There's one setting that decides whether a customer shows up to your door or to a locked one over the holidays.

It isn't your website. It's the hours on your Google Business Profile — the panel that shows up when someone searches your name or “open now near me.”

Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26. Small Business Saturday follows on the 28th, and then it's December. This week is the week to do this.

Why regular hours aren't enough

Your regular hours are a weekly pattern. Google treats a holiday as an exception to that pattern, and it has a separate field for it: special hours.

Google's own guidance is to confirm your hours for official holidays even when they're the same as usual, according to Google Business Profile Help. Confirming is what stops Google from showing “hours might differ” next to your listing — the phrase that makes someone call a competitor instead.

The five-minute version

Here's the path, per Google’s instructions:

• Open your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Hours.
• In “Business hours,” next to “Special hours,” select Edit.
• Pick the date: accept a suggested one with Review, or use Add a date for a custom one.
• Set the hours. Open that day? Clear the “Closed” box and enter the times. Closed? Leave the “Closed” box checked. Need a split day — open, close, reopen? Use More → Add hours +.
• Select Save, and do the next date.

Two details that trip people up:

• Special hours only show if your business hours are set to “Open with main hours.” If your profile has no regular hours, the holiday ones won't appear.
• To undo a date, use Delete next to it. You can check your work in the Hours tab under “Business information,” or under “Special hours” in Edit profile.

The dates to enter now

Do the whole run in one sitting instead of one holiday at a time:

• Thursday, Nov. 26 — Thanksgiving
• Friday, Nov. 27 — if you're opening early, say so
• Saturday, Nov. 28 — Small Business Saturday, when the foot traffic is the point
• Dec. 24, 25 and 31, and Jan. 1 — the closures and the short days
• Any day you're closing early for a staff party or inventory

If you're seasonal

If you close for a stretch rather than a day, Google's hours guidance says to mark the business temporarily closed for the off-season and restore your regular hours when you reopen — rather than leaving stale hours showing.

It's also worth taking the guidelines seriously: Google warns that not following them can lead to changes to your business information, or its removal.

While you're in there

• Check that your phone number still rings the right phone.
• If holiday ordering has a cutoff date, put it in your profile description and a post.
• Make sure whoever answers the phone knows the holiday hours you just published.

Related on Zootown Lowdown

• Is Your Missoula Business Invisible in AI Search? — the three free steps behind this one.
• Meet Missoula Business Hub: Helping Local Businesses Grow — who's behind this weekly tip.

This weekly tip comes from Missoula Business Hub, which shares practical advice for Missoula small business owners. Have a question you’d like answered here? Email hello@missoulabusinesshub.com.

Graphic: Zootown Lowdown

Sources

• Google Business Profile Help, “Set special hours” (checked Oct. 27, 2026): support.google.com
• Google Business Profile Help, business hours guidance including seasonal and temporary closures: support.google.com