Tag Archives: small business

Spruce up your Business Profile for holiday shoppers

The holidays can be the most hectic—and the most important—time of the year for business owners. And this year shoppers are flocking to online shopping and curbside pickups. To make the most of this season and connect with shoppers wherever they are, we have a recipe for holiday success. Here’s a list you’ll want to check twice: 

1. Deck the halls of your Business Profile: First things first, claim your free Business Profile to put your best face forward on Google Maps and Search. Make sure your Business Profile is updated with helpful information about your store—like updated hours, a description and photos, shopping options, and all the safety measures you’re taking during the pandemic. Pro tip: Double check if your phone number is correct and turn on messaging so you can quickly connect with customers who have questions.

2. Share the gift of updated in-store inventory (online!): Unsurprisingly, 77 percent of holiday shoppers in the U.S. said they will browse for gift ideas online this year instead of in-store. Thanks to Pointy from Google, you can easily show your products online so shoppers can see what you carry before they head to the store to make a purchase. Pointy connects to your point-of-sale system and automatically adds your in-store products to your Business Profile on Google. This helps you to appear in search results when shoppers are looking for items you carry.

Pointy

Pointy from Google automatically adds your inventory to your Business Profile and can help shoppers find you when they search for items you carry

3. Help them order ahead, still tucked in their beds: Searches for “curbside pickup” have grown more than 3,000 percentglobally since last year. Let customers know how they can shop with you—whether you’re offering curbside pickup, in-store pickup or delivery options.

4. Oh, what fun it is to buy online for pickup and delivery:Add ordering link(s) for pickup or delivery to your profile. If you’re a verified retail merchant in the U.S., you can now add a link to your online store directly to your Business Profile on Google. This helps shoppers easily place a pickup or delivery order from you with a few simple taps!

Pickup and delivery

 If you’re a verified business in the U.S., you can add a link to your online store so customers can easily place pickup and delivery orders

5. 'Tis the season to share more about your business: Shoppers are looking to purchase from  local businesses that they feel good about supporting. Spruce up your Business Profile and connect with your community by showing whether you’re LGBTQ-friendly or women-led, or in the U.S. and identify as Black-owned or veteran-led.

Black-owned

Share more about your business by adding attributes to your Business Profile.

For more ways to deck out your Google presence, check out Grow with Google’s Quick Help YouTube videos. The short videos will help answer a variety of small business questions, from how to make the most of digital tools to how to start a live stream. We know the holiday season can be overwhelming, but with this checklist in hand there will be no need to get your tinsel in a tangle. 


Source: Search


Expanded funding for Indigenous businesses in the U.S.

Danielle Greendeer is the owner of Wampanoag Trading Post and Gallery in Massachusetts, which sells handmade Eastern Woodland art made by Indigenous artists. She is also a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation. The Wampanoag are associated with what became known as the “first Thanksgiving.” 

Danielle Greendeer

“The year 2020 marks the 400th year since the arrival of the Mayflower and the introduction of the Pilgrims to the Wampanoag Nation,” she told our team at Google.org earlier this month. “For the Mashpee Wampanoag people, it is important to tell the history from our perspective and educate the public on the challenges that our Tribe is still trying to overcome. The survival and evolution of our art is an example of how resilient our culture is.”

November is also Native American Heritage Month. As an Indigenous person, I see this moment as a reminder for society to reflect on, honor and celebrate the resilience of the people who are the first inhabitants of the United States. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit these communities especially hard, both in terms of health and economic stability. Earlier this year, we awarded $1 million in loans to Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Center through Grow with Google, and $250,000 in Google.org grants to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), to provide immediate relief to small businesses owned by Native Americans/American Indians. We’re also working with NCAI to offer Grow with Google training for small businesses and job seekers in Native American communities. This embedded digital training program will train more than 5,000 Native businesses owners to better leverage their online presence by April 2021.  

Danielle’s business received financial support from Google.org and NCAI, which helped her hire temporary part-time workers, support six more Indigenous artisans and schedule workshops and screenings of Native films. For Native American Heritage Month, they have opened an extension space and are screening a documentary film called Mashpee Nine. “Offering this film to the public at no charge is part of our commitment to educate our community about the history of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe,” she says.

