Tag Archives: Google Shopping

WooCommerce merchants can now list their products across Google

Last week we announced that all of WooCommerce’s 4.4 million merchants would soon have the ability to easily integrate their product inventory across Google in just a few clicks, and for free. Today, the product is live and ready for WooCommerce merchants to use globally.

Making it easier for retailers who work with partners like WooCommerce to integrate with Google shopping features across Search, Shopping, Image Search and YouTube means that retailers of all sizes will have even more ways to get discovered. And shoppers will have even more choice as they make their shopping decisions.

WooCommerce merchants can upload their products to Google, create free listings and ad campaigns, and review performance metrics — all without leaving their WooCommerce dashboard.

With over 1 billion shopping sessions happening per day across Google, this integration will help merchants make more connections with shoppers who are eager to discover new brands.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Get discovered and build your brand on Google

There are now over one billion shopping sessions happening across Google every day. More consumers are shopping online than ever before, and they’re meeting a brand-new generation of digital-first retailers, each with their own unique products, stories and values to share. At Google, we’re working on more ways to bridge the connection between retailers and consumers, so that retailers can build direct and lasting relationships with their customers.

Last week at Google I/O, we announced a new Shopify integration, and today, we’re sharing that retailers on WooCommerce, GoDaddy and Square will soon be able to integrate with Google easily and for free. This open ecosystem approach means that retailers will have even more ways to get discovered across Google, and shoppers will have even more choice.

As this generational shift to e-commerce accelerates, having a digital presence is just the minimum — it’s now imperative for you as a retailer to stand out and speak directly to your customers. That’s why today at Google Marketing Livestream, we’re introducing new tools that will help tell your unique brand story, from the point of discovery to checkout.

Build your brand and highlight what makes you unique

We’re reimagining entirely new ways to help you connect with your customer at decision making points in the journey - across Search, Shopping, Images, Maps and YouTube. Soon, you’ll have the ability to curate how your brand appears on Google through videos, rich lifestyle imagery and interactive story formats, for free.

This past year has made consumers more aware than ever that who they buy from shapes the world they live in. 71% of consumers want to identify and buy from companies aligned to the values that matter most to them, according to a recent study by 5WPR. We’ve listened to this feedback, and following the successful launch of a Black-owned business attribute earlier this year, we’ll launch new identity attributes, including a women-led attribute, soon.

An animation showing a search for planter stands and a store that identifies as Black-owned in the shopping tab results.

Nine in 10 shoppers say they spend more or the same on beauty products online than before the pandemic, according to a PowerReviews Survey. What if you could use digital to offer the kinds of “hands-on” experiences that inspire consumers in real life? We launched an AR (augmented reality) makeup kit try-on experience for lipstick and eyeshadow, and soon consumers will be able to find that perfectly matching foundation, from brands like L'Oreal and Estee Lauder.

Consumers also want to visualize how clothing will look on them. We’re rolling out a new AR apparel experience to show shoppers how different tops appear on people like them.

Once you’ve attracted a new customer by highlighting your unique benefits, you have the opportunity to turn them into a loyal customer. We’re piloting a merchant loyalty program integration that lets customers see your special loyalty pricing and benefits — including free shipping — when they first start shopping on Google.

If a consumer has a loyalty account with you, they will be able to instantly link it. If a consumer doesn’t, they’ll be able to easily join your loyalty program with a click of the “Create Account” button. You can see how it works in the Sephora Beauty Insider example below.

The power of branding has never been more important, but we also know sometimes consumers are just looking for a good deal. Searches for “discount code” have increased 50% since last year, and these searches are great moments for you to drive more sales.

Later this year we’ll make it easier for shoppers to discover your brand’s promotions, just in time for seasonal shopping. We’ll launch a deals results page on Search and the Shopping tab. New real-time, deal optimization reporting is also coming to Merchant Center.

These are just a few examples of how we’re innovating to help you differentiate and make a deeper connection with consumers shopping across Google channels billions of times each day.

