Hours

Accurate business hours are essential for customer experience and can affect your local rankings.

Why Hours Matter

Customer Experience

• Customers rely on your hours to plan visits
• Wrong hours lead to frustrated customers
• "Permanently closed" users if hours seem wrong

Rankings Impact

• Google may rank open businesses higher
• "Open now" filter uses your hours
• Accurate hours signal an active, legitimate business

Reviews Impact

• Wrong hours often lead to negative reviews
• "Arrived and they were closed" is a common complaint

Regular Hours

Your standard operating hours for each day of the week.

Setting Regular Hours

1. Go to GBP dashboard
2. Click "Edit profile"
3. Select "Hours"
4. Set opening and closing time for each day

Format Options

• Standard hours: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• Split hours: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM (for lunch break)
• 24 hours: Select "Open 24 hours"
• Closed: Mark specific days as closed

Multiple Hour Ranges

If you close for lunch or have split shifts:

• Add multiple time ranges for the same day
• Example: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM, 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Special Hours

Temporary changes to your regular hours.

When to Use Special Hours

• Holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving)
• Special events
• Temporary closures
• Extended hours (Black Friday)

Setting Special Hours

1. Go to "Edit profile"
2. Select "Hours"
3. Click "Special hours"
4. Add date and modified hours

Google's Holiday Suggestions

Google may suggest special hours for upcoming holidays. Review and confirm these are accurate for your business.

More Hours

Hours for specific services or departments.

Available Options

Depending on your category:

• Delivery hours
• Pickup hours
• Drive-through hours
• Senior hours
• Kitchen hours
• Pharmacy hours
• Service department hours

When to Use More Hours

Use when a specific service has different hours than your main business:

• Restaurant open until 10 PM, but kitchen closes at 9:30 PM
• Store open 9-5, but pharmacy closes at 4 PM

Temporary Closures

For extended closures (vacation, renovation):

"Temporarily Closed" Status

1. Go to GBP dashboard
2. Select "Mark as temporarily closed"
3. Set expected reopening date if known

When to Use

• Renovations lasting more than a day
• Extended vacation
• Seasonal closures
• Unexpected situations (fire, flood)

Important Notes

• Profile still appears in search, marked as closed
• Reviews can still be left
• Don't use for regular closed days (like Sundays)

Time Zone Handling

GBP uses your business location's time zone.

• Hours display in local time to searchers
• No need to manually adjust for time zones
• Ensure your address is correct for proper time zone detection

Common Hours Mistakes

Not Updating for Holidays

• Set special hours in advance
• Google sends reminders for major holidays
• Wrong holiday hours = frustrated customers

Forgetting Split Hours

• If you close for lunch, show it
• Don't just show earliest open to latest close

Incorrect 24-Hour Format

• Some regions use 24-hour format
• Verify hours display correctly in search results

Not Matching Website Hours

• GBP hours should match website
• Inconsistency confuses customers and Google

Hours and "Open Now"

When users search, Google shows "Open" or "Closed" indicators.

• Businesses showing "Open" may get more clicks
• "Closes soon" can create urgency
• "Opens at [time]" helps customers plan

Updating Hours

Regular Updates

Update hours whenever they change:

• Seasonal schedule changes
• New permanent hours
• Expanded hours

Bulk Updates (Multi-location)

For businesses with many locations, use:

• GBP bulk management
• Synoveo's sync feature
• API updates

Key Takeaways

1. Accurate hours prevent negative customer experiences
2. Use special hours for holidays and temporary changes
3. Use "More Hours" for department-specific schedules
4. Mark as temporarily closed for extended closures
5. Keep hours consistent with your website