- Google has introduced a new tool that will let businesses identify themselves as Black-owned.
- This is an initiative that Google has taken to show their support for the Black-owned businesses.
Google has launched a new tool that allow businesses to identify themselves as Black-owned through the company’s Map and Search listings. This comes after Google’s pledge after they announced last month to support the Black community with “initiatives and product ideas that support long-term solutions.”
Janet Burks, head of Google for Startups US said “With this attribute, our goal is to make Search and Maps more inclusive and help support Black-owned businesses when they need it most.”
To spread the word about the new Black-owned business tag, Google partnered with the US Black Chambers, and will provide training for Black-owned businesses to improve their Google presence with tools like Google My Business and Google Analytics.
A new badge that will signify a Black-owned business when you are searching for a business through Google.com or through Google Maps. The badge will consist of a black heart over an orange three-striped background.
The owners need to claim that the business is their own on Google through mail, phone or email before they can apply for the badge.
In 2018, Google introduced similar initiatives to the businesses to let them display if they were ‘Women-led’ or friendly to members of the LGBTQ.
Within the last few months, Google stated that it has seen “a surge in online searches for Black-owned businesses.” This is a result of consumers looking to spend money on these businesses to show support to the Black Lives Matter protests.
Yelp which also introduced a Black-owned icon has seen a similar increase in the searches for Black-owned businesses. Yelp said in its Q2 earnings report that there were more than 2.5 million searches for Black-owned businesses between May 25th and July 10th.
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