An animation showing Black Friday deals on Google Shopping

Attract customers by offering flexible checkout options

The bar is high for consumers who now expect more buying options than ever before. Over the past year, “available near me” and “curbside pickup” searches surged, and searches for "in stock" have grown globally by over 800% year over year.

That’s why we’re offering new ways to show consumers all the buying options you offer — online, in-store and across Google. Your local inventory ads can now show products that are available for immediate store pick up, curbside pickup or pick up later.

Curbside pickup and in-store shopping labels are now extending to YouTube and Maps local ads, to help you reach even more nearby shoppers, in more places.

From left to right: An image showing curbside pick up, and pick up later options, for a classic toaster. An image showing In-store shopping and curbside pickup labels for YouTube local ads. An image showing In-store shopping and curbside pickup labels for Maps local ads

We’re also building a new free experience that will help you show your customers all the ways they can buy products from you. When a customer discovers your products on Google, they’ll see a summary of all the buying options you offer in one place. Whether it’s your e-commerce site, nearby store, or Google’s native checkout flow, this new cohesive format will make shopping easier for customers who expect convenience, and help you neatly showcase your brand’s expanded omni channel offerings. Coming soon, merchants will have the option to enable Shop Pay as a buying option, giving their customers more options for an easy checkout experience.

We’re currently testing this new buying experience on Search and the Shopping tab, and plan to bring it to YouTube and Images later this year.

Together, we’re building a better future for e-commerce: a future where your brand’s unique products, services, stories and values are front and center to the consumer. We’re incredibly excited to deliver these features to you throughout the year. Learn more about these product updates today at Google Marketing Livestream. Check out our keynote at g.co/gml2021.

Source: The Official Google Blog

16 updates from Google I/O that’ll make your life easier

Part of our mission is to help make your daily life easier. At I/O this year, we shared news about a wide range of products and services that’ll do just that, from starting your car with your phone to searching your screenshots using Google Lens. Here are just a few of the features you should keep an eye out for.

Quickly view your notifications, invoke Google Assistant on Android.

Android 12 includes the biggest design change since 2014. We rethought the entire experience, from the colors to the shapes, light and motion, and made it easier to access some of the most used features:

To invoke Google Assistant wherever you are, long press the power button.
Swipe down to view your new notification shade, an at-a-glance view of all your app notifications in one place.
And to make it easier to access everything you need, Google Pay and Device Controls have been added to your customizable quick settings.

Learn about all the big changes in Android 12.

Manage your privacy settings more easily on Android.

On top of the new design changes, we’ve also launched a new Privacy Dashboard, giving you easy access to your permissions settings, visibility into what data is being accessed and the ability to revoke permissions on the spot. You also have new indicators that let you know when apps are using your microphone and camera, as well as a way to quickly shut off that access. And we’ve added new microphone and camera toggles into quick settings so you can easily remove app access to these sensors for the entire system. Learn about new privacy controls in Android 12.

Change the channel with your phone.

Lost your TV remote? Don’t sweat it — we’re building remote-control features directly into your Android phone. Another bonus: If you need to enter a long password to log into one of your many streaming services subscriptions, you can save time and use your phone’s keyboard to enter the text. This built-in remote control will be compatible with devices powered by Android TV OS, including Google TV, and it’ll roll out later this year. Learn more about how we’re helping your devices work better together.

GIF of a user typing a password onto a phone and that password appearing on a TV screen — Use your phone to enter your password for your streaming services.

And unlock your car with your phone while you’re at it.

We’re working with car manufacturers to develop a new digital car key in Android 12. This feature will enable you to use your phone to lock, unlock and even start your car — and in some cases you won’t even need to take it out of your pocket. And because it’s digital, you’ll also be able to securely and remotely share your car key with friends and family if needed. Read more about Android Auto.

Understand more about your Search results.

When you’re looking up information online, it’s important to check how credible a source is, especially if you aren’t familiar with the website. Our About This Result feature in Google Search provides details about a website before you visit it, including its description, when it was first indexed and whether your connection to the site is secure. This month, we’ll start rolling out About This Result to all English results worldwide, with more languages to come. And later this year, we’re going to add even more helpful contextual details — like how the site describes itself, what other sources are saying about it and related articles to check out.

