The holiday season is here. It’s the most critical time of the year for retailers and many small businesses. You want to capture as much business as you can, which is why it’s a really good idea to devote some time to making sure your business’s hours of operation online are accurate.

68% of shoppers in a 2018 BrightLocal survey reported they would stop using a local business if they found incorrect information in online directories. When you add the stress and rush of holiday shopping into the mix, that percentage would probably be even higher!

In other words, your Google My Business listing matters; your Facebook and other social media sites matter; most importantly, the information on your website matters. Facebook does try to help the situation by reminding users on holidays that some businesses may not be open – but ultimately, it’s better for everyone if you have the correct holiday hours listed in all of the following places:

Your website – customers view your website as the definitive source of correct information about your business.

Google My Business Listing. Also important – sites like Yellow Pages, Yelp, Local.com, White Pages, and the like should all reflect your holiday hours.

Social Media Profiles – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn & more. While you’re updating this information, it’s a good idea to think about what kind of holiday greeting you’ll want to share via social media this year.

Other Important Holiday Information You’ll Want to Have Right

If your business provides custom work or special orders, you’ll need to have the cut-off dates for final holiday orders clearly listed. Some business owners don’t want to list this information because they want to be able to say yes to every customer. What can work in this situation is using your website to let last-minute shoppers know that rush options might be available, with a prompt to contact you for more information.

Shipping deadlines are also very important. It’s a good best practice to list shipping cut-off days on your website as well as alerting people via social media and perhaps your email marketing as shipping deadlines approach.