Add Future Opening Dates to Locations on Google Business Profile – Yext Help

Through the Yext platform, you have the ability to list future opening dates on Google Business Profile listings for locations opening soon. You have the option to display the exact opening date (e.g., November 1, 2019) or the opening month (e.g., November 2019). You can add locations that are opening soon up to a year in advance, and locations will appear on Google around 90 days before it opens. Then, it will appear on Google with the message that includes the date or month when it is opening.

This article outlines the steps needed to add the open date to Google for locations that are opening in the future. Your Google Business Profile account must be linked with Yext in order to sync questions and answers. To link your account, see How to Link Google Business Profile.

Note: This open date will only display on Google. Other publishers don’t support this feature currently.

To add the Opening Date or Month:

Add a custom field for both Open Date and Open Month
1. Click Content in the navigation bar and click Configuration.
2. Click Fields.
3. Click on the + Add Field button.
4. Click Select Field Type and select Date from the drop-down menu.
5. Enter Open Date or Open Month in the field name.
  - Note: you must use these exact names in order for the fields to be mapped correctly to Google Business Profile.
6. Click Select Entity Types and select the entity types that this custom field should be available for.
7. Click Save Field or Save and Add Another.
Enter the desired date into the Custom Fields.
1. Click Content in the navigation bar and click Entities.
2. Click on the desired entity.
3. Click Other Fields in the left sidebar.
4. Click on the Open Date or Open Month field and enter the desired date.
  - Note that even if you select the Open Month field, you will need to select a specific date. But you can select any date in that month, as we will only send the month to Google.
  - We recommend using a date when the location will be open to the general public.
5. Click Save.
Reach out to Support to have them configure your account settings to push the new Open Date and Open Month fields to Google.
- Once this last step is complete we will begin sending this data to Google. This will add a call out on the listing that states the opening date. For an example of what this looks like, see Google’s Fresh ways to stay up to date on your favorite places and find new ones blog post.

You are able to update your opening date at any time. However, we recommend changing the date as little as possible to set clear expectations and provide a smooth customer experience.

While you are preparing for opening day, you can add as much content as you’d like for that entity. We recommend adding a Google Cover Photo for the new locations to ensure that it doesn’t display a construction site photo or a photo of whatever was previously at this address. Google will not publish the information other than the name, category, opening date or month, address, and cover photo until the listing is live to avoid any confusion. Also, be sure you don't alter the location's 'Closed' flag prior to the opening date as this may prevent listings from being created.

Once the opening date or month has passed, the listing will say ‘Recently Opened’ for a few days.