It’s the last week of October, and in about a month the busiest shopping stretch of the year kicks off. Black Friday lands on November 27 this year, and the weeks after it bring Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s. Here’s the problem: most customers will check Google before they visit you, call you or order from you. If your listing shows the wrong hours, old photos or a pile of unanswered reviews, they’ll pick the shop down the street. That’s why a Google Business Profile holiday checklist is one of the most useful 30-minute jobs you can do this week.
This guide walks you through exactly what to update, in what order, with examples for businesses here in Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, Bradford and Toronto. No jargon, no expensive tools. Just the steps that help you show up, look trustworthy and turn holiday searches into real customers.
Why your Google Business Profile matters more this holiday season
Canadian shoppers are being careful with their money this year, and that changes how they search. Deloitte Canada’s 2026 Holiday Retail Outlook projects total holiday spending to fall 14% to an average of $1,305, the lowest since the survey began. The same report found 78% of shoppers are actively looking for discounts and promotions, and Google is one of the top two places people research purchases, used by 64% of respondents.
The Retail Council of Canada’s 2026 holiday survey with Leger tells a similar story. Ontario shoppers plan to spend an average of $952, down 13% from last year. People will still spend, but they’ll compare more before they do. And when they compare, reviews carry real weight: 80% of Canadians in the RCC survey said customer ratings and reviews matter when choosing holiday purchases, rising to 90% for shoppers aged 18 to 34.
There’s good news for local businesses too. The RCC survey found 84% of Canadians are more likely to buy a gift marked "Made in Canada," and Deloitte found 45% consider Canadian or local ownership important when choosing where to shop. Shoppers also plan to spend 58% of their holiday budget in stores, according to RCC. In other words, people want to shop local and in person. Your Google Business Profile is often the first place they find you.
Put simply: when budgets are tight, shoppers search harder. A complete, accurate, active profile is how you win those searches.
Your Google Business Profile holiday checklist: 10 steps
Work through these in order. The first three protect you from losing customers. The rest help you win more of them.
1. Set your holiday hours (special hours) now, not the night before
Wrong hours are the fastest way to lose a customer for good. Nobody forgets driving to a store on Boxing Day and finding the lights off. Google lets you add special hours for specific dates, and the profile switches to them automatically on the day, then goes back to your regular hours.
Here’s how, based on Google’s own help guide:
- Open your Business Profile (search your business name on Google while signed in, or use the Google Maps app).
- Select Edit profile, then Hours.
- Next to Special hours, select Edit.
- Confirm a date Google suggests, or add your own custom date.
- Enter your hours for that day, or tick Closed. Then save.
A few details that trip people up:
- Confirm holidays even if your hours don’t change. Google recommends confirming official holiday hours even when they match your usual schedule. That tells searchers your hours are accurate, instead of leaving them guessing.
- Special hours are for short changes. Google’s guidelines say to use them for closures or changes of up to six days in a row. If you close for seven days or more (say, a long break from Christmas to the new year), mark the business as Temporarily closed instead.
- Your main hours must be set. Special hours only show if your profile is set to "Open with main hours."
- Use "More hours" for services. If your curbside pickup, delivery or senior shopping hours differ from your main hours, add them under More hours rather than changing your main hours.
Key dates to cover for 2026: Black Friday (Friday, November 27), Cyber Monday (November 30), Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24), Christmas Day (Friday, December 25), Boxing Day (Saturday, December 26), New Year’s Eve (Thursday, December 31) and New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1, 2027). Add any extended shopping hours too. If a Richmond Hill gift shop stays open until 9 p.m. on weekdays in December, that’s worth showing, because "open late" is a reason to choose you.
2. Check the basics customers rely on
Before you add anything new, make sure what’s already there is right. Look at your business name, address, phone number, website link and categories. It sounds obvious, but we regularly see GTA profiles with an old phone number, a website link that goes to a broken page, or a primary category that doesn’t match what the business mostly sells.
Ask yourself: if a stranger saw only this listing, would they know what you do, where you are and how to reach you in under five seconds? If not, fix that first. If your website is slow or hard to use on a phone, that will cost you holiday clicks too. Our team builds and fixes small business websites as part of our digital marketing services.