Change your password using Chrome and Assistant.

Chrome on Android will help you change your passwords with a simple click. On supported sites, whenever you check your passwords and Chrome finds a password that may have been compromised, you will see a "Change password" button from Assistant. Powered by Duplex on the Web, Assistant will not only navigate to the site, but actually go through the entire process of changing your password for you. This feature is already available for purchasing movie tickets, ordering food, and checking into flights.

Use Google Lens to translate your homework into a language you’re more comfortable with.

Google Lens enables you to search what you see — from your camera, your photos and even your search bar. For a lot of students, their schoolwork might be in a language they’re not as comfortable with. That’s why we’re updating the Translate filter in Lens, making it easy to copy, listen to or search translated text in over 100 languages. Learn more about how information comes to life with Lens and AR.

And search your screenshots with Google Lens.

Lots of people take screenshots of things they’re interested in buying — but it can be hard to follow up on those screenshots afterward. Now when you look at any screenshot in Google Photos, we’ll prompt you to search the photo with Lens. This will help you find that pair of shoes or wallpaper pattern that you liked so much.

A GIF demonstrating using Google Lens to search a screen shot of a basketball player, returning results for his shoes — Search your screenshots using Google Lens.

When shopping online, keep track of your open carts when you open a new tab.

Raise your hand if this has ever happened to you: You’ve got a browser open to do some online shopping, but then you get distracted and open up two, three, or 10 other windows — and you forget what you were online to do in the first place. We’re introducing a new feature in Chrome that shows you your open carts when you open a new tab. No more lost shopping carts here.

And get the best value for products you’re buying online.

Coming soon, we’ll let you link your favorite loyalty programs from merchants like Sephora to your Google account to show you the best purchase options across Google. Learn more about all our latest shopping updates.

Explore unfamiliar neighborhoods with more detailed views in Maps.

If you’re traveling by foot, augmented reality in Live View will show you helpful details about the shops and restaurants around you – including how busy they are, and recent reviews and photos. And if you’re traveling, Live View will tell you where you are relative to your hotel – so you can always find your way back.

Avoid the crowds with area busyness.

Maps already shows the busyness of specific places — in fact, more than 80 million people use the live busyness information on Google every day. Now we’re expanding that functionality to show the busyness of an entire area, allowing you to see just how bustling a neighborhood or part of town is at any given moment. This means that if you want to keep things low-key, you can use Maps to see the hotspots to avoid. And if you’re looking for the most popular places to visit, you can use area busyness to scope out the liveliest neighborhoods at a glance.

See breakfast spots in the morning and dinner joints at night.

We’re updating Maps to show you more relevant information based on what time of day it is and whether you’re traveling. That means we’ll show you things like coffee shops in the morning, when you need that caffeine fix, and burger joints at night, when you’re hungry for dinner. And if you’re on a weekend getaway, we’ll make tourist attractions and local landmarks easier to spot. Learn more about our latest updates to Maps.

Discover unexpected Memories in Photos.

Starting later this summer, when we find a set of three or more photos with similarities like shape or color, we'll highlight these little patterns for you in your Memories. For example, Photos might surface a pattern of your family hanging out on the same couch over the years — something you wouldn’t have ever thought to search for, but that tells a deeply meaningful story about your daily life. Learn more about Little patterns in Photos.

Bring your pictures to life with Cinematic moments.

When you’re trying to get the perfect photo, you usually take the same shot two or three (or twenty) times. Using neural networks, we can take two nearly identical images and fill in the gaps by creating new frames in between. This creates vivid, moving images called Cinematic moments. Producing this effect from scratch would take professional animators hours, but with machine learning we can automatically generate these moments and bring them to your Recent Highlights. Learn more about Cinematic moments.

A GIF showing two similar pictures of a child and his baby sibling being converted into a moving image. — Cinematic moments will bring your photos to life.

