Updated
An online booking system lets customers or patients choose a free appointment slot themselves, without calling. Clinics and practices use them, as do salons, gyms, restaurants and consultancies. The system is usually embedded in the website, the Google Business Profile or an app.
Benefits of online booking
- Appointments can be booked around the clock, even outside opening hours.
- Reception staff spend less time on the phone.
- Automatic email or SMS reminders reduce no shows.
- You can see which services and time slots are most in demand.
- Every booking can be tracked as a conversion.
Booking systems and marketing
A booking is often the most important conversion. Once you track it, you know how many appointments Google Ads, SEO or social media bring in and how much each one costs (CPL). Tracking is usually set up through Google Tag Manager and GA4, either via a thank you page or an event sent by the booking system itself.
Be careful with systems that run on another domain or inside an embedded window (iframe). Tracking has to be set up together with the provider, otherwise bookings get lost in your reports or credited to the wrong source.
What healthcare providers should watch out for
Patient bookings involve personal and often health data, such as the reason for the visit. Only send ad and analytics tools the fact that a booking happened, never the type of examination. See how we track bookings in our healthcare marketing.
Further reading: How to track booked patients.
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