Open your Business Profile on Google Search, choose Booking, then Add link. Paste the address of your online booking page and choose Save. In Google Maps, it's Edit profile, then Booking. If there's more than one booking link, set yours as the preferred link so it shows first.
The rest of this guide walks through each step and what to check afterwards.
Why put a booking link on Google
Customers who find you on Google are often on their phone and in a hurry. If the only way to reach you is Call, and you're under a car or up a ladder, they try the next listing.
A booking link adds a Book button to your profile. The customer taps it, picks a service and a time or asks for a quote, and the job is on your list before you've put the tools down.
What you need first
A verified Business Profile. If yours isn't verified yet, do that first. Only the owner or a manager of the profile can add links.
A booking page that works on a phone. The link should open a page where the customer can choose what they need and book a time or ask for a quote, not a contact form that says "we'll call you back".
Add the link on Google Search
Sign in to the Google account that manages your profile, then search Google for your business's name.
In your profile's controls, choose Booking.
Choose Add link, or Add another link if there's one already.
Paste your booking page's address and choose Save.
Add the link in Google Maps
Open your Business Profile in Google Maps.
Choose Edit profile, then Booking.
Choose Add link, paste your booking page's address, and choose Save.
Make your link the one that shows first
Booking providers can add their own links to your profile, and Google lets a profile hold up to 10 booking links. When there's more than one, choose which shows first:
On your profile, choose Booking.
Choose Set preferred link.
Pick your link and choose Save. It shows as Business preferred.
If a provider's link is there and you don't use them, ask the provider to take it off. Google says they must do it within 5 days.
A booking link or Google's Book online: what's the difference
Booking link
Book online through a provider
How it works
The Book button opens your booking page
Google's Book online button opens your provider's booking, with your services and free times
Who sets it up
You, in a few minutes
A booking provider Google works with
Cost
Free
The provider might charge you
How long it takes
Can take a while to show
Up to a week, Google says
To sign up with a provider, go to your profile, choose Bookings, then Get started, and pick one from Google's list for your country.
TapBook works with Reserve with Google. Customers tap Book online on your profile, pick a service and a time, and they're booked without visiting your website. The booking lands in your TapBook inbox marked Google.
A booking link is still worth adding today: it gives you a Book button straight away, and it works with any booking page.
Check it works
Search for your business on your phone, as a customer would, and tap Book.
Make a test booking, then cancel it.
Changes can take a while to show. If the button isn't there after a day, open Booking again and check the link saved.
No. Adding links to your Business Profile is free. If you sign up with a booking provider through Google instead, the provider might charge you, so check with them.
How many booking links can I add?
Up to 10. With more than one, set your own as the preferred link so it shows first, marked Business preferred.
Why is someone else’s booking link on my profile?
Booking providers can add links to your profile on their own. Set yours as the preferred link. To have a provider’s link taken off, ask that provider: Google says they must remove it within 5 days.
Will the link replace my website link?
No. Booking is its own button. Keep your website link as it is.
Go to your Business Profile, choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and choose Copy to copy your review link. On a computer, the same screen shows a QR code: right-click it and choose Save image as to download it. Anyone who opens the link or scans the code goes straight to the form to review your business.
Get your review link
Sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile.
Open your profile. Searching Google for your business's name while signed in works, or go to business.google.com.
Choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
Choose Copy. The link is now on your clipboard, ready to paste into a text, an email or your website.
Save it somewhere you'll find it again, like a note on your phone or your text templates.
Make a QR code
Google makes the QR code for you, but only on a computer. Google says: "Currently, reviews QR codes can only be generated on a computer browser, not on mobile devices" (Google).
On a computer, open your profile and choose Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
Right-click the QR code and choose Save image as.
Print it at a size that scans from arm's length: a business card or bigger.
Where to use them
Google suggests receipts, thank-you emails, messages to customers and a printed QR code where customers can see it. For a trade business, the places that work:
A text after the job. The link is one tap on a phone. This gets far more reviews than anything printed. Our text templates are ready to copy.
Your invoice and receipt emails. Add the link under your sign-off.
The counter. For a workshop or a shop front, a QR code at the front desk catches customers while they pay.
The back of your business card or job sheet. A QR code on anything you leave behind.
Your van. A QR code on the back door works while you're parked outside a job.
