Google has made tons of updates to its Maps and Search applications recently, and the latest one will help support Black-owned businesses.
According to Google, this update comes as search trends for Black-owned businesses have spiked recently. To help these searchers find and support Black-owned businesses, Google now lets business owners label their business as Black-owned right through their Google business profile.
With this option activated, customers searching for a business on Google Maps or Google Search will see Black-owned businesses flagged right in the business profile. The image of the flag is below.
This is all a part of Google’s $300 million commitment to support underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Google will work with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (USBC), which has 145 Black Chambers of Commerce and 326,000 members nationwide, to get the word out about the new feature. It’ll also team with USBC to train Black business owners to enhance their search engine placement through Google My Business and Google Analytics.
Google mentions nothing about any checks to verify a business marked as Black-owned is actually under Black ownership. Even without verification, though, this will offer those looking to support the Black business community a more streamlined process.
