Google Business Profile for a salon: map and booking button
Type "manicure Kraków Podgórze" into Google and it shows a map with three salons before it shows anything else. Whoever is in those three gets the clients who know no names and do not scroll further. Whoever has no profile, or an unverified one, does not exist for that search, however good their Instagram reviews.
A Google Business Profile is free and takes an evening to set up. Three things are harder: passing verification, filling the profile in so Google understands what you do, and making sure the person who found you can book without a phone call. This article walks through all of it in order, with one honest caveat: the native "Book" button in Google goes only to Google's partners, and Slotsy is not one. With us, your own link leads there, and we will show how to add it and how to count what it brings.
We checked Google's rules on 26 September 2026 in the Business Profile Help Center: local ranking factors, verification, categories, services, bookings through a provider and booking links, plus the Reserve with Google help. Slotsy is described as in the help centre.
Short answer. Google orders local results by three factors: relevance, distance and prominence, and states plainly that "there's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking". You create the profile free at business.google.com and verify it: phone or SMS, email, a live video call, a video recording or a postcard (the code arrives within 14 days, valid for 30); reviews of a submission take up to 5 business days. You pick a specific category ("Nail salon", not "Salon"), add services with prices and the same hours as on your booking page. The booking button has two routes: a provider from Reserve with Google (Google's partners only, Booksy among them) or your own link: Google accepts up to 10 and shows them on the profile within a week. A Slotsy link with UTM parameters shows you in the panel how many bookings came from Google.
Start with the page the link will lead to: create a Free account; you enter services, hours and photos once and use them in both places.
Three things that decide whether you are seen
Google describes local ranking in three words. They are worth knowing, because they say what you control and what you do not.
| Factor | What Google means | What you control |
|---|---|---|
| Relevance | how well the profile matches what someone is searching for | category, list of services, description, service names as people search for them |
| Distance | how far the business is from the person searching | only the address; it cannot be "moved closer" |
| Prominence | how well known the business is: reviews, mentions, links | number and freshness of reviews, replies to them, the site the profile links to |
The conclusion is simple: a complete profile with the right category and live reviews beats an empty profile of a salon that is closer. Position cannot be bought; Google ads are a separate product and a separate article.
Step 1: create the profile or claim the existing one
- Go to business.google.com and type the salon's name. If a profile already exists (Google creates them from maps and public data), you will see it and choose Manage this profile; if not, Add business.
- Name: as on the sign and in CEIDG, without additions like "best manicure Kraków". Google removes keywords from names.
- Address: if you see clients at your premises, the full address; if you travel to them, mark a service area instead of an address.
- Phone and website: in the "website" field enter your booking page if you have no other site. The booking link is added separately in step 4.
Step 2: verification
Without verification the profile does not appear in results. Google chooses the available methods itself, depending on category and history; usually it offers one or two.
| Method | What it looks like | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Phone or SMS | a code to the number on the profile; automated switchboards do not work | minutes |
| a code to the address on the profile | minutes | |
| Live video call | a Google agent asks you to show the premises from outside, the sign, equipment and tools | a scheduled slot |
| Video recording | the same, but you record it yourself and submit | review up to 5 business days |
| Postcard | the code comes by post to the profile address; do not change the address meanwhile | most codes within 14 days, valid for 30 |
For salons Google increasingly requires video. Prepare: the entrance with the sign, the interior with a workstation, products with your logo or the price list, and show that you have access to the back room. It is proof that the business really operates at that address.
Step 3: category and services
Google asks for one primary category and allows a few additional ones. The rules from Google's help:
- the primary category should be specific: "Nail salon", "Hair salon", "Beauty salon", "Pilates studio", not a generic "Salon";
- additional categories only for what you actually do; do not add a category for every service;
- services are entered separately, with a price and a description; Google suggests typical ones for the category, the rest you add as custom.
Enter service names and prices exactly as on your booking page. A client who sees "Gel manicure 150 zł" in Google and "Gel classic 160 zł" after tapping will close the page. In Slotsy the list of services with prices is in Service Management; copy it word for word.
