Tag Archives: small business

What to do now to be ready for this holiday season

As a result of the pandemic, ninety-three percent of small businesses report being disrupted by COVID-19. While the holiday season is always important to many small businesses, we know that this year may be the most important yet. 


For consumers, the holidays are starting early and the way to reach those shoppers is online. Seventy-one percent of U.S. adults said they planned to do more than half of their holiday shopping digitally this year, and those shoppers are open to buying from new retailers, especially local small businesses. 


To help you get ready for the holidays, we created the Google for Small Business holiday hub. On the hub you’ll get personalized recommendations to reach shoppers across Google Search, Shopping and Maps. Here’s a preview of some of the tools and resources that you’ll find on the hub. 

Create a strong digital presence 

Sixty-six percent of people in the U.S. who plan to shop this holiday season said they will shop more at local small businesses. To ensure customers are finding the most up-to-date information about your business on Google, claim your Business Profile. Once you’ve verified your business, you can share information with shoppers, like your store hours and contact information, your current inventory, whether you offer curbside pickup and if you have any welcome offers. Our updated Local Opportunity Finder tool will give you personalized suggestions for making improvements to your Business Profile on Google. And you can now save time by making updates to your Business Profile directly from Google Search and Maps. 


For retailers, it’s vital that customers have a seamless experience on your website. The Grow My Store tool will analyze your site’s customer experience, show how your site performs relative to others in the same retail category and offer tailored recommendations for improvements. 

Local Opportunity Finder - shows missing phone number

The Local Opportunity Finder tool provides personalized recommendations for improvements to your Business Profile. 

Show up when people are searching for what you offer 

We recently announced that retailers offering ecommerce can list their products for free on Google. This makes what you offer more accessible to the hundreds of millions of people who shop on Google each day, connecting you to more customers. You can get started by either submitting your product feed through Google Merchant Center or by automating your feed setup through platforms that you may already be using to manage your products and inventory: Shopify, WooCommerce or BigCommerce. 


If you’re a local business looking to attract customers to your store, you can also get your inventory online instantly by connecting to Pointy from Google via a compatible point-of-sale system or by purchasing a Pointy device. Once connected, simply scan your products as normal and the product information will automatically upload to an online catalog called a Pointy Page and to your Business Profile through the See What’s In Store module.


When you’re ready to take the next step to advertise your business online, you can use Google Ads Smart campaigns—our ads product built specifically for small businesses. We've now made it easier for local small businesses who don't have a website to create ads. Smart campaigns will automatically build a landing page with your business phone number, hours, photos and reviews with the information you submitted on your Business Profile.

You can find more tools and tips on our Google for Small Business holiday hub and by tuning in to our October 14th Grow with Google training focused on selling online with ecommerce tools. 

Small business and Australia’s media bargaining code

In what has been an incredibly tough year, Australia’s small and medium businesses have kept our economic engine going—protecting jobs and providing vital services in their communities. 


Throughout this time, we’ve made sure business owners know Google’s tools and services are there to help. Small businesses are using our affordable ad services to advertise where they couldn’t before, and connecting with new customers via free listings on Search and Maps. We’ve also helped businesses operate online through national digital skills training.


As Australia starts to look towards economic recovery, we’re concerned that many of these businesses will be affected by a new law being proposed by the Australian Government—the News Media Bargaining Code—which would put the digital tools they rely on at risk. 


While we don’t oppose a code governing the relationship between digital platforms and news businesses, the current draft code has implications for everyone, not just digital platforms and media businesses. We wanted to explain our concerns and how we believe they can be addressed in a way that works for all businesses.  


How does the code impact small businesses? 


The draft code affects small businesses because it would weaken Google services like Search and YouTube. These services created more than 130 million connections between businesses and potential customers in 2019, and contributed to the $35 billion in benefits we generated for more than 1.3 million businesses across the country. But they rely on Search and YouTube working the same for everyone—so that people can trust that the results they see are useful and authoritative, and businesses know they’re on a level playing field.


Under the draft code, we’d be forced to give some news businesses privileged access to data and information—including about changes to our search algorithms—enabling them to feature more prominently in search results at the expense of other businesses, website owners and creators. 


News GIF

For example, a cafe owner might have made their way to the top spot in Search results for a particular query over time, thanks to popularity, search interest and other signals. But if the draft code became law—giving some publishers an advanced look at algorithm changes—they could potentially take advantage of this and make their web content appear more prominently in search results.


