Supporting black-owned business is integral to the commonwealth of black communities and commerce alike. But with varying Covid restrictions and guidelines across the country, maintaining consistent support has proven difficult. To lend a hand in the fight, Google launched an initiative last year which provided merchants the option to add a Black-Owned Business attribute to their profile. Brought about as the number of searches for black business spiked shortly after the lockdown began in that fated month of March. The feature comes at a crucial time for companies to garner exposure where more users frequent digital shopping. If you’re a black business owner, there are three reasons why you should take advantage of this feature.
1. Stand out in Maps
The most apparent advantage of the new feature is it now makes it easier for potential patrons to discover your business. The app was designed with the Maps ecosystem in mind that commonly recommends restaurants and other commerce when a user logs a search. Now, when people narrow their choices down to black businesses, there’s a better chance of your business ranking higher due to the new badge. And considering the vast amount of users on Google compared to other search engines (Yelp, Bing), it’s free added publicity to have it attached to your name.
2. More People will share your business.
When patrons have an exceptional experience with a business, they can’t wait to talk about it. Jane Doe tells her friend, who then tells her friend, so on and so forth. Even better, they post it on social media to however many followers and friends they have. The best-case scenario is when they leave a high-ranking review on your Google profile. When the search results come back with 20 plus 5-star ratings, it then positively influences the chances of more patrons selecting your business. Compare this to the competition that doesn’t have as many stars or neglects the badge altogether. Now, it simply becomes a matter of human nature running its course once you have an extra tool in your marketing kit.
3. Google Partnership with the U.S. Chamber
Best of all, when Google launched this feature, they also made a big step by partnering with the U.S. Black Chambers, which houses our very own Black Chamber Fort Wayne. This initiative provides training for black businesses to effectively market and develops their business on Google. Even with exclusive training with Google My Business and Google Analytics to boot. Shameless plug, it’s even more reason for you to join your local black chamber of commerce.
Where else can you get such a valuable resource to prepare your business for success?
