Accurate business hours on your Google Business Profile (GBP) are foundational to local business success. When customers search for your business on Google Search or Maps, the displayed hours are often the first point of contact, making their accuracy directly tied to customer trust and satisfaction. Incorrect hours can lead to wasted customer trips, creating frustration and potentially resulting in negative reviews. By ensuring your profile reflects your true operating schedule, you prevent customer confusion and improve your visibility to those searching for businesses that are currently open. The process for updating and managing these hours is straightforward, giving business owners direct control over this public-facing information.
Accessing and Managing Your Business Profile
Managing your Google Business Profile (GBP) begins with ensuring you are logged into the Google account that owns or manages the listing. Once authenticated, you have a few direct methods to access the editing interface. The most common way is the “in-SERP” editing experience, which involves searching for your business name directly on Google Search. This action reveals a special administrative panel above the search results, visible only to you as the manager. Alternatively, you can access your profile edits through the Google Maps app or by navigating to the dedicated Google Business Profile Manager interface. Both methods provide a similar dashboard where you can manage your business information, including hours. Look for the “Edit profile” option, and then navigate to the “Hours” tab within the business information section.
Step-by-Step Guide to Updating Standard Operating Hours
The standard operating hours section dictates your regular, week-to-week schedule and is the default information displayed to customers. To begin the update process, navigate to the “Hours” tab within your “Edit profile” interface. This section presents a list of all seven days of the week, allowing you to set a distinct schedule for each one.
For each day your business is open, check the corresponding box and use the dropdown menus to input the opening and closing times. If your business has a scheduled break, such as a lunch closure, you can create a split schedule by selecting “Add hours” to input a second set of opening and closing times for the same day. Businesses operating continuously can select “24 hours” from the time dropdown for the applicable days.
If your business is closed on a specific day, ensure the box next to that day remains unchecked or marked as closed. After carefully reviewing all the times, select the “Save” button to publish the new standard hours to your profile.
Setting Special Hours for Holidays and Events
Special Hours temporarily override your standard operating hours for specific dates without altering your regular weekly schedule. This feature is used for public holidays, inventory days, or any single-day event where your schedule deviates from the norm. Access this feature by looking for the “Special hours” section, typically located below your standard hours, and clicking the edit icon. Google often provides suggested upcoming holidays for you to review. For each suggested date, or a custom date you add, you can specify whether your business is closed all day or set a unique set of opening and closing times. These special hours act as a temporary overlay that automatically reverts to your regular schedule once the specific date passes. This functionality is recommended for any closure or schedule change lasting six days or fewer.
Utilizing Temporary Closure Settings
When your business needs to close for an extended period, such as for a long renovation or a seasonal break, use the Temporary Closure setting instead of Special Hours. You can find this setting, which is separate from the standard and special hours sections, typically under the “Hours” tab or within the “Info” section of your profile. You have the option to mark the business as “Temporarily closed” or “Permanently closed.” The temporary status is intended for closures lasting seven or more consecutive days or for an indefinite period, and it clearly displays this status on your profile in Search and Maps. Choosing “Permanently closed” is a definitive action that should only be used if the business will not reopen, as it can be difficult to reverse.
Best Practices for Hour Management
Effective hour management requires proactive monitoring and cross-platform consistency. After publishing any changes, immediately check your business listing on both Google Search and Google Maps to ensure the updated hours are displayed correctly to the public. Most changes to hours will go live almost instantly, though Google may occasionally flag an update for verification, which can cause a slight delay.
It is important to be vigilant about monitoring for user-suggested edits. Third parties or Google’s algorithms may sometimes propose changes to your hours based on their data. Regularly check your profile to review and reject any inaccurate suggestions to maintain control over your information.
Set a recurring reminder to update seasonal schedules or upcoming holiday hours well in advance. This helps prevent last-minute rushes and ensures customers are always provided with the most current and reliable information.