Can I Create a Listing for a Business that is Not Open Yet?

The best time to come up with a digital marketing strategy is before your business has opened its doors. Google encourages business owners to create Google Business Profiles (formerly Google My Business listings) before their businesses have officially opened. This is a great strategy to build excitement in the community for your upcoming business launch.

To claim your business on Google, follow these steps. The process for creating a listing for a business that is not yet open is essentially the same as creating a listing for a business that has already opened. However, it is important that you select the “Verify later” option when building your listing. This allows you to set a future opening date, and it ensures that your business won’t prematurely show up as “open” when people search on the Google platform.

To set a future opening date on Google, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to Google Business Profile.
2. Open the business location you would like to manage.
3. Select “Info” on the menu.
4. Select “Add opening date.”
5. Enter the future opening date.
6. Select “Apply.”

Google will allow you to select an opening date up to one year in the future.

If you have multiple businesses to verify, that likely requires a process for bulk verified accounts. It’s best to work with a company like SOCi who can help you manage your listings when attempting to verify multiple accounts at once.