We know there are many more amazing businesses like Danielle’s, which is why we’re announcing an additional $1 million in funding through Google.org to NCAI which will directly support hundreds of businesses. The fund is open to Native American/American Indian business owners for applications today. Head to the NCAI fund website for more information or to apply. 

Expanded funding for Indigenous businesses in the U.S.

Danielle Greendeer is the owner of Wampanoag Trading Post and Gallery in Massachusetts, which sells handmade Eastern Woodland art made by Indigenous artists. She is also a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Nation. The Wampanoag are associated with what became known as the “first Thanksgiving.” 

Danielle Greendeer

“The year 2020 marks the 400th year since the arrival of the Mayflower and the introduction of the Pilgrims to the Wampanoag Nation,” she told our team at Google.org earlier this month. “For the Mashpee Wampanoag people, it is important to tell the history from our perspective and educate the public on the challenges that our Tribe is still trying to overcome. The survival and evolution of our art is an example of how resilient our culture is.”

November is also Native American Heritage Month. As an Indigenous person, I see this moment as a reminder for society to reflect on, honor and celebrate the resilience of the people who are the first inhabitants of the United States. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit these communities especially hard, both in terms of health and economic stability. Earlier this year, we awarded $1 million in loans to Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Center through Grow with Google, and $250,000 in Google.org grants to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), to provide immediate relief to small businesses owned by Native Americans/American Indians. We’re also working with NCAI to offer Grow with Google training for small businesses and job seekers in Native American communities. This embedded digital training program will train more than 5,000 Native businesses owners to better leverage their online presence by April 2021.  

Danielle’s business received financial support from Google.org and NCAI, which helped her hire temporary part-time workers, support six more Indigenous artisans and schedule workshops and screenings of Native films. For Native American Heritage Month, they have opened an extension space and are screening a documentary film called Mashpee Nine. “Offering this film to the public at no charge is part of our commitment to educate our community about the history of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe,” she says.

We know there are many more amazing businesses like Danielle’s, which is why we’re announcing an additional $1 million in funding through Google.org to NCAI which will directly support hundreds of businesses. The fund is open to Native American/American Indian business owners for applications today. Head to the NCAI fund website for more information or to apply. 

Show love to businesses you love on Black-owned Friday

When I walk into Vibez Juice & Vegan Cafe, I feel good. This juice bar and vegan cafe in Jersey City, NJ isn’t just a place to get delicious, healthy food, but it’s also a place that feels positive and uplifting. The owners, Medjine and John “Jube” Altino, wanted to create a welcoming space that has a positive impact on their community. I never had a vegan meal before I went to Vibez. I could not believe how great it was. Vibez is one of my favorite Black-owned small businesses, and like so many others, it deserves to thrive now and for years to come. 


I’ve seen firsthand the strain and struggle that Black-owned businesses face. In 2020, those struggles skyrocketed: Black-owned businesses haveclosed at double the rate of white-owned businesses due to the pandemic. For many of them, this holiday season will be critical to their survival. 


So this is the season to show up and show love for Black-owned businesses. And many of you are already looking for ways to do that. By October 2020, search interest for "Black-owned business" surpassed 2019 levels by more than 2,100 percent in the U.S. To help drive support for Black-owned businesses, Google and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. are partnering to make Nov. 27 Black-owned Friday, a day to support Black-owned businesses. When I learned about this initiative through the campaign’s creative agency BBH New York, I was (of course) eager to express those feelings through music; check out the jingle I wrote to get energized to help:
Black-owned Friday anthem jingle
10:25

This Black-owned Friday and throughout the holiday season, show love by shopping from Black-owned businesses, sharing your favorites on social media or even by writing your own jingle. Use the #BlackOwnedFriday hashtag to help others discover the businesses you love. Together we can make a big impact.

How we’re supporting the transgender community

I log onto work, with my long black hair down and my nails freshly painted red. I keep my pronouns (they/them) visible on my email signature, my company profile and for a time even on my shirt. Joining my first meeting, I immediately hear: “David, he’s here!” I wince, I correct my colleague and continue to increase awareness of who I am in my gender identity. 

As I’m a first-generation Salvadoran American who’s gender nonconforming (GNC), it’s important to me to create spaces for allies to educate themselves and for trans and GNC people to feel seen and included within Google. And as a small business marketer, I work to uplift stories of people who are frequently unseen—in particular, Black or Latino trans business owners.