Transform how you work with smart canvas in Google Workspace.

As part of our mission to build the future of work, we’re launching smart canvas, a bunch of exciting updates across Docs, Sheets and Meet. New features include interactive building blocks—smart chips, templates, and checklists—as well as a new pageless format in Docs and emoji reactions. We're also bringing Meet closer to Docs, Sheets and Slides, and much more. See all of the big updates to Google Workspace.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Search, explore and shop the world’s information, powered by AI

AI advancements push the boundaries of what Google products can do. Nowhere is this clearer than at the core of our mission to make information more accessible and useful for everyone.

We've spent more than two decades developing not just a better understanding of information on the web, but a better understanding of the world. Because when we understand information, we can make it more helpful — whether you’re a remote student learning a complex new subject, a caregiver looking for trusted information on COVID vaccines or a parent searching for the best route home.

Deeper understanding with MUM

One of the hardest problems for search engines today is helping you with complex tasks — like planning what to do on a family outing. These often require multiple searches to get the information you need. In fact, we find that it takes people eight searches on average to complete complex tasks.

With a new technology called Multitask Unified Model, or MUM, we're able to better understand much more complex questions and needs, so in the future, it will require fewer searches to get things done. Like BERT, MUM is built on a Transformer architecture, but it’s 1,000 times more powerful and can multitask in order to unlock information in new ways. MUM not only understands language, but also generates it. It’s trained across 75 different languages and many different tasks at once, allowing it to develop a more comprehensive understanding of information and world knowledge than previous models. And MUM is multimodal, so it understands information across text and images and in the future, can expand to more modalities like video and audio.

Imagine a question like: “I’ve hiked Mt. Adams and now want to hike Mt. Fuji next fall, what should I do differently to prepare?” This would stump search engines today, but in the future, MUM could understand this complex task and generate a response, pointing to highly relevant results to dive deeper. We’ve already started internal pilots with MUM and are excited about its potential for improving Google products.

Information comes to life with Lens and AR

People come to Google to learn new things, and visuals can make all the difference. Google Lens lets you search what you see — from your camera, your photos or even your search bar. Today we’re seeing more than 3 billion searches with Lens every month, and an increasingly popular use case is learning. For example, many students might have schoolwork in a language they aren't very familiar with. That’s why we’re updating the Translate filter in Lens so it’s easy to copy, listen to or search translated text, helping students access education content from the web in over 100 languages.

Animated GIF showing Google Lens’s Translate filter applied to homework.

AR is also a powerful tool for visual learning. With the new AR athletes in Search, you can see signature moves from some of your favorite athletes in AR — like Simone Biles’s famous balance beam routine.

Animated GIF showing Simone Biles’s balance beam routine surfaced by the AR athletes in Search feature.

Evaluate information with About This Result

Helpful information should be credible and reliable, and especially during moments like the pandemic or elections, people turn to Google for trustworthy information.

Our ranking systems are designed to prioritize high-quality information, but we also help you evaluate the credibility of sources, right in Google Search. Our About This Result feature provides details about a website before you visit it, including its description, when it was first indexed and whether your connection to the site is secure.

Animated GIF showing the About This Result features applied to the query "How to invest in ETFs."

This month, we’ll start rolling out About This Result to all English results worldwide, with more languages to come. Later this year, we’ll add even more detail, like how a site describes itself, what other sources are saying about it and related articles to check out.

Exploring the real world with Maps

Google Maps transformed how people navigate, explore and get things done in the world — and we continue to push the boundaries of what a map can be with industry-first features like AR navigation in Live View at scale. We recently announced we’re on track to launch over 100 AI-powered improvements to Google Maps by the end of year, and today, we’re introducing a few of the newest ones. Our new routing updates are designed to reduce the likelihood of hard-braking on your drive using machine learning and historical navigation information — which we believe could eliminate over 100 million hard-braking events in routes driven with Google Maps each year.