Before you share it
Customers need a Google account to leave a review, Google says. Most Android users are signed in already. Some iPhone users will be asked to sign in.
Test it. Open the link on your phone in a private window and check it lands on your business, not a different listing.
Ask everyone. Don't hand the QR code only to customers you think are happy. Google's policy doesn't allow picking who gets asked. See what Google and the ACCC don't allow.
Offer nothing for it. No discount for showing a review at the counter.
Keep the link in one place
A review link only gets reviews when it's sent. The owners who get the most reviews send it after every job, without thinking about it.
TapBook keeps your review link with each location and sends it for you, by text and email, when you mark a job complete. See how it works.
Questions
Can I make the review QR code on my phone?
Not at the moment. Google says review QR codes can only be made in a browser on a computer. You can copy the review link on a phone.
Does the customer need a Google account?
Yes. Google says customers must be signed in to a Google account to leave a review.
Does my review link change?
Copy it once from Read reviews, then Get more reviews, and test it on your phone. If you ever change which profile you manage, copy it again.
Ask every customer, the same day the job is done, with a short text that includes your Google review link. Make it one tap: the link opens the review form. Ask everyone, not just the happy ones, and never offer a discount or a gift for a review. Google bans both, and they put your profile at risk.
Why reviews matter for a trade business
Google says the number of reviews you have and your rating help decide where you show in local results: "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking" (Google). Customers read them too. A plumber with 80 recent reviews looks safer to call than one with 6 from three years ago.
There's no shortcut. Google says there's no way to pay for a better local ranking, so reviews are earned one job at a time.
When to ask
Straight after the job, while the customer is still pleased the hot water's back on. A day later they've moved on.
By text. Most customers read a text within minutes. An email can sit unopened.
Once. One polite ask, maybe one reminder. More than that feels like pressure.
What to send: text templates
Keep it short, use their name, and put the link last so it's easy to tap.
Hi Jo, thanks for choosing JAX Tyres & Auto today. If you have a minute, a Google review would help us a lot: [your review link]
Hi Sam, glad we could sort the switchboard this morning. Would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It helps other locals find us: [your review link]
Hi Priya, thanks again for having us out. If you were happy with the job, we'd love a Google review. If anything wasn't right, reply here and we'll fix it: [your review link]
The third one does both jobs: it asks for a review, and it gives an unhappy customer a way to tell you first. It still goes to everyone, which keeps it inside Google's rules.
Where to get your review link
Your review link comes from your Business Profile: Read reviews, then Get more reviews, then Copy. On a computer you can also save a QR code there. The full steps are in How to find your Google review link and make a QR code.
What Google and the ACCC don't allow
Google's policy lists what counts as manipulating reviews (Google). For a trade business, the ones to watch:
No incentives. No discounts, freebies or entry into a draw for a review.
No review gating. You can't ask only the customers you think liked the job.
No reviews from staff or family. Google treats them as a conflict of interest.
No pressure or scripts. Don't stand over customers while they write one, and don't tell them what to say.
Break these and Google can stop new reviews on your profile for a while, hide existing ones, or show a warning to customers that fake reviews were removed (Google).
The ACCC is just as clear. Fake reviews are against the law, and so are reviews from family or staff that don't say who wrote them (ACCC). ServiceSeeking, a tradie quote site, was penalised $600,000 for letting businesses draft their own reviews.
The ACCC allows some incentives if they're disclosed and offered whatever the review says. Google doesn't allow any, so the safe rule is simple: offer nothing.
Make it a habit, not a campaign
A burst of 30 reviews in a week, then nothing, looks odd to customers and to Google, which watches for unusual patterns. Steady beats sudden:
Ask after every finished job.
Use the same short text each time, with the customer's name.
TapBook sends the text for you. When you mark a job complete, the customer gets a short review request by text and email, with your review link. It goes to every customer, never more than once in 90 days, and never after they've opted out. See how it works.
Questions
Can I offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Google's policy bans incentives of any kind for reviews, including discounts, gifts and free services. The ACCC allows some disclosed incentives, but Google doesn't, so offer nothing.
Can I ask only my happy customers?
No. Google doesn't allow asking only the customers you expect to leave good reviews. Ask everyone, and give unhappy customers a way to tell you directly.
Can my staff or family leave reviews?
No. Google treats reviews from current or former staff and family as a conflict of interest, and the ACCC says undisclosed reviews like these can mislead customers.