Reserve with Google, explained
Most bookings start with a Google search. Reserve with Google turns your Google Business Profile into the place where those searches become bookings. This guide explains how it works, how restaurants use it differently from barbers and other service businesses, and how Rizzrv wires it into your calendar.
Works with every Rizzrv plan · No per-booking fees
What is Reserve with Google?
Reserve with Google is Google's booking programme for local businesses. It adds a booking action — “Reserve a table” for restaurants, “Book online” for appointment businesses — to your Google Business Profile, the panel customers see when they find you on Google Search or Google Maps.
Without it, your profile is a dead end: customers see your opening hours and a phone number, and booking means calling you while you're open. With it, the profile itself becomes the start of a booking — at the exact moment someone searches for “dinner near me” or “barber open on Saturday”, when their intent is highest.
Google doesn't take the bookings itself; it relies on a booking provider that knows your services and your live availability. That's the role Rizzrv plays. When a customer taps the button, they land on your Rizzrv booking page, complete the booking there, and it drops into your Rizzrv calendar like any other — with automatic confirmations, reminders and self-service cancellation. You keep the customer relationship and their contact details; nothing is locked inside Google.
How it works with Rizzrv
Four steps from sign-up to a booking button on your Google listing.
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Set up your booking page
Create your Rizzrv account and add your services with durations, prices and opening hours. This is exactly the data Google will present to customers.
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Connect your Google Business Profile
Verify your profile on Google if you haven't already, then enable the Google integration in Rizzrv. Rizzrv shares your business details — name, phone, address and services — with Google so the two sides can be matched.
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The booking button appears
Google matches the shared data against your listing and shows the booking action on Search and Maps, usually within a few days. Customers who tap it land straight on your booking page with live availability.
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Bookings land in your calendar
A Google booking behaves like any other Rizzrv booking: confirmation email, reminders and a secure cancellation link. Rizzrv also records that it came from Google, so you can see exactly how many bookings the button brings you.
How it works for restaurants
Restaurants use the dining flavour of Reserve with Google: the unit of a booking is a table for a party at a time slot, not a one-on-one appointment. Someone browsing Google Maps for a place to eat can go from finding you to booking a table in under a minute.
- The journey starts on Google: searches like “italian restaurant in Lisbon” — or a browse through Maps — surface your profile with a reserve action next to your photos, menu and reviews.
- Guests pick a party size, a date and a time. Rizzrv services like “Dinner” or “Lunch” define the duration and the party sizes you accept, so guests coming from Google can only book slots your floor can actually honour.
- A reservation blocks capacity for its time slot rather than a specific staff member — matching how a dining room actually works.
- Automatic confirmations and reminders cut the no-shows that hurt restaurants most, and cancellations arrive through a secure link instead of a phone call during Friday service.
- You pay a flat monthly price for Rizzrv. There is no fee per cover or per reservation — unlike marketplace platforms that charge for every seated guest.
How it works for barbers, salons & other services
Barbers, hair and beauty salons, nail studios, spas, massage practices, tattoo artists, personal trainers and similar businesses use the appointments flavour: the unit of a booking is a service with a duration — and usually a specific pair of hands.
- Your service menu travels to Google: each service's name, description, duration and price can appear with your listing, so customers compare and choose before they ever tap the button.
- Customers pick a service first, then a time. Durations drive the calendar, so a 30-minute trim and a two-hour colour treatment never collide.
- With staff calendars, availability reflects who is actually working — a booking blocks that staff member's time, not the whole shop.
- Appointments are typically booked days or weeks ahead, so reminders matter: Rizzrv automatically reminds customers before their visit.
- Prices shown up front mean customers know what a service costs before they book — fewer awkward conversations, fewer no-shows.
Restaurants vs. service businesses at a glance
The same button on Google, two different booking models underneath.
| What | Restaurants | Barbers, salons & studios |
|---|---|---|
| Booking action on Google | A “Reserve a table” action on your profile in Search and Maps | A “Book online” action on your profile in Search and Maps |
| What the customer chooses | Party size, date and time | A service, then date and time |
| What Google can show | Your restaurant with photos, reviews and the reserve action | Your bookable services with duration and price |
| What a booking blocks | Table capacity for the time slot | The staff member's time for the service duration |
| Typical lead time | Hours to a few days ahead | Days to weeks ahead |
| Where the booking is completed | On your Rizzrv booking page — it lands in your calendar with Google recorded as the source | On your Rizzrv booking page — it lands in your calendar with Google recorded as the source |
What you need
Reserve with Google has a few prerequisites — all of them things a local business most likely already has:
- A verified Google Business Profile for a real location (google.com/business) — the booking button is attached to the profile.
- Business details that match: Google links your profile and your booking data by name, phone number, address and website, so keep them identical in both places.
- A supported country and business category. Google rolls the programme out by market and vertical; dining and appointment categories cover most local service businesses, but availability is ultimately Google's call.
- An active Rizzrv booking page with at least one bookable service — that's where the button sends your customers.
Reserve with Google — frequently asked questions
Does Reserve with Google cost extra?
No. It works with every Rizzrv plan, and Rizzrv never charges per booking — a booking from Google costs you nothing beyond your flat monthly price. Google doesn't charge businesses for the booking button on their profile either.
Do customers book inside Google or on my page?
The booking starts on Google and finishes on your Rizzrv booking page: tapping the button opens your page with your branding and live availability. You keep the customer's contact details and the relationship — Google brings the demand, but the customer books with you.
How long does it take for the button to appear?
It isn't instant: after your data is shared with Google, the listing match and review usually take a few days. Your booking page itself works immediately, so you can share the link everywhere else in the meantime.
The button doesn't show up — what's wrong?
The most common cause is a mismatch: the name, phone number or address on your Google Business Profile differs from what's in Rizzrv, so Google can't match the two with confidence. Make them identical, ensure the profile is verified, and allow a few days for Google to re-process.
Which countries does it work in?
Google decides availability per country and business category, and expands it over time. In markets where the full programme isn't live, you can still add your Rizzrv booking link to your Google Business Profile's booking field manually — customers get the same booking page, just without the native button.
Where do Google bookings end up?
In the same Rizzrv calendar as everything else — there is no second inbox to check. Each booking is marked as coming from Google, so you can see exactly what the integration brings in.
Can customers change or cancel a Google booking?
Yes, the same way as any Rizzrv booking: every confirmation email contains a secure link where the customer can review or cancel, and your calendar updates automatically.
Do restaurants and salons need different setups in Rizzrv?
No — both run on the same account. The difference is how you define services: a restaurant creates table-service offerings like “Dinner” with durations and party sizes, while a salon creates its treatment menu with durations and prices. Rizzrv shares the right shape with Google either way.