3. Be careful with big edits right before the rush
Local SEO forums are full of owners whose profiles were suspended or sent back for re-verification after making sudden changes. Changing your business name, address or category in the middle of December is risky because a review can take time, and you can’t afford to be invisible on Boxing Day. Make any big changes now, or wait until January. Holiday hours, photos, posts and review replies are normal, everyday updates and are safe to do anytime.
One more tip: never add keywords or city names to your business name (for example, "Smith Bakery Best Cakes Newmarket"). It’s against Google’s guidelines and is a common trigger for problems.
4. Refresh your photos for the season
Photos are often the first thing people look at after your star rating. Add 5 to 10 new, real photos: your decorated storefront, gift displays, holiday menu items, your team, gift card packaging, or the parking area so people know where to go. Phone photos are fine if they’re bright and in focus.
Think about what a shopper is nervous about. A Bradford garden centre might show its indoor Christmas tree selection so people know it’s not all outdoors. An Aurora restaurant might post a photo of the private dining room for holiday parties. Answer the question before they have to ask it.
5. Publish holiday offers and updates with Google Business Profile posts
Google Business Profile posts let you share news, offers and events right on your listing. With so many shoppers actively hunting for deals, a clear holiday offer can be the reason someone picks you over a big-box store.
Plan a simple posting schedule from now until early January:
- Early November: announce your holiday hours and any gift guides or seasonal menus.
- Week of November 23: publish your Black Friday or "shop local Friday" offer, with the dates and any conditions spelled out.
- Early December: promote gift cards, last-day-to-order dates and holiday party bookings.
- Week before Christmas: share last-minute gift ideas and extended hours.
- Boxing Day and New Year’s: post your Boxing Day deal and your hours for the holiday week.
Keep each post short, use one strong photo, and add a button such as "Call now," "Order online" or "Learn more." A Toronto salon could post: "Gift cards available in store and online until December 24. Book your holiday blowout before spots fill up." Simple, specific and useful.
6. Turn happy customers into fresh holiday reviews
Recent reviews matter more than ever. BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (a survey of US consumers) found that 74% of people look for reviews written in the last three months, and 31% will only use businesses rated 4.5 stars or higher, up from 17% the year before. If your newest review is from last spring, your listing looks quiet even if you’re busy.
The holidays are a great time to ask, because you’re seeing more customers. Make it easy:
- Get your review link from your Business Profile (look for "Ask for reviews" or "Get more reviews").
- Print it as a QR code on a small card at the counter or tuck it into shopping bags.
- Add it to your receipt emails or appointment follow-up texts.
- Ask in person at the right moment, like when a customer thanks you.
Stay within the rules: don’t offer discounts or freebies in exchange for reviews, and don’t ask only happy customers through a filter. Just ask everyone, politely.
7. Reply to every review, including the tough ones
Replying shows that a real person runs the business. In the same BrightLocal survey, 80% of consumers said they’re more likely to use a business that replies to all of its reviews, while 50% are put off by generic or templated replies. So skip the copy-paste "Thanks for your review!" and write something human.
For positive reviews, thank them by name and mention something specific. For negative reviews, stay calm, apologize for the experience, and offer to make it right offline. Holiday shoppers will read how you handle a complaint about a late order, and a thoughtful reply can win more trust than another five-star review.
8. Answer the questions holiday shoppers are asking
Think about the questions you get on the phone every December: Do you gift wrap? Do you ship across Canada? Is there parking? Can I book a table for 12? What’s the last day to order? Make sure these answers are easy to find on your profile, through your business description, attributes, products or services, and posts.
This also helps with AI search. Deloitte found 39% of Canadians plan to use AI for holiday shopping this year, up from 25% in 2025, mainly for gift inspiration, comparing prices and finding deals. AI tools pull information from places like your Business Profile, website and reviews. Clear, consistent answers make it more likely you’ll be recommended. We cover this in more detail in our guide on how to get your small business recommended by ChatGPT and Google AI.
9. Add or update your products and services
If you sell gifts, add your top holiday products with photos and prices where you can. If you’re a service business, list your seasonal services: holiday cleaning, event catering, gift-wrapping, party packages, year-end bookkeeping, winter tire changes. Each item gives Google more information about what you offer and more chances to show up for specific searches like "holiday catering Newmarket" or "gift baskets Richmond Hill."