If you’re looking for things to do, our more tailored map will spotlight relevant places based on time of day and whether or not you’re traveling. Enhancements to Live View and detailed street maps will help you explore and get a deep understanding of an area as quickly as possible. And if you want to see how busy neighborhoods and parts of town are, you’ll be able to do this at a glance as soon as you open Maps.

More ways to shop with Google

People are shopping across Google more than a billion times per day, and our AI-enhanced Shopping Graph — our deep understanding of products, sellers, brands, reviews, product information and inventory data — powers many features that help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Because shopping isn’t always a linear experience, we’re introducing new ways to explore and keep track of products. Now, when you take a screenshot, Google Photos will prompt you to search the photo with Lens, so you can immediately shop for that item if you want. And on Chrome, we’ll help you keep track of shopping carts you’ve begun to fill, so you can easily resume your virtual shopping trip. We're also working with retailers to surface loyalty benefits for customers earlier, to help inform their decisions.

Last year we made it free for merchants to sell their products on Google. Now, we’re introducing a new, simplified process that helps Shopify’s 1.7 million merchants make their products discoverable across Google in just a few clicks.

Whether we’re understanding the world’s information, or helping you understand it too, we’re dedicated to making our products more useful every day. And with the power of AI, no matter how complex your task, we’ll be able to bring you the highest quality, most relevant results.

Source: Google LatLong

Working with merchants to give you more ways to shop

We want to help people discover, learn about and shop for the products they love — whether those products come from a big-box retailer, new direct-to-consumer brands or the mom-and-pop shop down the street. We're supporting an open network of retailers and shoppers to help businesses get discovered and give people more options when they're looking to buy. Two concrete steps we’ve taken to support discoverability for all merchants are eliminating commission fees and making it free for sellers on Google.

To show you the most relevant shopping information, we must have a deep understanding of the products that appear across Google and in the world around us — from images and videos to online reviews and inventory in local stores. That’s why today we shed some light on the technology behind our Shopping Graph: our most comprehensive, real-time dataset about products, inventory and merchants.

The Shopping Graph is a dynamic, AI-enhanced model that understands a constantly-changing set of products, sellers, brands, reviews and most importantly, the product information and inventory data we receive from brands and retailers directly — as well as how those attributes relate to one another. With people shopping across Google more than a billion times a day, the Shopping Graph makes those sessions more helpful by connecting people with over 24 billion listings from millions of merchants across the web. It works in real-time so people can discover and shop for products that are available right now.

An animation showing blue and gray tiles coming together to form the Google Shopping Graph — The Google Shopping Graph.

Having a deep understanding of the world’s products is just one piece of the puzzle. To help more merchants get discovered, it’s important that we support like-minded partners who share in Google’s mission to democratize e-commerce. That’s why today at Google I/O, we announced that we’re expanding our partnership with Shopify, introducing a new, simplified process that will let Shopify’s 1.7 million merchants feature their products across Google in just a few clicks. This new collaboration with Shopify will enable merchants to become discoverable to high-intent consumers across Google Search, Shopping, YouTube, Google Images and more.

As we eliminate barriers like fees and improve our technology, we’ve seen a 70% increase in the size of our product catalog and an 80% increase in merchants on our platform. But exactly how do these sellers and their products show up across Google? Search, Shopping, Image Search and YouTube are popular ways for people to research and discover products. Today we announced even more ways to get discovered by people shopping every day.

Discover more with new shopping experiences

We know it’s easy to get inspired just by strolling your neighborhood, browsing a magazine or taking note of something online. That’s why we’re building new, more integrated shopping experiences to meet you where you already are. For instance, one of the most popular ways people take note of things they like is by taking a screenshot — but it’s not always easy to take action on those screenshots afterward. Now, when you view any screenshot in Google Photos, there will be a suggestion to search the photo with Lens, allowing you to see search results that can help you find that pair of shoes or wallpaper pattern that caught your eye.

An animation showing a screenshot of an athlete, and Lens searching that screenshot for the sneakers he is wearing. — Using Lens to find that perfect pair of sneakers.

