Google Business Profile · Guide

How to Add Opening Hours
to Google Business Profile

How to add opening hours to your Google Business Profile, set special hours for holidays and why keeping your hours accurate matters so much for both customer trust and your local visibility.

Updated: June 2026
Written by: Andrew Odgers, Managing Director
Reading time: 6 minutes
The short answer

To add opening hours to your Google Business Profile, open your profile, find the hours section and set your regular opening times for each day, then add special hours for holidays or one off changes.

Accurate hours matter more than people think: a customer who travels to a business shown as open and finds it closed is let down and Google favours profiles with reliable, current information.

So the job is not just adding hours once but keeping them accurate, setting special hours for bank holidays and changes in advance, since correct, current hours protect customer trust and support how your listing performs.

The detailed answer

Getting your hours right

Opening hours seem like a small detail but getting them wrong is one of the easiest ways to let a customer down. Accurate hours protect trust and help your profile perform. Here is how to add opening hours to your Google Business Profile and keep them right.

Why accurate hours matter

A customer who travels to a business shown as open and finds it closed is badly let down and that frustration sticks. Google also favours profiles with reliable, current information, so accurate hours protect both customer trust and how your listing performs, making them well worth getting right.

Accuracy protects trust. Full optimisation is covered in How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile for Local SEO

How to add your regular hours

Open your Business Profile, find the hours section and set your opening and closing times for each day of the week, marking any days you are closed. This is quick to do, so the main thing is entering your real, current times accurately rather than rough approximations.

Set your real times. The profile basics are in What Is Google My Business?

Add special hours for holidays

Use special hours to set different times for bank holidays, seasonal periods or one off changes, ideally in advance. This stops customers turning up when you are unexpectedly closed, so setting special hours ahead of holidays is one of the most useful habits for keeping your profile reliable.

Special hours prevent let downs. Avoiding visibility problems is covered in Why Is My Business Not Showing Up on Google?

Keep them current

Hours are not set once and forgotten. Update them whenever your times change, permanently or temporarily, so your profile always reflects reality. A listing with out of date hours misleads customers and erodes trust, so keeping them current is an ongoing part of managing your profile well.

Current beats stale. Ongoing upkeep is covered in How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile for Local SEO

Use more hours types if they apply

Some businesses can add more specific hours, such as separate times for collection, delivery or particular services. If these apply to you, setting them gives customers a clearer picture, so use the more detailed hours options where they fit how your business actually operates.

Detail helps customers. Listing services is covered in How to Add Products and Services to Google Business Profile

Check how your hours display

After setting your hours, search for your business and check they show correctly, including special hours around holidays. A quick check catches mistakes before customers do, so confirming your hours display as intended is a small step that avoids the embarrassment of a wrong time going live.

Verify what customers see. Insights show the effect in What Is Google Business Profile Insights?

Why this small thing matters

Correct opening hours are a small detail with a big effect, since they are exactly what a customer checks before visiting. Getting them right and keeping them current protects trust, avoids wasted journeys and supports your profile, so it is well worth the little effort it takes.

A small detail, big effect. Why details count is covered in How to Optimise Your Google Business Profile for Local SEO

Hours customers can rely on

Add your regular hours accurately, set special hours for holidays in advance, keep everything current and check it displays right. Do that and customers can rely on your hours, which protects trust and supports your visibility, turning a small detail into a quiet strength of your profile.

Reliable hours build trust. The whole guide is gathered in the Google Business Profile Guide

In short, add opening hours by setting your regular times for each day, adding special hours for holidays in advance and keeping everything current. Accurate hours protect customer trust and support your listing, so this small detail is well worth getting right and maintaining.

This guide is part of our complete Google Business Profile Guide. The hub brings together every question a business asks about Google Business Profile, from setting up and verifying through to optimisation, reviews, insights and ranking in the map, each written in plain UK English.

Part of the guide Google Business Profile Guide View all guides →
Frequently asked

Adding your opening hours

How do I add opening hours to my Google Business Profile?
Open your profile, find the hours section and set your regular opening times for each day, then add special hours for holidays or one off changes. Accurate hours matter more than people think, since a customer who travels to a business shown as open and finds it closed is let down and Google favours profiles with reliable, current information. So the job is not just adding hours once but keeping them accurate and current over time.
How do I set my regular opening hours?
Open your Business Profile, find the hours section and set your opening and closing times for each day of the week, marking any days you are closed. It is quick to do, so the main thing is entering your real, current times accurately rather than rough approximations. Correct regular hours are the foundation, with special hours added on top for holidays and one off changes as needed.
How do I add special hours for holidays?
Use the special hours option to set different times for bank holidays, seasonal periods or one off changes, ideally in advance. This stops customers turning up when you are unexpectedly closed, so setting special hours ahead of holidays is one of the most useful habits for keeping your profile reliable, since holiday closures are a common moment for a listing's hours to be wrong.
Why do accurate hours matter so much?
Because a customer who travels to a business shown as open and finds it closed is badly let down and that frustration sticks, while Google also favours profiles with reliable, current information. So accurate hours protect both customer trust and how your listing performs. Since opening hours are exactly what a customer checks before visiting, getting them right has a bigger effect than the small detail suggests.
How often should I update my hours?
Whenever your times change, permanently or temporarily, so your profile always reflects reality. Hours are not set once and forgotten, because a listing with out of date hours misleads customers and erodes trust, so keeping them current is an ongoing part of managing your profile. It is worth updating them promptly around changes and holidays rather than leaving stale times on your listing.
Can I add more detailed hours?
Yes, some businesses can. You may be able to add more specific hours, such as separate times for collection, delivery or particular services and if these apply to you, setting them gives customers a clearer picture. So it is worth using the more detailed hours options where they fit how your business actually operates, since they help customers understand exactly when they can use each service.
Should I check how my hours display?
Yes. After setting your hours, search for your business and check they show correctly, including special hours around holidays, since a quick check catches mistakes before customers do. Confirming your hours display as intended is a small step that avoids the embarrassment of a wrong time going live, so it is worth a moment to verify what customers actually see on your listing.