Why the search result is the right place
Most people searching for a shop nearby are searching because they need it today, or now. The intent is already there, and the only thing between you and them is an easy way to take a time.
Without the button, their one option is to call. A call depends on you being free to answer, on the shop not being busy, and on the line not being engaged. And if nobody answers, they are already looking at a screen with three other shops offering the same thing.
The button puts your booking page on that same screen, next to Call and Directions. It does not move them to an app or ask them to sign up. They tap, see your open times, and type a name and a number.
The Google profile is yours, and it is free
A Google Business Profile is something you own. It does not belong to us or to any booking system. It is what makes your shop appear on Maps and in search with its photos, hours and reviews, and it costs nothing.
That matters in practice. If you change booking systems in a year, you open the profile, swap the link, and you are done. Your photos, reviews and address stay with you, because the profile was in your name from the start.
What a booking system provides is the link itself and a clear place to put it. In WGTK, the "Your link on Google" page in the dashboard holds your link with a copy button, draws the screens as you will see them in the app, and has a button that sends the steps on WhatsApp if someone else manages your profile.
You already have a profile: the steps
You need three things: your phone, the Google Maps app, and the same Google account the profile is registered under. Signed in with another account you will not even find the edit button, and that is where most people get stuck.
Copy your booking link first, then follow the order exactly:
If someone else manages your Google profile, a marketer or a relative who set it up for you, send them the steps and the link instead of creating a new profile. Two profiles for one shop splits your reviews in half, and merging them means writing to Google and waiting.
- Open the Google Maps app with the account the profile is registered under
- Search for your business name and tap "Edit profile"
- Go to "Contact"
- Choose "Appointment links"
- Tap "Add link" and paste your booking link
- Save
No profile yet: claim it or create it
Search for your business name first. More often than not the shop is already on the map because a customer added it, which means you claim it rather than create it.
If it appears, tap "Claim this business". If it does not, create it with the name, address and mobile number, and keep the details identical to your shopfront sign and your commercial registration, because differences make verification harder.
Google will usually ask you to verify with a short video from your phone: the shopfront, the sign and the inside, sometimes something showing you work there. Approval takes a few days, and then you come back to the steps above.
No booking system can do this part for you. It is a relationship directly between you and Google, and all we do is prepare the link and show you where it goes.
When the button appears, and what to do if it does not
Usually within a day of saving, because Google reviews the link before showing it to people. Sometimes it is quicker, and sometimes it takes a little longer.
If a day passes and nothing shows, open the profile again and check two things: that the link really is saved under Appointment links, and that you saved it with the same account the profile is registered under. Then check that the link opens a working booking page, because a closed page will not serve as an appointment link.
And test from someone else’s phone. Your own screen shows you the management tools, and the layout differs between phone and desktop and between search and Maps, so what you see is not necessarily what a customer sees.
The button is live. What makes someone tap it?
The button does not work on its own. People decide in seconds while scrolling the results, and the decision comes from three things before the button: photos, hours and reviews.
Photos: real pictures of the shop from your phone serve you better than stock images, and people can tell the difference. Hours: wrong hours make your shop show as closed while you are open, and that alone sends customers elsewhere without you ever knowing. Update them for Ramadan and for holidays.
Reviews: ask this week’s customers, close to their visit, because people forget. In WGTK the "Ask for a Google review" card sits on the same page and sends the request from your WhatsApp in one tap per customer, without opening your contacts to hunt for the number.
In short
The button is free, it takes two minutes if your profile is ready, and a few days if you still need to claim it. Its effect shows in the order of things more than in the description: it lets the person who just found you book before they close the screen. Sort out your photos and hours first, so the button lands on a profile worth tapping.
Quick questions
The button opens your booking page, so the booking comes straight to you and the slot closes on your side, like any booking from your link. Google only shows the button.
The website link sends a visitor to your home page to find their own way, while the appointment link opens the booking page directly. You can use both, each in its own field.
Yes, and it has nothing to do with the number of reviews. Add it from day one, because those first customers are the ones who will write your first reviews.