Step 4: the "Book" button, two routes
This is the most common question and the place to be precise. Google offers two possibilities.
| A provider from Reserve with Google | Your own booking link | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can | businesses that use a Google partner; in Poland Booksy among others | any business |
| What the client sees | a blue "Book online" button, booking and payment without leaving Google | a button or link "Book an appointment" that opens your booking page |
| How to add | Profile → Bookings → Get started → choose a provider | Profile → Bookings → add your own link; up to 10 links |
| When it works | the provider shows up on the profile within a week | the link shows up within a week |
| Slotsy | no: Slotsy is not a Reserve with Google partner | yes: a link to the booking page, with UTM |
The own-link route in Slotsy, step by step:
- In the panel click Share in the header and copy the link to the whole page (not to one service: in Google the client should choose).
- In Share & Promote → Links & QR → UTM builder add to the link the source
google, the mediumprofileand a campaign name, for examplelisting. The Analytics tab will then show bookings from Google separately. Described in Share your booking page. - In the Business Profile open Bookings and paste the link as your own. Google shows it on the profile within a week.
- After a week check in Slotsy under Analytics how many bookings came from the source
google. That is the only number that says whether the profile is working.
A client from Google lands on your booking page in their language, Polish, Ukrainian or English, sees free slots, books without an account and gets a confirmation by email. One step more than the partner button; in return, no fee on a booking from Google.
Step 5: hours, photos, reviews, every week
A profile that looks abandoned loses to an active one. Three things for the routine:
- Hours the same as on the booking page, with holiday exceptions entered in advance. A client who arrives at a locked door leaves one star.
- Photos: the same as in the booking page gallery: interior, workstations, work. In Slotsy the gallery is in settings; upload the same files to Google so the client recognises the place.
- Reviews: reply to every one, the good ones too, within a few days. Ask for a review after the visit, but not in exchange for a discount: that breaks Google's rules. The link for leaving a review is in the profile and can go into a thank-you message.
- Posts: once a week a short post with a free slot or a new service and a link, to that specific service, so the booking opens straight on it.
Where Booksy is ahead
Booksy is a Reserve with Google partner: after linking the profile the "Book online" button appears in Google automatically, and the client books without leaving the map (that is how the Booksy Help Center describes it). Slotsy does not have this integration and cannot add it without Google partner status. With us a link leads from Google, which means one tap more and a page instead of a window in Maps. In return, a booking from Google costs no fee, and the Free plan has no subscription. If the button in Maps is decisive for you, work out both options: what Booksy really costs.
Five mistakes we see most often
- Keywords in the name. "Anna Nails — gel manicure Kraków Podgórze" breaks the rules; Google trims the name or suspends the profile.
- A generic category. "Salon" instead of "Nail salon" lowers relevance for every specific query.
- A link to the home page instead of booking. A client from the map wants a time, not the salon's story.
- An address instead of a service area when you travel to clients, or the reverse: an area without an address when you have premises. Verification fails.
- Silent reviews. Three reviews without replies look worse than one with a reply. Prominence is also how you talk to clients.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Google Business Profile paid? No. Creating it, verification, services, photos and the booking button are free. Only ads are paid, and they are a separate product.
Can I have the blue "Book online" button linking to Slotsy? No. Google gives that button only to businesses using a Reserve with Google partner. With Slotsy you add your own booking link; Google shows it on the profile as a button or link within a week.
How many booking links can I add? According to Google's help, up to 10 per category. In practice one is enough, to the whole booking page.
How long does verification take? Phone and email: minutes. Postcard: the code usually arrives within 14 days and is valid for 30. Google reviews a video recording within up to 5 business days.
I travel to clients and have no premises. Can I have a profile? Yes, as a service-area business without a public address. Verification is then usually by video or phone.
How do I know how many clients came from Google? From the link with UTM parameters: in Slotsy the Analytics tab under Share & Promote shows bookings by source and campaign for a week, a month or a year.
Google's rules and Slotsy's features checked 26.09.2026. If something has changed, write to us and we will correct it and show the update date.
The link you paste into Google must lead to a finished page: create a Free account, enter services with prices and hours, then come back to step 4.