What Is Google Reserve Integration and How Does It Work?
One of the most proven ways to increase business and provide a five star experience for your customer is by being there when a customer needs you. And even though you can’t be available 24/7, you can essentially be open for business if you provide your customers with the ability to schedule appointments with you online.
Housecall Pro already provides the functionality to add online booking to your website, Facebook page, and other social media channels. Now we have integrated with Google so that you can capture the customers who come across your company when searching for Pros online. This feature is called Reserve with Google.
You earned those customers! This integration ensures they can easily schedule with you when they come across your Google Business Profile rather than continuing their search.
Difference Between Reserve with Google and Google Local Services Ads
There are two ways customers can find and book you on Google, and both are now integrated with Housecall Pro.
Reserve with Google is:
A completely free feature that -
Naturally captures the customers searching for your services,
Links to your Google Business Profile,
And invites them to schedule an appointment with you directly.
Google Local Services Ads requires you to:
Sign up and become Google Guaranteed,
Put a credit card on file,
And pay fees for phone call, messaging, and booking leads that come through Local Services Ads.
Enabling the Integration
The Reserve with Google integration should connect automatically if:
You have New Online Booking
You have a Google Business Profile
The following information matches between Housecall Pro and Google exactly
Business name
Business phone
Business address
Reserve with Google will not connect if the business name, phone number, and business address are not an exact match. For example:
The business name ABC Plumbing & HVAC on HCP listed under 'Business Information' on the 'Company Profile' page under Account Settings
Does NOT match
the Google business listing 'ABC Plumbing and HVAC'
This is because "and" and "&" are different.
To verify your business information on your HCP account matches your business information on Google, access your Account Settings on your HCP Account by finding and clicking on the gear icon in the upper-right-hand corner of your Dashboard. On the left-hand side of the Settings screen, find and click 'Company Profile' You can verify the information on your HCP account matches Google by viewing the Business name, Address, and Business phone sections under 'Business Information'
Please note: If you have an older version of Online Booking, you will need to update to the New Online Booking.
Troubleshooting
Check out this help article for more tips on what to do if you want Reserve with Google, but it's either not connecting automatically or you do not have a Google Business Profile yet.
Disabling the Integration
While it will default to activated if you have done all of the above, you can easily disable the integration.
To remove the "Book Online" button from your Google Business Profile:
First, navigate to your Housecall Pro settings page by clicking the gear icon in the upper-right-hand corner of the main navigation bar at the top of your Housecall Pro account. Next, click "Online booking" in the left tab. Then, click the "Reserve with Google" option. Next, find the toggle "Show 'Book Online' in Google Search and Maps" and click the toggle to turn it off.
Note: It can take up to 24 hours to reflect your changes