10. Make it easy to call, book or order, even after hours
Check every action button on your profile. Does "Call" ring a phone someone actually answers? Does your booking or ordering link work on a phone, and does it go straight to the right page instead of your homepage? During the holidays, a fast answer often equals a sale.
If you can’t answer the phone all day, this is a simple place to use automation. An AI chat assistant on your website, or an automatic text-back when you miss a call, can answer "Are you open on Boxing Day?" at 11 p.m. so you don’t have to, and capture the lead while you’re busy serving customers in the store.
Common mistakes to avoid this holiday season
We see the same slip-ups every year across the GTA. Avoid these and you’ll already be ahead of most competitors:
- Leaving holiday hours blank. When special hours aren’t confirmed, customers can’t tell whether your listing is up to date, so many will choose a business that has confirmed its hours.
- Forgetting the days after the holiday. Lots of owners set Christmas Day and forget Boxing Day or the quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s.
- Using special hours for a long closure. Closing for seven days or more? Use "Temporarily closed," not a week of special hours.
- Making big profile changes in December. Name, address or category changes can trigger a review. Do them now or in January.
- Posting a deal with no details. "Big sale this weekend!" doesn’t help. Say what’s on sale, how much, and when it ends.
- Ignoring negative reviews. Silence looks worse than the complaint. Reply calmly and quickly.
- Only updating Google. Make sure your website, Facebook, Instagram and other listings show the same holiday hours. Conflicting information confuses customers and search engines.
- Setting it and forgetting it. A profile that was perfect in November can be outdated by mid-December. Check it weekly.
Your holiday local SEO action plan (one week to get ready)
If your schedule is packed, here’s a simple plan to get your profile holiday-ready in a week, spending about 20 to 30 minutes a day:
- Day 1: Hours. Add special hours for every holiday date from Black Friday to New Year’s Day, and confirm the ones where your hours don’t change.
- Day 2: Basics. Check your name, address, phone, website link, categories and action buttons. Fix anything wrong.
- Day 3: Photos. Upload 5 to 10 fresh seasonal photos of your space, products and team.
- Day 4: Posts. Write your first holiday post and plan the next four on your calendar.
- Day 5: Reviews. Print a review QR code, add your review link to emails, and reply to every review from the last three months.
- Day 6: Products and services. Add your holiday products, gift cards and seasonal services.
- Day 7: Consistency. Update holiday hours on your website and social media so everything matches.
Then set a weekly 15-minute reminder through early January to post an update, reply to reviews and double-check your hours.
Frequently asked questions
When should I add holiday hours to my Google Business Profile?
As early as you know them. Google switches to your special hours automatically on the date you set, so you can add every date from Black Friday to New Year’s Day in one sitting. Setting them a few weeks ahead means customers planning trips see the right hours too.
What if my hours on a holiday are the same as usual?
Confirm them anyway. Google recommends confirming official holiday hours even when they match your regular schedule, so shoppers know your hours are accurate.
We close for two weeks over Christmas. What should I do?
Google’s guidelines say special hours are for changes of up to six days in a row. For a closure of seven days or more, mark your business as Temporarily closed, then reopen it in your profile when you’re back. Add a post explaining when you’ll reopen.
How often should I post on my Google Business Profile during the holidays?
Once a week is a good, realistic target for most small businesses. Time your posts around key dates such as Black Friday, last order days, Christmas week and Boxing Day.
Can I offer a discount for Google reviews?
No. Offering incentives for reviews goes against Google’s policies and can lead to reviews being removed. Instead, make asking easy and routine with a QR code, a link in your receipts and a friendly in-person request.
Does my Google Business Profile affect AI search results?
It can. AI assistants and Google’s AI features draw on information about local businesses, including profile details, websites and reviews. Keeping your hours, services and answers clear and consistent everywhere gives you the best chance of being recommended.
Get holiday-ready with help from YAS Media
The holiday season is when your Google Business Profile works hardest, and when you have the least time to manage it. If you’d rather spend December serving customers than updating listings, we can help. YAS Media works with small businesses across Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, Bradford and Toronto on Google Business Profile management, local SEO, Google Ads, websites, social media and AI automation.
We’ll review your profile, fix what’s holding you back and set up a simple holiday plan you can actually stick to. See all of our small business marketing services, or book your free consultation and let’s get your business ready for the busiest weeks of the year.
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