If you have a brick-and-mortar business, a service area, or set hours of operation, it is crucial that these be listed accurately to have a healthy online presence.
If someone’s first interaction with an organization is not successful due to a misprint of hours or address, it’s likely that there will not be a second interaction. You can avoid this by proactively making your organization easy to find.
The goal of this article is to help your organization catch the attention of prospective guests, customers, donors, volunteers, etc. through strategically publishing your hours and address online. We will list the major platforms to use and include three advanced tips to achieve the best results.
You can also get a custom review for your organization. Our website services and our digital marketing reviews include optimizing how your hours and address are listed on your website and/or social media.
Table of Contents
Why Publish on Multiple Platforms
Having your business hours and address published on your organization’s website is a good first step. However, it is only the beginning.
Most GPS programs have access to business hours. They will warn you if your destination may be closed, either because of listed business hours or due to a holiday.
Your business hours may be listed on your website, but are they also listed somewhere that Google Maps can find?
Some folks will find your organization by going directly to its website, but many will not. Many will search Google, Yelp!, or any number of other sites.
Your goal is for folks to find accurate information regardless of what platform they are searching from. What do they see when they search today?
Where to Publish Your Hours and Address
Organizations have different needs for their online presence depending on the particulars of their services. This section provides general advice on where to focus your energy to have the greatest impact.
Look for your organization on the platforms listed below. If your organization does not have an account for any of them, create it. If your organization is not listed on them, add it. And then upload some appealing photos of your location and services.
Need help assessing the quality of your online presence? Consider a digital marketing review.
All Organizations
All organizations should have at least a Facebook or a LinkedIn page, and many would benefit from both. Facebook is better for community-oriented organizations, especially if you host events or sales. LinkedIn is better for professional organizations, especially if you strive to be thought leaders in your industry or have frequent employment opportunities.
Organizations with Physical Address or Service Area
- Google Business Profile (for Google Maps)
- Yelp!
If you have a physical address, make sure you show up on online maps. Look for your service industry in addition to your specific organization name.
Photos should include the building exterior, the parking area (if any), at least one photo of the interior. Use photos that are bright, have reasonably high resolution, and are inviting.
Organizations with Online Purchases
If you sell a physical product online, make sure that any platform customers can use to purchase your products also list your organization’s hours and address. This might include:
- The e-commerce section of your organization’s website
- A third-party shopping cart linked from your organization’s website
- A third-party delivery service from which customers can purchase products
Adding More Platforms
The platforms listed above are the minimum needed to create a credible online presence. Before listing your organization on more sites, ensure that you can realistically post on all platforms every month or so to keep your presence fresh.
If you can’t, then don’t add more. Having a well-maintained online presence on a few sites is better than having a poorly maintained presence on many.
As a final note, if you have audio or visual content that you are posting on YouTube, Instagram, or other sites, ensure that you are posting from an organization account instead of your personal one.
Tip 1: Don’t Leave Room for Ambiguity
Your online presence should make it crystal clear what your organization’s name is, where it is located, what your business hours are, and what services it provides. Here is an example of lack of clarity in an organization’s online presence and how to fix it.
I live near a historic church that I think has recently replanted under a new name. I say I think because there is a real possibility that two different congregations are meeting in the one building.
The old congregation’s name is on the church building, and the new congregation’s name is on a slick new sign in the yard.
If you search “church” on Google Maps, the old congregation’s name comes up, not the new one. But if you search the address, the new congregation’s name shows up.
The new congregation has a website. The old one does not, but the old one is still listed in the church denomination directory.
This is a severe case of lack of clarity in an organization’s online presence.
How to Avoid Ambiguity
Ensure the name of your organization, its hours of operation, and its physical address and service area are consistent on all physical and digital publications. If your organization goes through a name change, replace all uses of the previous name with the new one.
Tip 2: Make Holiday Hours Easy to Find
Do not assume that other folks know when your organization is open (or closed) for holidays. Ensure that your holiday hours are listed and can be found quickly. Here’s an example of holiday hours communicated poorly.
Not too long ago I wanted to visit a museum on a federal holiday. I thought they were probably open, but I didn’t want to go all the way downtown only to be disappointed. So I checked their website.
This is a large museum, and their website is very sophisticated. However, I could not find the holiday hours anywhere. As far as I could tell, they were even open on Christmas and New Year’s Day.
I eventually found the holiday hours, buried under the extended FAQ section, which was linked from the short FAQ list at the very bottom of the Plan Your Visit page. I finally confirmed the museum was open.
Did they have the information I needed? Yes.
Was it easy to find? Not at all.
Would I have called if I had found a phone number before holiday hours? You bet I would have.
How to Publish Holiday Hours
Put holiday hours on the home page of your website, either listed directly or linked. Do this everywhere you list the hours and address. Also add them to your social platforms and mention them in your newsletter.
Tip 3: Have Good Business Hours
Even the best-communicated hours of operations will not benefit your organization if they do not meet the needs of your guests. Your hours need to be clear, consistent, and cater to your target audience. Here is an example.
I live down the street from a boutique pizza restaurant. Ordering from this restaurant is nearly impossible.
They are closed on Monday and Tuesday. They have different hours on Wednesday and Thursday than they do on Friday-Sunday. When they run out of pizza for the day, they close. They were closed for two or three weeks around the holidays.
However, I will give this small business credit for their consistency in keeping their hours up to date and accurate. Even if they run out of pizza and close early, this is clearly indicated on Google, Yelp, their own website, their online ordering system, and even the front door of their restaurant.
The unexpected and variable hours make it difficult to be a spontaneous customer of this business. The restaurant best accommodates orders placed at least a day in advance.
How to Choose Good Hours
Consistent, predictable hours make a business more intuitive to interact with. Many small businesses have longer hours on Friday/Saturday, reduced hours on Sunday, and are closed on Mondays. Many non-profits are only active during the hours that their programs and volunteers are scheduled, which could be during the day or after normal work hours.
Keep your hours simple and predictable to avoid confusion.
Review Your Online Presence with Fishers of Folk
At Fishers of Folk Digital Design, we offer a digital marketing review service to help your organization improve its online brand reputation.
We review client’s websites and social media presence to give recommendations on how your organization can stand out to prospective guests. Some of the items we assess are search rankings, formatting errors, outdated content, listed businesses hours, and address. From these we provide a remediation plan on how your organization can enhance its reputation across multiple platforms.
Get in touch today for assistance with your organization’s online presence.