We also know that shopping isn’t always a linear experience. You may open your browser intending to shop, but switch your focus to an email or news article or you might not be ready to buy yet. That’s why, along with other new modules in Chrome that help you pick up where you left off, we’re introducing a new feature in Chrome that works locally on your device to let you see your open carts when you open a new tab. So when you step away or browse on other sites, you can pick up your shopping right where you left off.

An animation showing the Chrome browser highlighting shopping carts from four retailers — Reminders for your shopping carts in Chrome.

Once you’re ready to make your purchase, we want to make it easy for you to get the best value for the products you’re buying. Coming soon, we’ll let you link your favorite loyalty programs from merchants like Sephora to your Google account to show you the best purchase options across Google, helping brands and their customers foster a stronger, more direct relationship.

We’ll continue to work toward bringing you a better shopping experience. Be sure to tune into Google Marketing Live (GML) next week to hear more updates.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Working with merchants to give you more ways to shop

Discover more with new shopping experiences

We’ll continue to work toward bringing you a better shopping experience. Be sure to tune into Google Marketing Live (GML) next week to hear more updates.

Source: The Official Google Blog

Register for Google Marketing Livestream

Did you know searches for corsages and boutonnières are one of the top trending categories this month in the U.S.? Meanwhile in Italy, one of the top growing categories of searches this month is charms and pendants. And in Japan, searches in the drawing and painting kits category have grown over 100% in the past month.¹

People around the world turn to Google to be inspired, discover new brands and find what they need. Consumer behavior is changing rapidly, so we’ve been busy building products to help you be ready for what’s next.

Register now for Google Marketing Livestream on Thursday, May 27 at 8 a.m. PT. You’ll be the first to learn about Google’s new products, the latest trends, and actionable best practices. You’ll also hear from many industry leaders, including:

Speaker bios: Jim Farley (President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford Motor Company), Kory Marchisotto (Chief Marketing Officer, e.l.f. Beauty and President, Keys Soulcare), Alicia Keys (Founder, Key's Soulcare), Emmanuel Acho (NYT Bestselling Author and Host, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man), Harley Finkelstein (President, Shopify), William White (SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Walmart U.S.)

^{1. https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/feature/category-trends/us/year/en as of May 10, 2021}

Source: The Official Google Blog

5 new ways Google Assistant can make the day a little easier

Spring is here, and with it, a helping hand from Google Assistant. Today we're introducing five new features that help you tackle small things around the house (and from the car).

1) Can’t remember where you put down your phone?Don’t sweat it. Already one of the most popular features for Google Assistant, you can tell your Nest smart speaker or smart display, “Hey Google, find my phone,” for all devices, now including iPhones. For iPhones, once you opt in to receiving notifications and critical alerts from the Google Home app, you’ll get a notification and hear a custom ringing sound (even when the phone is on silent or if Do Not Disturb is enabled).

2) Get your takeout faster.Over the last year, more and more people started ordering takeout and delivery on Google, and more restaurants added the “order” button to their Business Profiles on Search and Maps. To make online food orders even easier, Assistant can now help you complete your purchase in only a few steps powered by Duplex on the web. To get started, you’ll need to first search for a restaurant near you from the Google App on Android and select “Order Online” or “Order Pickup.” When you finish your online takeout order from a restaurant we partner with and click “check out,” Assistant will automatically navigate the site and fill out your contact and payment details saved in Google Pay and synced to Chrome Autofill. At launch, we’re partnering with select restaurant chains and will be adding more across the U.S. later this year.

3) Try a new sunrise or sunset Routine for your smart home devices.Now available globally, these Routines are based on your location. For example, you can automatically have your living room lights turn on and the sprinklers start when the sun goes down. It’s easy to set up:

Select the “New” routine tab in the Google Home app or Assistant settings.
Under “how to start,” you’ll need to “add starter,” then you’ll see an option for “Sunrise/sunset.”
From there, you can customize the time and specific actions you want them to trigger.