Likewise, if you ran an independent travel website that provides advice to people on how to plan local holidays, you might lose out to a newspaper travel section because they’ve had a sneak peek at changes to how Search works.


That’s an unfair advantage for news businesses. Businesses of all kinds would face an additional hurdle at a time when it’s more important than ever to connect with their customers.

A bad precedent

The draft code would also create a mandatory negotiation and arbitration model that only takes into account the costs and value created by one party—news businesses. The code’s provisions mean costs are uncapped and unquantifiable, and there is no detail on what formula is used to calculate payment.

Regulation framed in this way would set a bad precedent. Most businesses support sensible regulation—but not heavy-handed rules that favour one group of companies over all others.  

Australian entrepreneurs like Mike Cannon-Brooks, Matt Barrie and Daniel Petrie have made the point that a market intervention like this would deter international companies from operating in Australia, risking jobs and investment just as we need to be focusing on the recovery from COVID-19. 

And it’s not just business leaders who’ve spoken out. Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard from a cross-section of Australia’s business community, from local retailers and restaurants to YouTube creators, and we’re deeply grateful for their support.    

The way forward

The issues with the draft code are serious, but we believe they can be worked through in a way that protects full and fair access to Search and YouTube for every Australian business.  

We’ve made it clear that we want to contribute to a strong future for Australian news, and we’re engaging constructively with the Government and the ACCC to try to find a resolution — making proposals for changes that would support a workable code. 

Throughout 2020, we’ve worked with business owners across Australia to help them get through the challenges of the fires and the pandemic, whether by providing digital tools, direct assistance, skills training or advice, and we hope to continue providing that support long into the future.  

We know how tough this year has been, and we’re going to keep doing everything we can to make sure that the final version of the code supports Australia’s amazing businesses.

Jimmy Fallon and Google support NYC small businesses

These days, nearly all businesses have experienced some sort of disruption to their day-to-day operations, from reduced hours and customer demand to disrupted supply chains. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses are finding ways to adapt and support their local communities—especially right here in New York, the city that thousands of Googlers and I call home. And who better to take us for a tour of a few beloved New York spots than “The Tonight Show” host and native New Yorker, Jimmy Fallon?


To kick off National Small Business Week, we teamed up with “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” to visit some of Jimmy’s favorite New York City small businesses. Along the way, he shared ways that you can help out the small businesses near you.

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Lakou Cafe in Brooklyn uses its Business Profile on Google to post updates for customers and to show that it offers takeout options, sells gift cards, accepts donations, and more.

Jimmy and “The Tonight Show” introduced us to Sabrina Brockman of Grandchamps and Cassandre Davilmar of Lakou Cafe, the owners of two Brooklyn restaurants in his backyard. Like Jimmy, Cassandre and Sabrina have pitched in over the last couple of months to support World Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit devoted to providing meals for those in need. Together, Sabrina and Cassandre have donated more than 11,000 meals to healthcare workers, first responders, protesters and families in need since May. 


Small business owners like Cassandre are also finding ways to reach customers and keep them informed, using digital tools like their free Business Profile on Google. Lakou Cafe updated their Business Profile with takeout options, and added buttons to sell gift cards and accept donations.


We also joined Jimmy at GupShup, his go-to Indian restaurant, a family-owned spot in Manhattan founded by Jimmy Rizvi. GupShup has partnered with World Central Kitchen to provide nearly 12,000 meals since May to frontline workers and hospitals. Jimmy Fallon reminds us how important it is—and how easy it can be—to support local businesses by giving a rave review (fun fact: he loves GupShup’s Crispy Okra and Guacamole).

YouTube video showing Jimmy Fallon's visit to GupShup in New York City.

You can also book reservations, order take out, post photos, buy gift cards, and more to support your local businesses directly from Google Search and Maps.


Are you a small business owner?

If you own a small business and are looking for free tools and training to grow your business, visit grow.google/smallbusiness. 


And if you’re a small business based in New York state and don’t have an e-commerce presence yet, Google has partnered with COOP to help 150 qualified New York small businesses set up and promote an e-commerce site in preparation for doing business during the holidays. Application opens Monday, September 28 at the MainStreet ONLINE website.

