Updated
In late August your Google listing should talk to someone unloading a car near campus. In mid-July it should talk to someone who has never parked downtown before. Both versions stay true to the same shop. Only the first sentence and the week's posts move.
Want this handled instead of DIY'd? See the three sizes and what each includes.
This is the copy half of seasonal listing work. The six parts you can change (hours, special hours, description, photos, posts, attributes) are covered in September vs July for a Kingston Google listing. Use this guide when you are staring at a blank description box and need words that do not fib.
I write this from the Niagara end of Lake Ontario, from Google's own help pages and from doing this work for shops that live the student-tourist swap. Kingston SEO has no Kingston office; the guidance still has to be checkable.
What "without lying" means on a listing
Google's guidelines want the profile name, address, and category to match the real-world business. Seasonal copy lives in the description and posts, where you are allowed to emphasise what is true this week.
Lying looks like this: calling yourself a patio restaurant in the name field for July, or promising "open late every night" in September when you closed at five after Labour Day. Honest flipping looks like this: the July description leads with how close you are to the waterfront; the late-August description leads with early weekday coffee and a quiet table for a laptop.
Both sentences can be true of the same bakery. You are choosing which truth sits in the doorway.
Both versions stay true to the same shop. Only the first sentence and the week's posts move.
Move-in week: who is reading
Queen's and St. Lawrence College move-in packs the core with parents, new students, and people who need a coffee, a phone charger, a haircut, or a late dinner after furniture runs. They search on a phone while parked badly. They care about:
- whether you are open tonight and tomorrow morning
- whether there is somewhere to sit with a bag
- whether you are walkable from the student neighbourhood they just learned
- whether you take a card and how long the wait is
They do not care that you have a patio view of the islands. Save that for July.
Summer tourist week: who is reading
July readers are often day-trippers and overnight visitors. They care about:
- where you sit relative to the waterfront and the ferry
- whether there is a patio or shade
- whether you are open through the evening when the streets are full
- a photo that shows the front from the sidewalk
They do not need your "quiet enough for a midterm" line. That sentence is true in February and useful in September. In July it wastes the first line.
Two description openings you can keep in Notes
Write both now. Swap the first sentence when the crowd changes; leave the rest of the paragraph alone if it still fits.
| Crowd | First sentence job | Example opening |
|---|---|---|
| July visitors | Place them on the map | "Coffee and fresh baking a short walk from the waterfront, with tables inside and takeout for the ferry queue." |
| July visitors | Evening / walk-up clarity | "Walk-in haircuts downtown, easy to find from Ontario Street, open through summer evenings." |
| Move-in week | Weekday rhythm + sit space | "Fresh bread daily, open early on weekdays, quiet enough to sit with a laptop between classes." |
| Move-in week | Same-day practical need | "Walk-in cuts the week campus fills up; card payment, no appointment required for a trim." |
Keep the shop's real name, address, and category untouched. If outdoor seating closes in October, turn that attribute off then; do not leave a July patio promise hanging into reading week.
Posts for the two weeks (plain and dated)
Posts are the easiest place to be seasonal because each one is already about this week. Google archives posts after six months unless you set a date range, so last summer's "patio now open" can still sit on top in October if you forget to replace it.
Move-in week post shapes
- "Open early Mon–Fri this week for move-in. Coffee ready from 7."
- "Walk-ins welcome Saturday; expect a short wait after noon."
- "Closed Monday for the civic holiday; regular hours Tuesday."
Summer tourist week post shapes
- "Patio open this weekend while the weather holds."
- "Extended Saturday hours through August long weekend."
- "Takeout ready for the waterfront walk; ask at the counter."
Schedule the September post from the June reminder if your profile allows scheduled posts. Enter special hours for the single dates you already know (move-in weekend peaks, Thanksgiving, Homecoming) instead of rewriting the weekly pattern every time.
A one-hour copy routine before each switch
- Open your two description openings in Notes.
- Paste the incoming season's first sentence into the Google Business Profile description a few days ahead (edits are reviewed before they show).
- Add three photos taken this season that match what that crowd looks for (sidewalk + patio in July; weekday interior + a seat near a plug in September).
- Publish one post aimed at the incoming crowd; archive or replace anything older than six months that still leads the strip.
- Read the attributes. Switch off outdoor seating or other labels that stop being true.
- Search your business name on your phone in a private window and read it as a stranger.
If your shop barely sees tourists, run only the student half. If you close for part of the winter, seasonal closure settings are a different job; start from Google's help on temporary closure rather than this copy guide.
Common questions
Can I put "Queen's" or "student special" in the business name for September?
Do not. Google wants the profile name to match the name on your sign and stationery. Put student-facing detail in the description and posts instead. A summer suffix in the name is the same kind of edit the guidelines warn against.
Will swapping the description twice a year hurt the listing?
Google has not published a claim that it does. Edits go through review before they show, so change ahead of the week you care about and confirm the new text went live.
Is this the same as the September vs July guide?
That guide walks the six parts of the listing. This one is the wording for description and posts when the crowd is specifically Queen's move-in versus summer visitors. Use both: mechanics there, sentences here.
Where this fits
Seasonal copy only helps once the basics hold still. If your address or phone reads differently on the website than on the listing, start with why your business address needs to match everywhere. What I offer for Kingston-area businesses is on the Kingston local SEO page.
If you want a second pair of eyes before move-in week, email hello@kingstonseo.com with your business name and I will read your listing back as a late-August student and a July visitor would see it. Or call 613.480.1345.
Checked against Google Business Profile help on 2026-10-18: Edit your Business Profile (changes reviewed before live), Special hours, Posts (archived after six months unless a date range is set), Guidelines for representing your business (name matches real-world signage), Business attributes.