Learn how to utilize your Google Business profile for seasonal businesses effectively all year round with lesser known tips. And what to do with your GBP profile during low season.

When you run a business that isn’t always open, there is a lot of room for customer confusing and managing a GBP for seasonal businesses can feel tricky. Optimize your GBP profile year round is a must.

This guide will break down the key steps to help you optimize your profile without missing out on opportunities, even during your off season. Also You’ll know how to manage your GBP profile during off season in a way that follows Google’s guidelines for seasonal businesses.

Table of Contents

1. Set Clear Opening Seasonal Hours

First things first, make sure your hours are always up to date. If your business is only open for a few months a year, you need to clearly reflect that in your Google Business Profile for seasonal businesses.

During the months you’re open, set your regular opening hours. You can also set special hours for holidays or events. When you’re not operating, mark your business as “temporarily closed” since this is what Google recommends for seasonal businesses.

This simple change helps you manage customer expectations and ensures they aren’t misled by inaccurate information. The last thing you want is to neglect doing this and create customer confusion.

A screenshot showing how to update business hours on a GMB profile, including special holiday hours

2. Use Your Business About Page Description to Explain Seasonality

Your business description plays a big part in explaining the seasonal nature of how your business operates. Whether you’re running a beachside café for example, make it clear when you’re open and what services are available in your about page of your GBP.

An optimized GMB business description highlighting the effective use of local keywords.

3. Adjust Your Google Business Profile Category For Seasonal Businesses

One thing many Google Business Profiles for seasonal businesses miss is adjusting the business category based on the season. For example, a landscaping company might operate under “Landscaping” in the summer but switch to “Snow Removal” in the winter.

Make sure you stay relevant for seasonality is wise. Your business should be structured to where your services change depending on season or it simply remains as set to “temporary closed” when its not operating.

4. Mark Your Business as Temporarily Closed During The Off Season

If your business shuts down completely during the off-season, make sure you mark it as temporarily closed. This option lets you to keep your profile intact while telling customers that you’ll reopen at a later date.

Marking your business as temporarily closed prevents negative experiences where customers might show up expecting your services, only to find your business isn’t open. After doing extensive research on Google Business Profile for seasonal businesses, this method is best.

How to mark your business as temporarily closed on Google Maps

5. Post Regular Updates to Keep Your Profile Active (Even During Off Season)

Keep your profile active, even during off season. Regularly post content in your GBP post updates like when you’ll be reopening or any off season promotions which helps maintain customers checking back in the future.

You can also share any behind the scenes work to show your business is gearing up for its next busy season.

Screenshot showcasing a good example of Google My Business Updates

6. Respond to Your Google Business Reviews All Year Round

Even if your business is closed for part of the year, your Google Business Profile isn’t. Customers may still leave reviews, and you should respond promptly, whether the review is positive or negative.

Replying to reviews shows you care about your customers and signals to Google that your listing is still active. You” notice this theme of staying active Google Business Profile for seasonal businesses in this article.

An example of a thoughtful response to a customer review on a Google My Business profile.

7. Schedule Updates for Reopening Your GBP Seasonal Business

Before reopening for the new season, schedule update posts in advance. Update your hours, post a welcoming announcement, and share any new offerings or services. You your gonna do this then I recommend you check out my guide on how to schedule GBP update posts here.

You can use third party tools like BrightLocal to schedule posts on your Google Business Profile for Seasonal Businesses. This is because currently there is no option to schedule update posts directly on GBP.

How to use planable to schedule update posts on Google Business profile for Seasonal Businesses

8. Highlight Special Seasonal Offers in The Form of Images and Update Posts

Earlier, I mentioned the importance of keeping your GBP active even during seasons your business isn’t operating. The goal with this is to keep your Google Business Profile relevant for seasonal businesses.

A way to do this is by highlighting a promotion or a special offer that is relevant for potential customers to be aware of. Maybe a coupon that they can redeem when you reopen as an example.

This doesn’t only have to be done in the form of update posts but also making sure you answer details regarding events on your Q&A Pages.

updates posts and using Q&As for Google Business profile for Seasonal Businesses

9. Add Photos, Videos And Content to Communicate Seasonality on GBP

Photos are crucial for a Google Business Profile for Seasonal Businesses. Make sure you update your images to reflect the current season. These photos should also help let people know that your business is seasonal.

For example, a winter festival should show in its images a cozy wintery entrance to its festival and the image should be taken in the winter. Quick tip: Try and prep shots in the off season to promote advance bookings.

How to create a seasonal event updated cover image for GMB Optimization

10. Use Google Posts to Promote Events During Your High Season

Google Posts allow you to share short updates, events, or promotions directly on your Google Business Profile. For seasonal businesses, this feature is perfect for announcing upcoming events, special holiday hours, or seasonal services.

Posts appear in your profile, helping you stay connected with potential customers. Make sure your updates align with the season to keep your Google Business Profile for Seasonal Businesses active and relevant.

Update post examples for oktoberfest type events using Google Business profile for Seasonal Businesses

Extra Tips Managing Your Google Business For Seasonal Businesses

The most important takeaways from the is article is keeping your hours updated, marking your business as temporarily closed when necessary, and posting regularly. Basically we don’t want customers left in the dark.

Extra tip: Check your Q&A section for any confusions regarding your seasonal business and address them immediately. It’s quite common to see questions in this section regarding opening times for seasonal shops.

Extra tip: Please do not make the mistake of marking your business a permanently closed during your off season. You don’t want to go through the headache of creating a new GBP listing every time you reopen.

Once your seasonal business is optimized, ranking higher is your next goal, check out his guide on ways to rank higher on Google Maps.

Need Help Growing Your Seasonal Business?

If you are still in need of any assistance or help with growing your seasonal business organically by generating leads using Google Maps. Then I highly recommend you book a free consultation with the writer of this article, Ramzy, CEO & Founder of Vortex Ranker by clicking here.