Get a 'Book' button on Google (Search and Maps)

Local search is the biggest free source of new clients a salon has: somebody types 'nails near me', sees your listing, and either has a way to book in one tap or goes to whoever does. This guide is that one tap. It takes about five minutes and costs nothing.

What you are adding

Your Google Business Profile can carry a booking link. Google shows it as a 'Book' (or 'Book online' / 'Appointments') button on your listing in Search and on Maps. The client taps it and lands on your own Slotora booking page. Google takes no commission and neither do we.

First: is your profile verified?

THIS IS THE STEP MOST PEOPLE MISS. An unverified profile has no booking field at all — the option is simply not on the screen, which reads as 'this feature does not exist'. If you have never verified, do that first: search your business name on Google while signed in, choose 'Claim this business' (or go to business.google.com), and follow the verification. It is usually a video call or a postcard, and it can take a few days.

You will know it worked when your profile shows an 'Edit profile' button when you search your own name while signed in.

Then: add the link

• Sign in to the Google account that owns the profile, then search your own business name — or open business.google.com and pick the location
• Click 'Edit profile'
• Open the 'Booking' section — depending on your account it is labelled 'Bookings', 'Appointment links' or 'Book online'
• Paste your Slotora booking link: slotora.io/b/your-name (copy it from Embed in your admin, where it is ready to copy)
• Save. The button usually appears within a few hours, sometimes immediately.

If there is no Booking section

Three usual reasons, in the order worth checking: the profile is not verified yet (see above); the business category does not support appointments — set your primary category to something like 'Beauty salon', 'Hair salon', 'Nail salon' or 'Massage therapist'; or Google has attached a booking partner to your listing from an old system, in which case the field shows their name instead of a box. In that last case use 'Remove' on the existing provider first, then add your link.

Also worth doing while you are in there

• Add your phone number, full address and opening hours — Google ranks a complete profile higher, and clients call the number on the listing
• Add photos: the profiles with recent photos get noticeably more clicks
• Grab your review link while you are there (Ask for reviews → copy the link) and paste it into Slotora under Settings — then Slotora can ask happy clients to review you where new clients are looking

What about 'Reserve with Google'?

That is the different, deeper thing: the client sees your free slots and books WITHOUT leaving Google. It needs Google to approve a booking partner, so it is not something a salon can switch on — it is something we have to build and be approved for, and we will tell you when it is available. The booking link in this guide is not a lesser version of it for your client: they still tap one button and reach a page that books them in. It just works today.

Set this once and it keeps working. Together with your Instagram bio link, it is where most online bookings for a local salon come from — see 'Take bookings from Instagram, Facebook & Google' for the social side.