Why digital tools are a safety net for small businesses

For businesses trying to stay afloat, like Morgan Miller Plumbing in Grandview, Missouri, digital tools are instrumental. While the onset of COVID-19 was full of unknowns, CEO Stella Crewse says it gave her an opportunity to make her business stronger. “This experience has given us the confidence that we will be able to continue operations seamlessly no matter what comes our way,” Stella says.

Stella’s company was already using digital tools when COVID-19 hit, but in recent months has realized how necessary they are. Her team uses G Suite to share documents and stay organized and video conferencing to stay connected. They’ve even used  Google Maps to identify new sewer line paths without leaving the office in order to follow social distancing guidelines. 

A new report, released today by the Connected Commerce Council in partnership with Google, shows how a “digital safety net” can serve as a support system for small businesses like Morgan Miller Plumbing, and helps to mitigate the negative business effects of COVID-19.

According to the report, practically all small businesses—93 percent—were disrupted by the pandemic, facing reduced customer demand and hours of operations as well as employee layoffs. Eighty-five percent of small businesses say COVID–19 made them rethink their approach to digital tools, allowing them to adapt. 

The study also found that businesses that had a digital safety net in place and used a variety of digital tools—like digital ads, digital payments, data analytics and customer insights tools—not only felt better prepared, but also experienced dramatically better business outcomes, expecting less than a quarter of the revenue reduction compared to their digitally unprepared counterparts. And states with a higher share of digitally prepared businesses anticipate better revenue outcomes in 2020.
Drivers business index v. Projected revenue loss SMBs

This research also found that small business leaders of color have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic and are roughly half as likely as white-run businesses to have received aid through public loans for their business needs. Businesses that have remained open despite a lack of funding attribute their resilience to embracing technology.

The crisis expedited digital momentum for small businesses: Nearly three-in-four increased their use of digital tools, particularly video conferencing, over the last five months. But not all American small- and medium-sized businesses have a digital safety net. To best serve the needs of every business, we’re introducing new Grow with Google lessons, helping business owners learn how to build an online presence, find more customers, sell online or work remotely. The content varies from two-minute tutorial videos to live workshops, and ranges from beginner level to advanced, so every business can find what they need to become more prepared. 

On the Google for Small Business website, business owners can find personalized Google product recommendations for their business, as well as helpful tips and practical guides to help small businesses get the most of these tools. 

And to reach even more small businesses, Grow with Google is partnering with SCORE and the International Downtown Association(iDA)  to complete a series of affordable and easily accessible Grow with Google workshops for 50,000 small businesses across the U.S. We will continue our partnerships with more than 7,500 organizations to bring virtual training events to local communities across the country. 

With this plan, we’re hopeful we’ll be able to help more leaders like Stella acquire the digital skills they need to help their business recover and grow moving forward. 

Google for Startups: Supporting underrepresented leaders

With 99 unicorns (startups valued at over $1B) and $34.3B of startup funding just last year, it’s clear that Europe is filled with talented entrepreneurs who can help solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. This autumn, Google for Startups welcomes two new cohorts of Black and Women founders from across Europe and Israel who are driving change in their industries. 

The founders of these 23 high-potential companies will spend 12 weeks in one of two Immersions: Black Founders or Women Founders, where they’ll have access to the best of Google’s people, products and connections.

If we want technology to work for everyone, it needs to be built by everyone—and that's why we're supporting founders from under-represented groups to help with a faster recovery and better technology and tools for all. Matt Brittin
President, Google Europe, Middle East and Africa
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Jewel Burks Solomon, Head of Google for Startups US and herself a former founder, opened for the Black Founders program

Immersion: Black Founders

The Black Founders Immersion is a 12-week program for high-potential startups with at least one Black founder. The twelve selected startups from the UK, France and the Netherlands will be partnering with experienced Google mentors, specialists and investors to help them grow and give them better access to fundraising opportunities while further advancing their leadership skills.

During the recent opening session, founders had the opportunity to hear from Jewel Burks, Head of Google for Startups US, former Founder & CEO of Partpic, and Managing Partner at Collab Capital.

The 2020 program cohort includes:

Rachael Corson, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Afrocenchix (UK):Vegan beauty brand changing the world of Black hair and beauty by putting the health of their community first.