One of these business owners is Marli Washington, who like many trans or GNC people, began realizing that his gender identity was not aligned with his body. This feeling of incongruity (sometimes called gender dysphoria) can be a daily reality, and can compromise a person’s well-being, comfort and physical and psychological safety. 

Marli recognized a need in the broader trans and GNC communities for accessible and safe chest binding options—garments used to flatten the chest. So Marli founded gc2b to create better products that allow people to align their bodies with their gender identities—products designed by trans people, for trans people. With the help of Google, gc2b has continued to grow its digital presence to meet a critical need of trans and GNC people around the world. 

“Some people might not have the vocabulary or the experience to connect with being transgender; they might be feeling body dysphoria and they don’t know what that is,” Marli says. “So they hop on Google, which has helped us become discoverable to them, and eventually they will find that gc2b exists to serve them.”

While Marli’s products are predominantly for trans men and transmasculine folks, he recognizes the need to do more to support the broader trans and GNC communities’ full diversity. Through special partnerships, like gc2b’s Black Trans Liberation Collection, Marli’s products are able to support nonprofits like The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, whose mission is to end violence against all trans people, especially Black trans women, across the United States.

I’m proud that Google is also a supporter of this critical organization. In June, Google.org donated $500,000 to The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, which will provide direct cash assistance to Black trans people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Institute has already distributed $250,000 in cash assistance in 2020. Googler volunteers will provide technical and marketing skills to help The Marsha P. Johnson Institute garner and process cash assistance applications.  

At Google, we build our products for everyone, and this includes the trans community. Here are just a few product updates that focus on helping the trans and GNC communities at large:

  • On Google Maps, we’re adding points of interest, including cultural landmarks and murals that honor the trans and larger LGBTQ+ community. Check out the Black Trans Lives Matter Mural in San Francisco, for example.

  • On Search, users will find a celebratory banner at the top of the results page when looking for terms like "trans rights,” “trans awareness week” or other related queries.

  • The Google Play Store is highlighting apps that support the trans and GNC communities.

  • Google Assistant is sharing facts about the trans community. Just ask, “Hey Google, how are you celebrating Transgender Awareness Week?”

  • Grow with Google, our economic opportunity initiative, is partnering with a number of trans-serving organizations, including local LGBT Chambers of Commerce, to provide free training and resources that help people grow their career or business. Other nonprofit organizations interested in partnering with us can sign up here.

We’re using our social media accounts to help uplift and celebrate the trans community. In September, we launched our Black Trans Lives Matter campaign as part of Google’s ongoing commitment to racial equity. 

Marli, and many others in the trans and GNC communities, spread awareness every day by being their authentic selves. Over the past few months, many Googlers—in collaboration with The Marsha P. Johnson Institute, GLAAD and journalist and equality advocate Raquel Willis—have worked to make this Transgender Awareness Week one that uplifts and centers the trans and GNC communities. I’m proud that my colleagues and so many others are working to support and celebrate trans lives. If you’re interested, you can visit GLAAD’s website to learn more about Transgender Awareness Week. 

An update on our efforts to help Americans navigate COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges and emphasized how important it is for each of us to do our part to help find solutions. I’m sharing an update here on how Google is contributing to keep people safe and helping to get American businesses back up and running.

Contributing to economic recovery efforts

As I’ve written earlier, to help small businesses gain easier access to badly-needed capital, we founded the $170 million Grow with Google Small Business Fund alongside $10 million in Google.org grants, with an aim to help the most underserved small businesses, particularly those owned by women and minorities. In collaboration with Opportunity Finance Network, more than $53 million dollars of loans and Google.org grants have been allocated to community partners who are focused on serving rural, women, Black, Latino and Native borrowers, which helps American communities start to get back on their feet. Tires by Papi and Bailiwick Clothing Company are two such examples.


Of course, our greatest contribution continues to be developing products to help people stay informed, adapt and get through this pandemic. 

According to the Connected Commerce Council, nearly one in three small business owners report that without digital tools they would close all or parts of their business. To help small businesses, we rolled out many new, free product features earlier this year, so that they can inform their customers about things like takeout, delivery, no-contact delivery, or curbside pickup. Today, people can now find this information on Search and Maps for more than 2 million restaurants and retailers in the U.S.


