Get more online bookings: your booking link on Instagram, Google and WhatsApp

You get more online bookings by putting your Lookster booking link everywhere clients already run into you: your Instagram bio, your Google Business Profile, your WhatsApp profile, your website and a QR code on the mirror. Then you make booking a thirty-second job: clear service names, a price, a duration and guest booking without an account. This article walks through those steps one by one, with one link as the starting point.

Why don't clients book online, even though you have a booking system?

Usually because they can't find the link, or because booking takes more effort than sending a message. An online booking system only works when the route to it is shorter than the route to your phone number.

Look at your salon through a client's eyes. Someone sees your work on Instagram, wants an appointment, and then has to find your website, open a menu, locate a button and create an account. A share of people drop off at every step. They message you anyway, or they book with the salon that did have a button in its bio.

The steps below remove those hurdles. Start with the channel that already brings you the most clients.

Step 1: booking link in your Instagram bio

Instagram allows up to five websites per profile. You add them through Edit profile and then Links. Put your booking link in first position: only the first link is shown directly, the rest sit behind a button.

How to do it:

1. Open the Instagram app and go to your profile.
2. Tap Edit profile, then Links.
3. Paste your Lookster booking link and give it a title such as "Book an appointment".
4. Drag the booking link to the top position.

Also write a short line in the bio text itself, such as "Book online via the link below". Many people read the bio but miss the link button.

One link, the same everywhere. Your Lookster booking link goes in your bio, in your profile links and in your Google Business Profile. Whoever taps it lands straight on your booking page with your services, prices and the times that are genuinely free, and books as a guest without an account. Because it is one address, you can also mention it from memory at the chair and print it on a card.

Repeat the link in your content. Write "link in bio" in the caption under a photo of your work, and use the link sticker in Stories with your booking link. A story showing a free slot tomorrow afternoon plus a direct booking link usually does more than a general call to book.

Step 2: appointment link in your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile is where people find you when they search "hairdresser Enschede" or "nail salon near me". Google lets you add booking links there, up to ten per category. You do not need to be a Google partner for this: the help article on bookings states that you can also add your own link to your Business Profile.

How to add the link:

1. Sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile and search Google for your business name.
2. In the management panel, select Booking (in Google Maps: Edit profile, then Booking).
3. Select Add link, paste your Lookster booking link and save.
4. If you have several links, mark your Lookster link as the preferred link.

If you don't see the Booking section, that is tied to your business category. Put your booking link in the website field of your profile instead. Also check that your primary category is right, for example Hair salon, Barber shop, Nail salon or Beauty salon.

Watch out for third-party links. Google works with selected booking providers and can add partner links to your profile automatically. If a link shows up from a platform you don't use, or from a marketplace that charges commission on clients who book through that link, you can remove it via Booking and then Remove provider. According to Google, the provider has to remove the link within five days. That leaves your Lookster link as the booking route, and on that you pay 0% commission.

Your Lookster salon page is also findable through Google itself. Clients who search your name reach your booking page in two ways: through the link in your Business Profile and through your salon page in the search results.

Step 3: booking link in WhatsApp Business

Many clients would rather message than call. With WhatsApp Business you send them to your calendar in two taps, without looking up times yourself.

Put your booking link in your business profile. Your WhatsApp Business profile has a website field. Put your booking link there so everyone who opens your profile sees it. You find the profile under Tools and then Profile.

Create a quick reply. Quick replies are saved messages with a shortcut. Here is how:

1. Go to Tools and tap Quick replies.
2. Tap the plus and type your message, for example: "Great that you'd like to book. This link shows you which times are free right now: [your booking link]. If it doesn't work, just send me a message."
3. Give it a shortcut such as /book and save.

In a chat you then type a forward slash and select the reply. WhatsApp Business allows up to 50 quick replies, so make one for your opening hours and your address as well.

Share your WhatsApp link instead of your number. WhatsApp Business automatically creates a short link to your chat (under Tools, the three dots, then Short link), optionally with a default message. Use it on your website and in your Instagram bio for questions that don't belong in the calendar.

Step 4: booking button on your website

On your website, put the booking link in three places: as a button in the menu, as a button at the top of the homepage and at the bottom of every service page. Use the same wording everywhere, for example "Book online". A button that says "Calendar" or "Contact" gets fewer clicks, because it isn't clear what happens next.

No website? Then your Lookster salon page is your website. It shows your services, prices, opening hours, portfolio and verified reviews, and clients book directly on it. The page is findable through Google and appears automatically on the Lookster marketplace and in the client app.

Step 5: QR code at the till and on the mirror

A QR code turns existing clients into online bookers. Someone standing at the till after their treatment who wants to plan the next visit scans the code and picks a time themselves. That saves you flipping through the calendar while the next client waits.

