December is a busy, festive time, but it can also be stressful for small business owners. After working hard all year, you deserve a break to spend with family, recharge, and enjoy the season. However, closing your small business for the holidays, or even just reducing your hours, can seem difficult for small business owners who worry about confusing their customers or losing business.
Let’s talk about everything you need to know about clearly communicating your holiday closure online so you can rest and enjoy your time off. The key is updating your holiday hours across your Google Business Profile, other local listings, your website, messaging systems, social media, and even your Google Ads.
Update Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the most important place for local customers to find accurate information about your business. Posting incorrect hours can frustrate customers and lead to missed opportunities, so it’s crucial to set special holiday hours ahead of time. Luckily, Google allows you to set special holiday hours that only apply on the specified dates. Once the holidays are over, your hours on your Google Business Profile will go right back to normal.
How to set special holiday hours on GBP:
- Sign in to your Google Business Profile account and click “Edit Profile”
- Scroll down to “Special Hours” and enter your holiday hours, including closures, for each relevant date.
- Save changes and then double-check that the changes appear correctly on both Google Search and Maps.
Check Other Local Listings
Google isn’t the only platform customers use. Sites like Yelp, Bing, Facebook, Apple Maps, and industry-specific directories also influence where people find your business. Many of these platforms allow you to update holiday hours, which keeps your messaging consistent and reliable.
It’s helpful to keep a list of the usernames and passwords for every local listing site you use, or, even better, to have a team like Kite Media that can handle these updates across the web for you.
Update Your Website
Your website is another key source of information. Make sure your holiday hours are visible on the homepage, contact page, and/or footer. Consider adding a banner or pop-up message announcing closures to catch visitors’ attention immediately. Just remember to update this when the holidays are over!
Share Your Hours on Social Media
Social media is a great way to keep customers informed. Posting your holiday hours on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn ensures your most engaged followers know when you’re open. To make the message stand out, create a visually appealing graphic or banner. Post in advance of the holidays, and if you post often, consider pinning the post to the top, if applicable, so it stays visible.
Update Answering Machine and Email Response
Even if you clearly state your holiday hours across the internet, you’re likely to still have some customers reach out while you are closed. If they do reach out you want to set clear expectations through your answering machine message and your email auto-response. Record a short, professional voicemail message letting callers know your hours and when you’ll return. Set up an automatic email response with closure dates, expected response times, and alternative contact information if needed. Proactive, clear messaging reduces frustration and demonstrates professionalism, even when your business is temporarily closed.
Google Ads: To Pause or Not to Pause?
A common question our customers have is whether or not they should pause their Google ads campaigns while their business is closed. We’ve found that it’s often wise to pause ads and save money, but not all campaigns need to be paused during holiday closures. Emergency or same-day service campaigns should be paused if your team won’t be able to respond promptly. However, ads for services that are booked further out, such as cabinet painting or other projects scheduled weeks in advance, are often worth continuing to run as long as you follow up on leads as soon as you’re back at work.
Kite Media's team of PPC experts in St. George can help you decide on a holiday ad schedule and manage these ad adjustments to make sure your campaigns are optimized for your holiday schedule.
Take a Break, You’ve Earned It
Small business owners work tirelessly all year, and the holidays are the perfect time to recharge. By planning ahead and updating holiday hours across GBP, other directories, your website, voicemail, email, social media, and even ads, you can enjoy your break with peace of mind.
Kite Media can handle many of these updates for you, taking the stress out of holiday preparations. From local listings to your website to ad adjustments, we make sure your business is fully covered, so you can focus on what matters most: family, friends, and a well-deserved holiday rest.
Want to take all of the stress out of your digital marketing? Kite Media can help manage your website, SEO, and pay-per-click ads all year round, letting you focus on the important things. Contact us today to discuss how we can help!