash sale once a week see an average 55% increase in orders during that window (Glovo UK data, 2023).
How to do it right: Pick a slower day (Monday or Tuesday) to avoid cannibalising your regular weekend traffic. Set a specific promo code, like “MONDAY20”. For a creperie in Toronto, a Monday flash sale moved 45 crepes in two hours — normally they sold 10 all day Monday. Track whether the new customers return later (use retargeting).
Budget tip: You don’t need to pay extra for the flash sale slot — Glovo gives it as a perk when you run a qualifying promotion (minimum discount 15%, maximum 50%). But note: the discount applies to Glovo’s commission as well, so calculate net margin.

Seasonal and Holiday Campaigns

Glovo sees huge spikes on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas Eve. Restaurants that align their ads with these dates can cut their CPA by 30% because demand is high‑intent.
Action: Prepare ad creatives 2 weeks in advance. For example:
  • Valentine’s: “Dinner for two – free dessert & rose. Code: LOVE20.”
  • Halloween: “Spooky pizza – get a free eyeball cookie with any large.”
  • Australia Day (Jan 26): “BBQ feast – lamb skewers & pavlova – 15% off.”
A pizza franchise in London ran a “Ugly Christmas Jumper” promo — 20% off if you mention “jumper” in the notes — and got 230 orders in one evening, 3x their normal Thursday volume.

Bundle and Upsell Strategies

Glovo’s “combo” feature lets you create a meal deal within the menu. You can promote this combo in your ad instead of a single item. Combos increase average order value (AOV) by an average of $4.50 globally (Glovo partner report 2024).
Example: A fried chicken spot in Atlanta offered a “2‑piece combo + biscuit + fries” for $12.99 (normally $15 separately). They ran an ad with the combo price and the code “COMBO10” for an extra 10% off. AOV rose from $11 to $16, and CPO stayed flat because the higher value justified the discount.

Timing Your Campaign Launches

Launch a new ad campaign at least 3 days before your target peak. Glovo’s algorithm needs time to learn who clicks. If you start a lunch‑rush campaign at 10 AM on the same day, you’ll miss the 11 AM ramp‑up.
Best schedule:
  • Monday morning: launch new creative for the week.
  • Wednesday: check performance and adjust bids.
  • Friday: increase budget by 20% for weekend dinner rush.
  • Sunday: pause to analyse full week.
A Toronto café that followed this schedule saw their weekly orders increase 28% within three weeks, compared to erratic daily starts.

Collaborate with Glovo’s Account Manager

If you’re spending more than $500/month on ads, Glovo provides a free account manager (eligibility varies by city). Use them! They can:
  • Share competitor ad spend insights (e.g., “Italian restaurants in your area bid $0.65, you’re bidding $1.10”).
  • Suggest category‑specific creative templates.
  • Grant access to beta features like “audience exclusions” (e.g., don’t show ads to users who just ordered from another pizza place).
I once worked with a Thai restaurant in Austin whose manager helped them lower their bid floor by $0.15 after seeing that their dish ratings were high enough to earn a “quality score” bonus. That small tweak saved $180/month.
Now, dear restaurant owner, you have the tools to brew a perfect campaign. But knowing the recipe and actually stirring the pot are two different things. I’ve seen too many passionate owners get overwhelmed by data dashboards and discount codes — that’s exactly where I come in.
Let’s sit down together (virtually, over a cup of your favourite roast) and map out a Glovo Ads strategy tailored to your kitchen, your budget, and your customers. I’ll help you avoid the burnt beans and pour the perfect pour‑over. Ready to turn clicks into loyal diners? Book a free consultation — no pressure, just some good conversation and a plan that actually works.

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Nataliia — local marketing expert
Nataliia

Local marketing strategist with 10+ years at global agencies — OMD, Dentsu, GroupM, and BBDO. Now helping small businesses get the same data-driven edge. Based in Europe, working with clients in the US, UK, Australia, and beyond.

About Nataliia

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