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Google Business Profile Holiday Features: Hours, Offers, and More for 2025
News | | 5 min read

Google Business Profile Holiday Features: Hours, Offers, and More for 2025

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing potential customers see when they search for your business. During the holiday season, an outdated profile doesn’t just look neglected. It actively costs you customers. Someone searching for your store on Thanksgiving needs to know if you’re open, and if your hours are wrong, they’ll go somewhere else.

Google provides several seasonal features specifically designed for the holidays. Most take less than five minutes to set up, and the impact on customer experience is significant.

Holiday Hours

This is the single most important thing you can do on your profile right now.

Google allows you to set special hours for specific dates that override your regular schedule. For November and December 2025, you should set hours for at least these dates:

  • Thanksgiving Day (Nov 27) — closed or modified hours
  • Black Friday (Nov 28) — extended hours if applicable
  • Small Business Saturday (Nov 29) — note any special events
  • Christmas Eve (Dec 24) — modified hours
  • Christmas Day (Dec 25) — closed or modified hours
  • New Year’s Eve (Dec 31) — modified hours
  • New Year’s Day (Jan 1, 2026) — closed or modified hours

To set these: Go to your Google Business Profile, click “Edit profile,” select “Hours,” then scroll to “Holiday hours” and add each date individually.

If you don't set holiday hours, Google may display a "Hours might differ" warning on your listing. This creates uncertainty for potential customers and reduces the likelihood they'll visit.

Google Posts for Holiday Promotions

Google Posts appear directly on your Business Profile in search results and Maps. During the holidays, they’re a free advertising tool that most small businesses underutilize.

Create a post for each major promotion:

  • Black Friday deals
  • Small Business Saturday events or offers
  • Holiday gift guides or featured products
  • Extended holiday hours
  • Last-minute shopping availability
  • Gift card promotions

Each post can include an image, text (up to 1,500 characters, but keep it under 300 for readability), and a call-to-action button linking to your website, a specific product page, or a booking system.

Posts expire after seven days (event posts last until the event date), so plan to refresh your content weekly through the end of December.

Seasonal Business Attributes

Google has expanded its business attributes to include holiday-specific options. Depending on your business category, you may be able to add attributes such as:

  • Gift wrapping available
  • Holiday catering
  • Curbside pickup
  • Online ordering
  • Gift cards available

These attributes appear as badges on your profile and can influence whether customers choose you over a competitor. Check your available attributes by going to “Edit profile” and selecting “More” to see all options.

Product and Service Updates

If you sell products, make sure your Google Business Profile product catalog is current. Feature your holiday best-sellers, gift sets, or seasonal items. Products listed on your profile appear in a dedicated tab and can show up in Google Shopping results.

For service businesses, update your service descriptions if you offer anything seasonal, like holiday cleaning, event catering, or gift delivery.

Photos and Visual Updates

Upload fresh photos that reflect the season. A storefront photo showing your holiday display, a shot of seasonal products, or your team in a festive setting all make your profile feel current and inviting.

Businesses with more than 100 photos on their Google Business Profile receive 520% more calls than the average business, according to Google’s own data. The holiday season is a perfect excuse to add 10 to 20 new photos.

Monitor and Respond to Reviews

Holiday shoppers leave reviews at a higher rate than during other seasons. Using SMBcrm alongside your Google Business Profile helps you stay on top of new customer interactions and respond to reviews with full context about each customer’s experience.

Set a goal to respond to every review within 24 hours through the end of December. This signals to both Google and potential customers that your business is active and attentive.

The Five-Minute Checklist

Right now, before you close this article, do these three things:

  1. Set your holiday hours for Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day
  2. Create one Google Post about your Black Friday or holiday promotion
  3. Upload one new photo of your business

These small actions take five minutes and can meaningfully impact how many customers find and choose your business over the next six weeks.