What is Reserve with Google, and how does a business get listed?

What is Reserve with Google?

Reserve with Google lets a customer start a booking from Google Search or Maps. Google's current help says the service is available only in certain countries and regions for businesses that work with a supported scheduling provider. Some bookings can be completed on Google's platform. Appointments Redirect sends the customer to the provider's landing page instead. The Google Business Profile hub explains the profile that supplies the business information behind these local actions.

Which booking path applies to a business?

The right booking path depends on whether the business wants a Reserve with Google integration, a link to its own booking page, or paid advertising. These routes can produce similar booking actions on Google, but they are not interchangeable.

How does a business connect a booking provider?

Google's provider setup instructions give a five-step path from the business's Google Business Profile to a supported booking provider:

1. Open the Business Profile.
2. Select Bookings.
3. Select Get started to begin provider setup.
4. Select the provider.
5. Select Done.

Google says the provider appears on the Business Profile within a week. Google also tells the business that its provider might charge it when a booking is made through Google, so the provider's terms still matter after the connection is complete.

If the preferred provider is not listed, Google says a business can use Reserve with Google to find providers available in its country. A selected provider is not the only route: the business can add its own booking link as described below.

Can a business add its own booking link instead?

Yes. A business can use its own booking or reservation URL as a Business Profile link instead of connecting a listed provider. A custom link is not a Reserve with Google provider integration. In Google Search, select Booking. In Google Maps, select Edit profile and the transaction type. Then select Add link, enter the URL, and select Save. Google's local-business-links guidance says a profile can have up to 10 links per category, and one can be placed at the top as Business preferred. Google Local Services Ads hub covers the separate paid-ad route, while the Google Business Profile hub covers the listing itself.

Google says performance data is not available for custom links. Use the link path when the goal is to send customers to a booking page, not when the goal is to get Google's provider reporting.

Why can a booking link appear automatically on Google?

Google works with select third-party providers whose links lead to the provider's website. Customers can use those links to place an order, make an appointment, or make a reservation. Google says some service links can appear automatically on Search and Maps through third-party partners or Google's automated data. If a provider link is wrong, Google says the provider must remove the specific link within 5 days of a removal request. If the provider does not process the request, Google tells the business to report a violation.

What is the difference between Reserve with Google and Actions Center?

Reserve with Google describes the customer-facing booking surface. Actions Center is Google's integration framework for booking partners. Google's integration guide separates Appointments, which supports local service providers, from Dining Reservations, which supports restaurant reservations and waitlists. In the Appointments Redirect flow, a customer discovers a merchant on Search or Maps and then goes to the appointment provider's landing page to complete the booking.

An appointment provider or other integration partner follows a separate onboarding path. Google says the partner should:

1. Review merchant and service eligibility and the policy documentation.
2. Read the Appointments Redirect integration overview.
3. Complete the partner interest form or work with a Google Business Development contact.

That partner-side process is different from a local business selecting Bookings or adding a Business Profile link.

What businesses and services qualify for Appointments Redirect?

Google's Appointments Redirect policies require the merchant to match a business in Google's Maps database. The match can include the business name and, when applicable, the address, phone number, and website. Services must be bookable by the general public and cannot require a membership or belonging to an organization. Google also requires service names to state what the customer is booking and service descriptions to describe it accurately.

Google's current category table gives these examples. The table is not exhaustive and Google says it is updated periodically.

Google says promotional content, URLs, email addresses, phone numbers, and payment methods are not allowed in the service name or description. Keep the booking label about the service itself.

Google lists the United States as a supported country for Appointments Redirect. Google says both the category table and country table can change, and country-specific requirements may apply before planning payments.

Is Reserve with Google the same as Local Services Ads?

No. Reserve with Google is a booking route. Google Local Services Ads is a paid advertising flow: Google asks for business hours, service area, and services offered to create the profile used for the ad, and says the business pays when a customer gets in touch from the ad. Google also says an Appointments Redirect merchant can enable a Book button on the Ads surface with the same action link when the merchant already has a Google Ads account connected to a Google Business Profile. That Ads option is an additional capability, not the definition of Reserve with Google.