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Have you heard about it yet? The new release from SimplyBook.me is a global service marketplace. Booking.page has all the benefits of listing your business on a directory, such as SEO, accessibility, and more customers, but your clients can book with you directly from the search result.
Why we did this?
Everything we do with the SimplyBook.me scheduling platform we create with our clients’ needs in mind. The success of our customers is our success. As a consequence, creating a system that will help our service provider clients is just one more step in our product journey.
While directories pop up every day, marketplaces for services aren’t widespread, and even those that exist tend to be specialised towards a specific industry. Our clients cover a diverse and broad range of sectors, and we want to help them all, from medical clinics to spiritual coaching, and everyone in between.
With service providers all over the world using the SimplyBook.me booking system, creating a service marketplace that includes all of the sectors, seemed the only way to go.
Why it’s a good idea to list your business on a directory or marketplace
You already know that it’s a good idea to register your business with an online directory. Simply having extra mentions of your company online, with back links to your website, improves your ranking on search engines and brings your business name closer to that coveted spot on page one.
Here I’ve listed the main reasons that having your business name on a directory or market place is a great idea.
- Customer accessibility – the easier it is for a customer to find you the more likely it is that they will choose your services
- Collaboration and Partnership – When businesses want to collaborate and partner with a complementary company, they check the business directories first.
- Two-fold Inbound marketing – When a customer searches a directory for a type of business, they get a list of companies that fit that mould. If your name is on that list, you may get a new customer that didn’t know about you before.
- Improved SEO – As mentioned above, additional references to your company on different websites using backlinking improves your ranking with search engines.
- Increased reputation – When more people can see your business in the search results from a directory or a search engine, your reputation grows. Most directories include a star rating for customers to give feedback. Assuming your services is excellent, this will boost the number of clients you get from indirect searches
And a bonus for the service marketplace
- An additional channel from which to sell your services
- Unlike many marketplaces, there is no cost for bookings coming through this channel and no cost for being listed if you are SimplyBook.me user
This is a barebones rundown of the benefits of listing your business with an online directory. If you want to dig a little bit deeper on this, check out this article on Medium.
Why do you want to list your service business on Booking.page?
I’m going to get specific about why listing your business on the Booking.page service marketplace can be a boost to your business. There’s a defined difference between directories and marketplaces. Directories increase online visibility, but marketplaces do the same with the added benefit of helping you sell your product – in our case, your services.
Booking.page is a service marketplace, that you can search, find, and book, directly from the directory page. Every company listed on Booking.page has online booking capabilities.
If a customer finds you on Booking.page and wants to book an appointment, they don’t need to navigate to your website. They can book directly through Booking.page. People don’t like too many redirects when they book online, especially with mobile devices.
Every time we advertise Booking.page, either as a marketplace for finding services or as part of the SimplyBook.me booking system, we advertise away to find your business.
You don’t need to maintain a separate marketplace profile and risk updates getting passed over, and you don’t have the extra work that maintaining a separate entity entails.
Unlike any other service marketplace or directory, your business listing on Booking.page links directly to your SimplyBook.me scheduling system. Every appointment booked goes into your system. Every service addition, removal or change translates across to the Booking.page website. If you offer promotions or offers, they will also show on your marketplace listing. There’s no additional integration necessary, we’ve done it already. Remember what I said about reputation? Even your ratings and number of reviews translate across to the Booking.page site.
So, having your business on the Booking.page directory is free, takes no extra work, and allows your business to gain from passive marketing channels.
Connecting Customers with Services – Why your clients will want to find you on Booking.page
Booking.page means that customers can search anywhere for any service, and find a company that meets their needs, with online booking. Everyone is busy these days. The gradual demise of the traditional workday and the increasing dependence we have on our Smartphones make online business accessibility a necessity. The more access a client has to your booking availability on their schedule, the more likely they are to use your services. Increasing the online visibility and accessibility of our clients makes connecting users and services easier.
So why would your customers want to use Booking.page to find you?
People like a single point of access where they can find everything; that’s why digital giants such as Google and Amazon are so popular. All of the information or products you can want in a single place. The same goes for your services; people want to find everything in one place.
Your customers can get specific when they search for the service they require. If a client wants an appointment at a beauty salon, they can specify a list of requirements.
- The country
- The city/town
- The type of business
- The specific service
- The price
- The time
All of this will give clients a potential list of companies that fit their particular requirements. There’s no need to check each possible business for their availability or if the service is within budget.
Alternatively, if there is some flexibility available in a customer’s schedule, they can simply broaden the search parameters to find something new possibly.
What’s not to Love?
So there you go. Booking.page is the new offering from SimplyBook.me, a new feature to enhance your business profile online. It’s included in your subscription, whether you have a free account or a premium account. What’s even better, is that it benefits you and your clients, without adding any extra work to your already busy schedule.
All you need to do is ensure that your booking page stays up to date and active, and Booking.page will do the rest. Sit back and let more clients come to you without having to do anything.