Christian Facey, Co-Founder & CEO of AudioMob (UK): Enabling game developers to monetize games with non-intrusive audio ads.

Christina Caljé, Co-Founder & CEO of Autheos (NL):Using machine learning to help businesses improve and personalize video content for their consumers.

Tomide Adesanmi, Co-Founder & CEO of Circuit Mind (UK):Building AI software that designs electronics in minutes or even seconds.

Osamudiamen Omoigiade, Co-Founder & CEO of Deep.Meta (UK):Software harnessing production data to create products, limit wastage and cut CO2 emissions.

Shirley Billot, Founder & CEO of Kadalys (FR):Upcycling banana agri-waste into patented organic skincare that gives back to the local community and nature.

Jermaine Craig, Co-Founder & CEO of Kwanda (UK):A solution for nonprofits to finance the development of Black communities with accountability and transparency.

Elizabeth Nyeko, Founder & CEO of Modularity Grid (UK): Equipping low carbon electrical energy providers with AI that combines deep learning with bleeding-edge electronics. 

Charles Sekwalor, Co-Founder & CEO of MoveMeBack (UK):Enabling professionals and organizations to discover and access opportunities and talent anywhere, with a focus on Africa. 

Joel Akwenuke, Co-Founder & CEO of NewFade (UK): Direct-to-consumer hair loss solution, solving hair loss for men safely and effectively.

Richard Robinson, Founder & CEO of Robin AI (UK):Using machine learning and human intelligence to automate the reading and editing of legal contracts.

Ivan Beckley, Co-Founder & CEO of Suvera (UK):Creating a virtual healthcare experience that allows doctors to care for patients with long-term conditions with fewer appointments.

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Participants from the 2019 German edition of the Women Founders program

Immersion: Women Founders

This first pan-European Google for Startups cohort follows the success of Women Founders programs in Germany and the UK. Supported by findings of the Female Founders Monitor, which pointed out particular challenges encountered by women founders, this program will support the 11 companies with unparalleled access to Google specialists, products and connections.

The program kicked off on September 7th with an opening talk by Marta Krupinska, Head of Google for Startups UK, and former Co-Founder of Azimo and FreeUp, and a pitch session where all founders had the opportunity to learn more about each others’ businesses and challenges.

Get to know the cohort:

Blanca Vidal, Co-Founder & CMO of Deplace (Spain):Improving the homebuying and -selling experience, making it more transparent, safe and economical.

Lee Butz, Founder & CEO, District Technology (UK/Germany):Empowering workplaces with a digital platform where users can engage with and have access to the latest news, amenities, community features and more.

Nina Julie Lepique, Co-Founder & CEO, Femtasy (Germany): The first platform for sensual audio content for women, taking a mind-first approach to sexuality based on data-driven research.

Francesca Hodgson, Co-Founder & MD, GoodBox (UK):Changing the world of philanthropy by connecting donors with the causes they care about.

Pavlina Zychova, Co-Founder & CEO, MyStay (Czech Republic):Simplifying hotel management and improving guests’ experience with a digital platform that automates all the guest-hotel interactions, from check-in to customer review.

Sarah Henley, Co-Founder & COO, NextUpComedy (UK):Transforming the market of live comedy by bringing acts to a global audience of comedy fans via high-quality apps. 

Kinga Jentetics, Co-Founder & CEO, Publish Drive (Hungary):The best digital publishing platform to publish, market, and manage royalties for ebooks, print, and audiobooks.

Zahra Shah, Co-Founder & CEO, Seers (UK):The UK's leading privacy & consent management platform to help companies protect themselves and become compliant worldwide.

Maria-Liisa Bruckert, Co-Founder & CMO, SQIN (Germany):Beauty tech company changing the world of beauty retail by creating the world’s number 1 beauty community app.

Yael Shemer, Co-Founder & CEO, Tulu (Israel):Setting up smart rooms in apartment buildings that are filled with household and lifestyle products that can be rented by the hour, day or longer. 

Zuzanna Sielicka Kalczyńska, Co-Founder & CEO, Whisbear (Poland):Helping babies sleep healthier and better by introducing smart solutions and innovation to baby sleep aids. 

For updates on these cohorts and for other Google for Startups news (including applications for future programs), connect with us on social media: Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn.

