Future Opening Date and Opening Date are fields currently supported by Google to show upcoming store openings as well as years in business respectively.
Future Opening Date
When adding a location you have the possibility to select an opening date of the location set in the future. This feature is supported when adding an individual location through the UI or via API.
How does it work?
Direction Local will send the ‘Opening date’ field set in the future to the directories that support it.
Currently, only Google supports this feature. Once the location is verified, your listings will show up on Google 90 days prior to the opening date.
Steps to successfully set up your location with a future opening date:
1. When creating the location, select a Future opening date.
2. Go to the ‘Directories’ tab and select ‘Connect‘
3. Verify the location by requesting the verification code through the platform
Note: you are able to add or modify the future opening date before the location syncs for the first time. Once you sync the location, you will not be able to modify the future opening date. Additionally, you cannot remove the future opening date once it is set.
IMPORTANT
Your location will only show Google and its child directories on the ‘Directories’ section (as shown in screenshot below) until the ‘Future opening date’ is reached.
Once the date is reached, the rest of the directories in the location’s plan will be added.
How will this location be billed?
Because Direction Local incurs costs when new locations are added, the location will be billed according to the date added to the platform, not at date of opening.
Opening Date
Users can add the date their location first opened for business by using the Opening date field. Google can utilise this information to let users know how long a location has been in business.
How can the Opening Date be added?
Simply fill go to the respective location > Profile > Basic Data and fill in the field called Opening Date
The information can be filled for all existing locations or when adding an already open locations.
What happens if a locations has not opened yet?
If the location has not opened yet, the opening date will be populated with the Future Opening Date that has been entered when adding the location to the platform (see Future Opening Date). Once done the Future Opening Date is no longer visible. Instead, an informational message will be shown mentioning that the “Opening Date” represents the date the listing’s information will be published.
