Google My Business – Reserve With Google Shows Promise

Our clients have been excited about the Google My Business – Reserve With Google functionality since it released in beta last summer. The excitement is well justified, as the Google Reserve feature presents a high-exposure spot on the SERPs and Google Maps App, where brands can reach potential customers higher in the consumer path and ultimately drive conversions.

Unfortunately, for now, the functionality is not available in most verticals, so most brands are not eligible to participate. Eligibility is limited to certain verticals and the third-party booking platforms that have been approved for integration.

Google has limited the Book Now functionality mostly to brands in the Hospitality and Travel, as well as Beauty and Wellness industries.

Google has limited the approved third-party booking platforms to its initial five partners as well as 22 newly approved platforms with six more coming soon. Again, you can see that many of these booking platforms align with the Book Now-eligible verticals.

For better reference, and to keep up with Google’s expansion into new verticals and new booking platforms, Google keeps a list updated here. If you happen to be in one of the approved business verticals, you can reference this page for overview on how sign-up and setup works. If you want to check your eligibility, just log in to your GMB account and look here:

If you are eligible, the Bookings tab will show up between Photos and Website. And if not, then we wait.