Using Search and Maps, you can find information about businesses.

We’ve used Google’s Duplex technology to make calls to businesses and confirm things like temporary closures. This has enabled us to make 3 million updates to business information globally, which have been seen by people over 20 billion times in Search and Maps. 


To help people searching for jobs, we have stepped up to help in many ways. We added new relevant features in the U.S. like showing jobs that can be done remotely. Google Cloud has partnered with different states to help jobseekers: we assisted Rhode Island’s Virtual Career Center, a new platform that  connects thousands of jobseekers with jobs and employment services; worked with the State of Illinois to develop a 24/7 Virtual Intelligent Agent on the IDES website; developed a chatbot, in partnership with the New Jersey Office of Innovation to provide real-time answers to the 20 most popular unemployment questions. These are just some of the examples. 


We also transformed our free Grow with Google training to virtual formats and have already trained more than 1 million Americans on digital skills this year. The Google IT Support Professional Certificate—which takes beginner learners to entry-level jobs ready in under six months—has become the most popular certificate on Coursera during COVID-19.

Grow with Google digital skills training

Providing trusted information

Questions related to the pandemic are more searched than sports or music (and even elections) in every state. 

Top coronavirus related searches in the U.S. this month:

  1. Coronavirus symptoms

  2. Coronavirus update

  3. Coronavirus vaccine

Across the U.S. people are searching on Google to stay informed and adapt. In 47 states, the top coronavirus-related question during the last six months has been “How many cases of coronavirus in [my state].” Search interest for “online courses” reached an all-time high in April this year, as did searches for “unemployment,”compared to search trends over the last 15 years. 


During this time, we’ve also seen people seek out information to help them navigate their daily lives. For example, since the pandemic began, searches for “curbside pickup” have increased 13-fold compared to this time last year, while searches for “contact tracing” spiked 1,000 percent  in April and then reached an all-time high in May. 


In March, we launched Search Knowledge Panels so when people search for information related to COVID-19, they immediately see local guidance, information about symptoms, prevention and treatments. We’ve committed $250 million in Ad Grants to help government agencies provide critical information related to COVID-19. As of today we’ve served more than 100 million PSAs from local public health agencies, which have been seen by tens of millions of people across the U.S.


We also launched the Journalism Emergency Relief Fund to provide emergency funding for small and medium sized news organizations covering the pandemic. To date, we’ve distributed $9 million to U.S. newsrooms across all 50 states. 

Helping people make safe choices 

To help people make informed decisions about where to go, the COVID layer in Google Maps shows critical information about new cases in an area and how they’re trending. As of this month, our COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports, which are used by public health agencies and researchers around the globe, have been downloaded more than 16 million times. 

In May, we partnered with Apple to launch the Exposure Notifications System (ENS) and made it available to public health authorities around the world in their fight against COVID-19. Designed specifically and carefully to protect users’ privacy while helping public health authorities and governments manage countries’ re-opening, today 13 states and U.S. territories have built apps based on this ENS technology.

In a short time, COVID-19 has changed how people live their lives. We’ll continue to update our products and roll out initiatives to help people and American businesses find trusted information, adapt and manage economic uncertainty.  

Source: Google LatLong


Funding Black founders fuels generational change

As part of a series of racial equity commitments made in June, we announced the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, a $5 million initiative to provide cash awards up to $100,000 to Black led startups in the US. These awards are non-dilutive, meaning that unlike most investments, founders are not giving up any ownership in their company in exchange for funding.  

Today, we’re announcing the 76 inspiring founderswho have been selected to receive awards from the Black Founders Fund. They’re building incredible startups solving tough problems such as helping Americans get out of debt, ensuring that towns have access to clean drinking water and making our healthcare system more accessible. We interviewed every recipient and asked them the same question: What happens when you fund Black founders? And despite varied backgrounds, missions and motivations, when we asked that question, we saw some clear themes emerge in their answers. 

When you fund Black founders, you:

  • Bring different perspectives to old and new challenges. Whether it's creating technology to form stronger bonds between teachers and parents or using data analytics to help small businesses thrive, Black founders approach big problems for their communities and our world in a way that no one else can. 