Being there for Thailand’s small businesses

Around 1.3 million Thai small businesses have been affected by the impact of COVID-19—from clothes manufacturer Chu Su Mo in Chiang Mai, to coffee shops like Hidden Tree Garden in Samut Songkhram. These businesses are often at the heart of their communities, supporting local jobs and services. They’re also critical to the Thai economy as a whole, accounting for more than 90 percent of all businesses in the country. As Thailand rebuilds from the pandemic, we’re focused on supporting its business owners through the economic recovery. 


Digital skills training in a time of need


Today, at our virtual Google for Thailand event, we launched Saphan Digital: a new Grow with Google program to help small businesses and other organisations learn digital skills and make the most of online opportunities. (In Thai, “Saphan” means bridge, and this program is designed to help bridge the digital gap between Thais who know how to use the internet and those that can’t.)
Hidden Tree Cafe inside

While the owners of Hidden Tree Cafe had to close during COVID-19, they kept posting photos of their drinks and desserts on Google My Business — meaning demand was strong as soon as they reopened. 

Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen the importance of the internet in enabling businesses to continue operating—even if it’s something simple like letting customers know they’re still open, or offering information about online shopping and delivery options. Saphan Digital will equip business owners, NGOs and workers to use digital tools and set up a basic online presence, as well as provide online training courses in business and digital skills—covering topics like e-commerce and creating a digital storefront. After completing the training, people taking part will be able to “pair” with a small business or NGO to apply what they’ve learned.  


The program is a partnership with Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce and backed by local and international businesses, with corporate partners like LnwShop  and BentoWeb providing tools and mentoring.
Saphan Digital logos

Saphan is part of a bigger effort to ensure Thais can use technology with confidence—one we’re expanding to support the country’s coronavirus response. 

Skills and education beyond COVID-19


Existing Google initiatives like Academy Bangkok are now offering online courses for graduates and experienced professionals, while The Asia Foundation’s Go Digital ASEAN program—supported by Google.org—is helping Thai micro-entrepreneurs in 20 provinces who wouldn’t otherwise have access to digital training. For students and teachers, we announced today that we’ll be integrating G Suite for Education into Thailand’s Digital Education Excellence Platform, meaning that all Thai public schools will be able to access Google’s education tools free of charge. 


Our mission in Thailand is to “leave no Thai behind,” as we work with our partners to build a stronger, more inclusive digital economy. With these new initiatives, we’re reaffirming that commitment to this amazing country’s future.  


Update your Business Profile on Google Maps and Search

When it comes to your business’s online presence, putting your best foot forward matters. And with more than 15 million edits made to Business Profiles each month, we know how important it is to quickly make changes so your business information on Google is engaging and up to date—from adding a phone number to sharing COVID-19 safety requirements with customers.

Today, we’re making it easier to update your Business Profile directly from Google products you already use. Now you can create posts, reply to reviews, add photos and update business information right from Google Search and Maps.

To start, make sure you are signed in with the Google account used to verify your business. On Google Maps, simply tap your profile picture on the top right corner of the mobile app and select “Your Business Profile” to access these tools. On Google Search, you can look up your business by name or search for “my business” to update your profile. The “my business” functionality is currently available in English and will expand to other languages over the coming months.

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Update your Business Profile and engage with customers directly from Search and Maps

We’re also rolling out more free tools on Google Maps and Search that will help you understand how your business is performing and how you can enhance your online presence. Business owners and managers will see a revamped performance page with new customer interaction insights. This page will provide refreshed metrics on a monthly basis, and will evolve over the coming months to share more helpful data to business owners. All of these features will be available on an upgraded merchant interface that will offer helpful recommendations about how you can improve your Google presence—whether it’s adding information to your Business Profile, responding to recent customer reviews, or using Google Ads to help your business stand out.

Business owners can also continue to use the Google My Business website and mobile app to update business information and connect with customers. If you’re a business owner who has not yet verified your listing, learn more about how to do that here.

As more business owners rely on digital tools to connect with customers and keep business operations running, we'll continue to update our offerings to be as helpful as possible. Creating more convenient ways to update your Business Profile and keep tabs on your online presence are just some of the ways we’re doing this.

Japan prepares for a changing economy

This summer, Japan was meant to be hosting visitors from around the world at the Olympic Games. Instead, Japan’s people and businesses are confronting the significant and lasting impact of COVID-19. While the postponement of the Games was disappointing, the immediate task is to make the necessary changes to deal with the pandemic and get the Japanese economy growing again in a sustainable way.  