4) Need routine ideas?Assistant Routines make it easy to automatically perform multiple actions at once with a single command. We’ve included a dedicated section in Ready-Made Routines to highlight popular “suggested actions” to inspire you, such as “Tell me if my battery is low” or “Tell me what happened today in history.” You can also add a “shortcut” icon to your Android home screen for your favorite Routines. Head to the overview screen for Routines in the Google Home app or Assistant Settings and click the “Add to Home Screen” icon in the top app bar.

5) Have questions about the Oscars?You can get the inside scoop from your Google Assistant. Just ask: “Hey Google, when are the Oscars?” or “Hey Google, who’s nominated for Animated Feature Film at the Oscars?” to hear the list of nominees. To hear some predictions ahead of the red carpet, try “Hey Google, what are your Oscar predictions? or “Hey Google, who do you think is best dressed at the Oscars?” You can also join in on the award night fun by saying, “Hey Google, give me an award.”

Source: Google Ads & Commerce

Discover the best products for everything on Google

When you shop for products — whether for your home, your family or yourself — you should feel confident knowing you’re making a good decision and buying the best product for your needs. Search interest for products like the "best exercise bikes," "best ring lights" and "best air fryers" increased by 100% or more in the last year, signaling that these days, people are increasingly using the Internet to research and discover products to buy.

Today we’re making it easier for you to discover top products with the Best Things for Everything Guide, a microsite that highlights 1,000 products based on what’s popular on the web, so you can easily find great choices.

The best products for...everything

For the next several weeks, you can browse the site and discover products, or choose from one of eight product categories, ranging from tech to home to parenting. Looking for a better way to start your morning? You can browse top coffee makers to help get your day started. Want a better way to unwind at night? We’ve highlighted the best pillows to give you a good night’s rest. Once you’ve found a product you like, just tap to find more information on the product description page, including prices, reviews and places to buy.

An animation showing different products in the Best Things for Everything guide on a mobile phone

If you’re looking for something that isn’t on the site, Google has plenty of tools you can use. Find user reviews right on a Shopping product page, compare prices and check out product availability options both online and nearby: select the “available nearby” filter on the Google Search ‘Shopping’ tab to see local stores, in-stock information and curbside pickup options.

An animation showing a price tracker set for an Instant Pot, showing up on a mobile phone home screen.

With the Best Things for Everything guide and Google, you can discover top products and the best places to buy them.

Source: Google Ads & Commerce

Honoring the legacy of Black-owned businesses in the U.S.

In this post:This Black History Month, we’re highlighting Black-owned businesses and showing our support through funding and training.

In 1946, Irene and Clint Cleaves opened The Four Way Grill with a simple mission: Serve the best soul food in all of Memphis. And for the last 75 years, they’ve done just that and more. In its early days, The Four Way was one of the few places where Black and white diners sat together, and it was considered a safe haven for leaders of the civil rights movement to recharge and enjoy a good meal. And today under the stewardship of the Bates family, The Four Way Restaurant remains a cornerstone of the Memphis community and symbol of Black American history.

Historically, Black-owned businesses have served as gathering spots for Black communities throughout the country and provided a strong sense of ownership and belonging for those who were denied equal rights. And today, as more Black businesses come online, they’re creating new pathways for economic opportunity and generational wealth in the Black community. As we kick off the first day of Black History Month, we want to shine a light on Black-owned businesses, big and small, and honor their resilience and ingenuity.

Making it easier to find and support Black businesses

In the past 12 months, Google search interest for “black owned businesses” has skyrocketed 600% based on Google Trends data comparing January-December 2019 to January-December 2020. Across the country, people have been looking for “black owned restaurants,” “black owned bookstores,” “black owned beauty supply” and more, which speaks to the diversity within the Black business community. We want to make it easier for people to support and spend dollars with the Black businesses they love. Starting today, we’re extending the Black-owned attribute to Google’s Shopping tab, so people can easily identify and buy from Black-owned businesses on Google. Business owners can add the Black-owned attribute by visiting the Google Merchant Help Center. The feature will become visible to shoppers and available to all U.S. Google Merchants in coming months. This update builds on the Black-owned business attribute we launched across Google Search and Maps last summer and is another way people can shop with Black businesses across Google’s products and platforms.