Practical spots:

• At the till, at eye level, with the text "Next appointment? Scan and pick your time".
• On the mirror or the basin, where people look for ten minutes anyway.
• On your appointment card or the receipt.
• On the door, for people walking past outside opening hours.

Any free QR generator will do; paste in your booking link. Google also offers a QR code in your Business Profile, but that one is meant for requesting reviews rather than bookings. How to use it is covered in get more salon reviews.

Step 6: visible on a marketplace

A marketplace brings clients who don't know you yet. The difference is what that costs. Treatwell charges 35% commission excluding VAT on the first booking of every new client who finds you through its platform (checked on 27 October 2026). Fresha's pricing page lists a one-time fee for new clients from the Fresha marketplace without stating a clear percentage. The full calculation is in booking marketplace vs your own booking system.

Lookster has its own marketplace and a free client app for iOS and Android in which consumers search for salons and book. Commission there is 0%, including on new clients, and it is simply part of your subscription. Your salon page is listed automatically once your account is active. Add your portfolio and your reviews, because that is what a client who doesn't know you looks at. Switching is easy: you can run Lookster alongside your current system at first.

Step 7: set up your services so online booking is easy

A booking link in the right place doesn't help if the client gives up on the booking page. Check your services against these points:

Add-ons are the most commonly missed. A client booking "Haircut" often ticks "Wash" or "Beard trim" themselves when the option is right there, and skips it when they have to search for another service. In Lookster, clients choose add-ons themselves while booking, put several services in one booking and book as a guest with just their name, email and phone number. You set price and duration per staff member for each service.

Also set a minimum booking notice if you don't want someone booking a 10:00 appointment at 9:58, and use an evening rate if you work after closing time instead of blocking those hours entirely.

Step 8: keep opening hours and availability accurate

Clients only book online when they trust the times are right. Two things break that trust fast: a free slot that turns out to be taken on arrival, or a calendar that always looks full because you don't enter your own appointments.

• Put every appointment in the calendar, including the client who called or walked in. Otherwise that time still shows as open online.
• Record working hours and breaks per staff member, and enter leave and holidays as soon as they are known.
• Check your opening hours in your Google Business Profile, especially around public holidays. Google shows them at the top, before your link.
• Working on several devices? The Lookster calendar syncs live in the browser and in the Dashboard app for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows, so a booking made on your colleague's phone shows up straight away on the tablet at the till.

In Lookster, clients only see times that are genuinely free for the chosen staff member and service, and they get a confirmation by email and push notification right away. A free reminder by email 24 hours in advance and a push notification, with no SMS costs, lower the chance that someone forgets; more on that in prevent no-shows in your salon.

Step 9: measure which channel brings bookings

After a month you want to know whether the link in your Instagram bio, your Google profile or the QR code at the till is doing the work. Three ways, from simple to precise:

1. Ask. Note for every new client how they found you. In Lookster you can add that as a note on the client card.
2. Use a separate link per channel. Add a UTM tag to your booking link, for example ?utm_source=instagram or ?utm_source=google. The link works the same, but your website statistics show where clicks come from.
3. Watch the trend. Compare the number of appointments and new clients per month before and after a change. Lookster shows appointments, returning clients and occupancy rate per period and per staff member.

Change one thing at a time. If you put the QR code at the till this month and the link in your Google profile next month, you know which had which effect.

Who gets the most out of this?

• Self-employed stylists and small teams who currently plan everything by phone and WhatsApp. Every online booking is a conversation you don't have to hold mid-treatment.
• Salons with a large Instagram reach but few bookings from it. The link in the bio and the link sticker in Stories are the quickest win.
• New salons without a website. A Google Business Profile plus a salon page with a booking link is enough to start.

Dalia of nail studio Biablicious puts it like this (translated): "Since I started using Lookster I have much more overview in my calendar and I spend less time on planning. Ideal for me and for my clients." That is the point of all these steps: the client books themselves, and your hands stay free.

Checklist: your booking link everywhere in one afternoon

1. Booking link at the top of your Instagram bio, plus a line in the bio text.
2. Appointment link added to your Google Business Profile (or in the website field).
3. Link in your WhatsApp Business profile and a quick reply /book.
4. "Book online" button in your website menu.
5. QR code at the till and on the mirror.
6. Salon page on the Lookster marketplace complete, with portfolio and opening hours.
7. Services checked for name, duration, price and add-ons.
8. Working hours, breaks and leave filled in per staff member.
9. UTM tags per channel, and compare the numbers in a month.

See the Lookster features if you want to know how booking link, salon page and client app work together, or read what 3 months free means exactly.