Despite these challenges, there’s an opportunity for Japan not only to rebuild, but to shape a stronger future. We’re committed to helping in every way we can, building on our programs to expand digital skills and advance technology for good. 


Japan’s digital skills divide


One of the most urgent priorities is to close the divide between Japanese businesses that use the internet effectively and those that don’t. According to Ipsos research commissioned by Google, business owners who have adopted digital tools adjusted better to the impact of Japan’s lockdowns and social-distancing restrictions. 


Among businesses that own websites and e-commerce sites, 56 percent said in the survey that digital tools helped them handle the crisis. Kudo Sakai Dojo, a martial arts school in Osaka, began offering lessons online, while flower retailer Hana-Cupid has analyzed Google trends and used YouTube ads to attract new customers. 


Yet the research also found that just 41 percent of small businesses in Japan currently have an online presence—and fewer than five percent of small businesses launched a new website or e-commerce site during the lockdown.


Infographic on Japan SMB research

Many business owners or entrepreneurs want to take advantage of the internet, but they often don’t know where to start. Changing that has to be at the heart of Japan’s coronavirus response, and we want to play our part.  


Our commitment to closing the gap


Since 2016, we’ve provided digital skills training to 5.5 million people in Japan, running courses in 45 prefectures and working with more than 100 local partners. We’re now expanding these efforts. 


For the past month, we’ve been running seminars to help small businesses understand and adopt e-commerce, partnering with companies like Salesforce and Shopify, the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) and Impulse (part of the Central Federation of Societies of Commerce and Industry). We’re adding new permanent courses to our Grow with Google training program, focused on helping businesses get online and promote themselves using platforms like Google My Business. 


As well as supporting businesses taking their first steps online, we’ve moved events like our Android 11 beta launch seminars to a digital format—so Japanese developers can now get information and support no matter where they live. We also continue to help Japanese founders through Google for Startups. Our most recent accelerator program got underway just as COVID-19 began to hit, forcing classes to move online, but the founders taking part have shown great resilience and flexibility. For example, Omsister, a childcare startup which provides bilingual nanny service, has launched a service offering online English lessons.


Looking to the longer term


Beyond its immediate impact, COVID-19 is raising longer-term questions in Japan—including what the future of work could look like.   


Japanese companies have traditionally required their workers to be in the office full-time, but during the coronavirus lockdown, many Japanese employees had to work from home—including almost half of all workers in the Kanto and Kansai areas (home to Tokyo and Osaka). After we made Google Meet available for free in April, we saw a big increase in Japanese companies and workers using it for video conferencing. 


This shift to remote work has become part of a bigger discussion about the need for more flexible and inclusive ways of working in Japan. We want to continue providing tools to help and sharing insights to inform the discussion, like our recent study on the impact of remote working. 


At the same time, we plan to deepen our partnerships in Japan in other areas of technology that we know will become more important as the country rebuilds. As major Japanese companies and government departments look to modernize how they operate, we’re working hard to help them adopt cloud computing. And as Japan continues to explore fields like artificial intelligence to solve social, environmental and economic problems, we’re helping through our program AI for Japan. It’s our commitment to train AI talent and advance and apply AI research for good.


In 2001, just three years after Google was founded, we opened our first overseas office in Tokyo, humbled to become part of a long tradition of Japanese forward-thinking. Today, despite the cancellation of the Olympics and the impact of COVID-19, we’re even more optimistic about the potential of technology for Japan’s future. We look forward to helping build that future with our partners and communities.

Do something new with whats.new

Last year, Google Registry released .new—a domain extension that lets businesses build novel shortcuts into their products. Since then, more than 200 .new domains have come to life, providing shortcuts to common tasks within popular services like Medium, Asana, GitHub and more. With all the .new domains available, you can easily replace menus and long URLs with short and memorable links—clicking less, and getting things done faster.

To help you get the most out of the .new domains that have launched over the last few months, we’ve put together a collection of notable ones at whats.new. You can also browse all the .new shortcuts currently available by category.


Here are just a few of our favorite shortcuts:


  • The next time you need to convert a file into a PDF, try using pdf.new from Adobe Acrobat. All you need to do is drag and drop your document into their online PDF converter and watch it transform into a high-quality PDF that’s easy to share and looks great on any screen.