  • Level the playing field and build momentum for success. Black founders are consistently locked out of access to early capital that is critical to jump-starting their businesses. With better access to capital early in their journey, founders can make critical hires and prove traction, setting their business up for sustained success. “I can't tell you how many times I've seen other companies that had less traction than us raise more money at higher valuations,” Qoins's Nate Washington tells us, “because they had family or friends funding to get them started.” 

  • Fuel wealth generation and create equal access to economic opportunity.Founders, of course, want success for their businesses. But almost all of the recipients that we spoke with are building their startups in order to ultimately give back to their communities and to pave the way for the next generation of Black founders.

In the U.S., less than one percent of venture capital goes to Black founders. Racial equity is inextricably linked to economic opportunity around the world, and that’s why we’ve also announced funding to support Black founders in Brazil and across Europe. We know that hands-on support and connections are necessary elements to any founder’s success. With these funds, we are also committing to growing a relationship that brings these founders the best of Google. 

  • Harold Hughes - Bandwagon

    “When Black founders get funding, we will see the wealth gap get closed in the United States and across the world. You can bet I’ll be paying it forward.” —Harold Hughes, Bandwagon

  • Ashley Edwards, MindRight Health

    “With MindRight Health, one of the core things in the back of my mind as I'm building this is: How can I get this to a place where we can create that ripple effect? We can generate wealth for our communities, for the people that we serve.”—Ashley Edwards, MindRight Health

  • Ablorde Ashigibi, 4Degrees

    “Part of my goal in building this company is to have other Black founders in Chicago succeed in building large category-defining companies in this city. When Black founders get funding, an entirely new generation of entrepreneurs changes what is possible for themselves.” —Ablorde Ashigibi, 4Degrees

  • Jamail Carter and Seyi Fabode, Varuna

    “My son sees the sensors and the stuff in the house, in the garage, and knows his father is building a business that is helping people drink clean water. He's proud of me and sees possibility for himself. Frankly, if I know we will have more impact, but if my two boys see that and it opens up the world to them, then truly my job is done.” —Jamail Carter and Seyi Fabode, Varuna

  • Courtroom 5

    “We're an ingenious people. We've had to be to survive and so when we get a little leg up, we go a long way with it. When Black founders get funded, we put it to really good use. We’re talking about generational wealth that can transform communities.” —Sonja Ebron, Courtroom5

  • Jakita Thomas

    “It's so amazing when you see a young person's eyes light up at the possibilities of what can be. You start to see this shift in the way that they talk about themselves, the way that they think about themselves. And for me, there's nothing more powerful than that. Than expanding a young person's mind and understanding of what's possible and who they can be.” —Jakita Thomas, Pharoah’s Conclave

$2 million for Black founders to build a more equitable future

If we want technology to work for everyone, it needs to be built by everyone. Today, with less than 0.5 percent of venture capital (VC) funding going to Black-led startups, and Black people making upless than 3 percent of the VC community,  Black founders in Europe disproportionately lack access to the networks and capital needed to grow their businesses.

Following Google’s commitment earlier this year to building a more equitable future for everyone, today we’re creating a $2 million Black Founders Fund, which will provide up to $100,000 in equity-free cash awards to selected European startups, paired with up to $220,000 per startup in Google Ad Grants and Cloud credits and support from an experienced Startup Partner Manager.

Google for Startups is also sponsoring The Black Report by 10x10 to begin to address the lack of data and empathy for the challenges Black founders face on their entrepreneurial journeys. The report looks at a sample of London-based early-stage Black founders to gain a better understanding of their companies, backgrounds and the challenges they face in the UK and European ecosystem.

Finally, we awarded Google.org grants to organizations across Europe — including  OneTech and Colorintech — supporting diverse entrepreneurs and working to fix the systemic challenges that lead to racial inequity.

We sat down with Rachael Palmer, Head of VC and Startup Partnerships, EMEA, and Marta Krupinska, Head of Google for Startups UK, to learn more about the initiatives.


Why do we need a more inclusive startup ecosystem?

Rachael: Racial disparity has an adverse effect on everyone and can no longer be ignored. Its damaging effects continue to be reflected in such issues as housing disparities and physical and mental health outcomes, with limited government resources provided to address the root causes.

Marta:  We have a chance to help build a more equitable future, where successful entrepreneurs come from all backgrounds, and their communities can benefit from the long-term job creation and generational wealth that they bring.