The Black-owned business attribute on Google’s Shopping tab.

Funding organizations that support the Black small business community

Reports have shown that 41% of Black-owned businesses — about 440,000 businesses — have been shuttered due to COVID-19. Through our partnership with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), over $30 million in loans and Google.org grants to support Black-owned businesses and community lenders have been distributed to local organizations; that’s out of the $50 million we committed through the Grow with Google Small Business Fund announced back in June. We also provided a $5 million Google.org grantto Common Future, which through its network, has distributed the funding to community organizations supporting women and minority small business owners throughout the U.S. and is providing technical assistance and coaching to businesses. Click through to meet some of the Black-owned small businesses and community-centered organizations that have received funding.

Donte Miller and Harriett Williams
Harriett Williams and Donte Miller are co-Founders of the Village Micro Fund, which is a social impact fund dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs in Metro Atlanta, GA. The Village Micro Fund works to fill the access gaps in financing, education, technical assistance, and cooperative development for small black and brown businesses and prove that under-resourced communities around the country can self direct the development of their neighborhoods. The Village Micro Fund received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org. (Photo by Adrianna Clark)
JC Smith
JC Smith and Jeff Smith launched Bailiwick Clothing Company to represent and elevate the pride and positive energy of the District of Columbia. Facing unprecedented challenges in the face of COVID-19, the brothers turned to Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) for financing and technical assistance, with support from the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Google.org.
Sheila standing in front of her store, Liha
Sheila owns mobile boutique Liha on 125th Street in Harlem next to the iconic Apollo Theater. When COVID-19 hit New York City in March, Sheila had to shut down her store due to social distancing mandates and quickly pivoted her business online with financing and technical assistance from Grameen America, with support from the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Google.org.
Jessica Norwood
Jessica Norwood is the CEO of RUNWAY, a national financial innovation firm that advances resiliency for Black businesses and the communities they serve by building emergent financial practices and infrastructure that closes the racial wealth gap for good. RUNWAY provides Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs with early-stage “We believe in you” funding and holistic business support in order to bridge the racial wealth gap for African-Americans and their local communities. RUNWAY received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org. (Photo by Toni Riales)
Tim Lampkin
Tim Lampkin is the CEO of Higher Purpose Co. (HPC), an economic justice nonprofit working to build community wealth with Black residents in Mississippi by supporting the ownership of financial, cultural, and political power. By using a solutions-based organizing and community wealth building approach, HPC unapologetically tackles the generational poverty, structured inequality, and institutional racism in Mississippi. Higher Purpose received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org. (Photo by Trent Calvin Photography)
Jennie L. Stephens
Jennie L. Stephens is the CEO of theCenter for Heirs Property Preservation, which is a non-profit that helps families protect and keep their family land, build generational wealth and grow working landscape. The Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation protects heirs’ property and promotes the sustainable use of land to provide increased economic benefit to historically underserved landowners. The Center for Heirs Property Preservation received funding from Common Future, with support from Google.org.

In addition to financial support, Google recently expanded the Grow with Google Digital Coaches program to 20 cities across the U.S. in order to provide 50,000 additional Black-owned businesses with mentorship, networking and training they need to grow. To date, Digital Coaches have helped train over 58,000 Black and Latino small business owners through more than 1,000 digital skills workshops. Throughout Black History Month, our Digital Coaches will host tailored digital skills workshops for Black business owners in their communities.

These events will culminate in a virtual, national Black Small Business Meetup on February 25 with free workshops, panels and best-practice sharing for more than 500 Black small business owners, entrepreneurs and leaders from across the country. Sign up to attend the free virtual summit at our event website.

Black businesses are critical to the growth and recovery of the U.S. economy. It’s imperative that we support and invest in Black business owners, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many of their businesses to close. Black-owned businesses have a rich legacy of community and activism, and it's our collective responsibility to ensure that their legacy continues to thrive for generations to come.