  • Create stand out social media posts in just a few clicks with create.new from Adobe Spark. Start from thousands of templates, choose from millions of images, icons, and stickers to add to your design, and brandify with your own logos, colors, and fonts.

  • Ready to make your own podcast? It's easy and free with Anchor, Spotify’s all-in-one podcasting platform. Go to podcast.new to record a new episode.

  • Want to start a new blog? Head to blog.new to create your WordPress.com account and join millions of bloggers. (Already have a WordPress.com website? Try post.new to draft your next blog post.)

  • Whether you’re working from home or organizing a virtual happy hour with friends, go to meet.new to launch a real-time meeting from your browser using Google Meet.  

With more than 200 (and growing) .new domains spanning uses across productivity, business services and creativity, we think you’ll find at least a few .new shortcuts you’ll want to use regularly!

New ways to support Black-owned businesses

While working as an Entrepreneur-in-residence at Google from 2014 to 2016, I traveled across the country to help enhance the online presence of hundreds of Black-owned businesses. As a Black woman, entrepreneur and Googler, supporting Black-owned businesses and Black founders is my passion.


Over the past few months, we’ve seen a surge in online searches for Black-owned businesses. It’s been inspiring to witness so many people look for ways to invest in the Black community. Now, we’re announcing three new ways to help support Black business owners. 


Starting today, merchants in the U.S. with a verified Business Profile on Google can add a Black-owned business attribute to their profile, making it easier for customers to find and support them. As part of our $300 million commitment to support underrepresented entrepreneurs, we’re also integrating the attribute into the digital skills training programs we offer Black business owners through Grow with Google Digital Coaches. And through Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders, we’re starting our work with the first cohort of 12 startups. 

Making Search and Maps more inclusive

With this attribute, our goal is to make Search and Maps more inclusive and help support Black-owned businesses when they need it most. 

“Everyone who comes into this store is welcome,” says Janet Jones, founder and co-owner of the Detroit-based Source Booksellers. “For us, being Black-owned means serving the community we’re in.” 

By adding the attribute, people using Google Search and Maps can see Source Booksellers is Black-owned, and easily extend their support by purchasing one of their products, leaving a great review and sharing their Business Profile with others looking for their next book. 

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Identity attributes are featured on merchants' Business Profiles when they opt in

To help get the word out about the new Black-owned attribute, we’ve partnered with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC). With 145 Black Chambers of Commerce and 326,000 members across the country, USBC provides leadership and advocacy to empower Black business owners through resources and initiatives. Together, Google and USBC will provide training for Black-owned businesses to enhance their presence on Google through the use of digital tools like Google My Business and Google Analytics. Our hope is that by partnering with USBC, we can help more businesses connect with their community and customers.

Reaching more businesses with digital skills training

We’re also adding the Black-owned business attribute to the training curriculum offered through the Grow with Google Digital Coaches program. Since 2017, Digital Coaches have offered free mentorship, networking, and workshop opportunities to Black and Latinx businesses in 11 cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit. And the program is growing: Last month, we announced an expansion to Birmingham, Alabama, Memphis, Tennessee and Cleveland, Ohio, as well as a commitment to train more than 50,000 Black owned small businesses. 

Introducing the first class of Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders

Through Google for Startups, we’re also expanding ways to support Black entrepreneurs who are using technology to address so many of today’s biggest challenges. Today, we’re announcing the inaugural class of the Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders with 12 high potential Seed to Series A tech startups based in the U.S. 

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Inaugural class of the Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders

The class includes entrepreneurs like Guy Asaad, founder of Clerkie, a business designed to help Americans get out of debt. It also includes Melvin Hine, founder of Upswing, which is dedicated to improving the online education system, and Ashley Edwards, founder of MindRight Health which provides digital mental health services for young people. Starting next month, these 12 founders will receive training and support from Google and industry experts on technical challenges, business growth, and outside investment opportunities to help them reach the next level.

In my current role as the Head of Google for Startups in the U.S., I have the privilege of continuing to work with Black entrepreneurs. Today’s updates are a part of our company-wide effort to support Black-owned businesses through products and meaningful partnerships. It’s my hope that this attribute and Google’s tools and training can serve as additional resources for Black-owned businesses and the people who support them.