Google announced that black-owned businesses can now also show a special label or indicator in their product and shopping results within Google Search. The label reads “identifies as Black-owned” and shows in the product listing results within Google Shopping.
What it looks like. Here is a GIF from Google showing this label in the Google Shopping results:
Who can get this label. The label is available to businesses that identify as Black-owned. Google said “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.” This “feature will become visible to shoppers and available to all U.S. Google Merchants in coming months.” So this is only launching in the U.S. right now.
How to get the label. Google said “business owners can add the Black-owned attribute by visiting the Google Merchant Help Center.”
- Sign in to your Merchant Center account.
- Click the Tools and settings menu
in the top right corner of Merchant Center.
- Navigate to the “Business information” page.
- On the “About your business” tab, scroll down to the “Business identity attributes” section.
- Click the toggle button next to “Identifies as Black-owned” to turn it on or off.
- In addition, check the box next to “Include my business in promotions for Black-owned businesses” if you would like for your business and products to potentially appear on pages featuring Black-owned businesses.
Google My Business. In July 2020, Google launched the Black-owned business label for the local search results and is now expanding this label to the Google Shopping results.
Why we care. Google said, “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.”
Google said it wants “to make it easier for people to support and spend dollars with the Black businesses they love.” This is one small way for Google to do that and if you are at a Black-owned business, it is something you should consider adding to your product results.
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Source: IAB