We have a chance to help build a more equitable future, where successful entrepreneurs come from all backgrounds

Tell us more about the Black founders currently in the Google for Startups network, your goals for supporting them and what impresses you most about them.

Marta: We want to challenge the false perception that there aren’t many exceptional Black-led startups. For our Black Founders Immersion program alone, we had 155 high quality applications from across Europe and selected 12 brilliant businesses, led by entrepreneurs such as Elizabeth Nyeko (founder of Modularity Grid, technology that will power off-grid rural communities as well as an all-electric spacecraft), Shirley Billot (founder of Kadalys, turning banana waste into organic beauty products), Christian Facey and Wilfrid Obeng (co-founders of Audiomob, non-invasive audio advertising for gaming) and Ivan Beckley (co-founder of Suvera, platform for virtual management of chronic diseases).  

Rachael:  What is so exciting about the Black founders is the caliber of talent we have been able to attract which is a further indicator of the amount of untapped talent out there. There are medical doctors, lawyers, PhDs and other seasoned professionals in multidisciplinary industries that now recognize the opportunity to use their experience and backgrounds to make fundamental change within society.


What is your hope for the future?

Rachael: Our hope is that the entire startup ecosystem will come together and commit to change. Doing so will enable us to support Black founders in a comprehensive way, champion and support Black angel investors, and see more Black General Partners at the most successful VC firms. There’s a long way to go, but I am proud that Google is committed for the long term.

Marta: If we want to solve the inequities we see around us, we all need to do the work and understand our role in the system, empathize with those who are marginalized, and take action to help. Google has the resources to co-create viable, scalable solutions with those most impacted, and we have made the commitment to play our part and continue to learn. 

Interested in our wider offerings for global founders? Explore other Google for Startups places and programs for founders of all backgrounds at startup.google.com. 


Powering economic recovery through retail

Progetto Quid is a small fashion business in Verona, Italy that provides employment opportunities for women coming out of difficult situations. When the company closed its stores during the lockdown, it  started making non-medical masks,  safeguarding its business and the future of its workers. Within two months they’d sold 700,000 masks, using Google Ads to reach their customers. As a result of switching production they were able to retain their entire staff.


This is just one of many stories of resilience we’ve heard from businesses small and large as they look to sustain themselves and support their communities. At Google, we’re helping retailers accelerate recovery with training, tools and insights to help them adapt fast. Through September we ran Accelerating Retail, a month of training and collaboration, directly engaging with more than 7,500 retailers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and many more in partnership with industry bodies such as HDE in Germany and One to One Monaco in France. Listening to retailers of all types across so many countries has helped us to adapt and develop the products and services that we’re now launching to support economic recovery around the world. 


Helping retailers find more customers with free listings on the Shopping tab 

We’re now making it free for retailers to list their products on the Shopping tab throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Available globally in mid-October, search results on the Shopping tab will consist primarily of free listings, helping retailers to connect with more customers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google. Shoppers will be able to find more products from more stores, just in time for peak shopping season across the region. 


For retailers who already use Google Ads to reach potential customers, free product listings in the Shopping tab are a boost to your paid campaigns. In the U.S., where we launched successfully earlier this year, retailers running free listings and ads got an average of twice as many views and 50 percent more visits. Small and medium-sized businesses saw the biggest increases since the free listings launched there.
Blogpost Phone Close Up - Final 2.gif

If you already use Merchant Center and Shopping ads, you don't have to do anything to take advantage of this change; your listings will automatically show up at no cost. And we are making the onboarding process as easy as possible for retailers who are new to this over the next weeks and months. In Europe, you can also choose any Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) to work with free listings.


Connecting people with trusted local professionals

Many people are shopping locally as they spend more time at home, and searches containing "available near me" have doubled around the world. In the first half of 2020, searches for local services, like home improvement or maintenance, increased by over 25 percent in a year across a  range of European countries.


To help trusted businesses reach local customers, we’re announcing the launch of Local Services Ads in 10 European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.


Local Services Ads help people discover and connect with trustworthy local professionals—such as plumbers, house cleaners and electricians—backed by the Google Guaranteebadge. Potential customers can see license information and reviews from previous customers, and they can compare and contact providers. You don’t even need a website to use these ads, and you only pay when contacted by a customer—there’s no charge for people clicking on the ad. People can book services directly with a simple phone call. If you're a platform that's already connecting customers with professionals you can expandyour offering to include Local Services Ads.
GGL UK Google SMB Local Services Combined DE&UK Phone_2 Sep20.png

Local Services Ads in Germany and the UK

Getting small businesses online

An online presence has never been more critical for a business’s success. But, according to 2019 YouGov research, around a third of small businesses in six European countries surveyed don’t even have a website. 


To help small business owners take their first steps online, this month we launched Google for Small Business in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. It provides personalized plans including guidance on which tools are right for your business. We’ve also recently expanded Grow My Store, which helps local retailers drive customer traffic and improve their online shopping experience, to Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. We plan to roll out both Google for Small Business and Grow My Store to more countries before the end of the year.  


Digital tools and skills have been a lifeline in lockdown. By working together, they can be a catalyst for accelerating recovery —for retailers, their staff, customers, and the wider economy.

Powering economic recovery through retail

Progetto Quid is a small fashion business in Verona, Italy that provides employment opportunities for women coming out of difficult situations. When the company closed its stores during the lockdown, it  started making non-medical masks,  safeguarding its business and the future of its workers. Within two months they’d sold 700,000 masks, using Google Ads to reach their customers. As a result of switching production they were able to retain their entire staff.


This is just one of many stories of resilience we’ve heard from businesses small and large as they look to sustain themselves and support their communities. At Google, we’re helping retailers accelerate recovery with training, tools and insights to help them adapt fast. Through September we ran Accelerating Retail, a month of training and collaboration, directly engaging with more than 7,500 retailers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and many more in partnership with industry bodies such as HDE in Germany and One to One Monaco in France. Listening to retailers of all types across so many countries has helped us to adapt and develop the products and services that we’re now launching to support economic recovery around the world. 


Helping retailers find more customers with free listings on the Shopping tab 

We’re now making it free for retailers to list their products on the Shopping tab throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Available globally in mid-October, search results on the Shopping tab will consist primarily of free listings, helping retailers to connect with more customers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google. Shoppers will be able to find more products from more stores, just in time for peak shopping season across the region. 


For retailers who already use Google Ads to reach potential customers, free product listings in the Shopping tab are a boost to your paid campaigns. In the U.S., where we launched successfully earlier this year, retailers running free listings and ads got an average of twice as many views and 50 percent more visits. Small and medium-sized businesses saw the biggest increases since the free listings launched there.
Blogpost Phone Close Up - Final 2.gif

If you already use Merchant Center and Shopping ads, you don't have to do anything to take advantage of this change; your listings will automatically show up at no cost. And we are making the onboarding process as easy as possible for retailers who are new to this over the next weeks and months. In Europe, you can also choose any Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) to work with free listings.


Connecting people with trusted local professionals

Many people are shopping locally as they spend more time at home, and searches containing "available near me" have doubled around the world. In the first half of 2020, searches for local services, like home improvement or maintenance, increased by over 25 percent in a year across a  range of European countries.


To help trusted businesses reach local customers, we’re announcing the launch of Local Services Ads in 10 European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.


Local Services Ads help people discover and connect with trustworthy local professionals—such as plumbers, house cleaners and electricians—backed by the Google Guaranteebadge. Potential customers can see license information and reviews from previous customers, and they can compare and contact providers. You don’t even need a website to use these ads, and you only pay when contacted by a customer—there’s no charge for people clicking on the ad. People can book services directly with a simple phone call. If you're a platform that's already connecting customers with professionals you can expandyour offering to include Local Services Ads.
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Local Services Ads in Germany and the UK

Getting small businesses online

An online presence has never been more critical for a business’s success. But, according to 2019 YouGov research, around a third of small businesses in six European countries surveyed don’t even have a website. 


To help small business owners take their first steps online, this month we launched Google for Small Business in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. It provides personalized plans including guidance on which tools are right for your business. We’ve also recently expanded Grow My Store, which helps local retailers drive customer traffic and improve their online shopping experience, to Germany, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Spain. We plan to roll out both Google for Small Business and Grow My Store to more countries before the end of the year.  


Digital tools and skills have been a lifeline in lockdown. By working together, they can be a catalyst for accelerating recovery —for retailers, their staff, customers, and the wider economy.