Local businesses are an essential part of any community. Unfortunately, the impact of the current pandemic has not only been tough on consumers but business owners as well.
Now here’s the good part.
Google is offering support in various ways. The tech company has been rolling out new features and tools to help merchants keep their customers informed. Furthermore, it included the ability to add dining options as well as updated hours to Google My Business Profiles.
Now, the search engine giant has figured out another way to lend financial support to businesses during this time. It’s letting local business owners add support links to their Business Profile.
In a blog post announcement, program manager, Local SMB products at Google, Dominique McGowan said:
“Today, we’re rolling out support links for businesses to post directly to their Business Profiles on Google, starting first in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.”
Here’s how it works.
Adding Support Links to Your Business Profile on Google
Local business owners can now request support from customers via the new support links feature on GMB.
According to Google, merchants will be able to add gift card link, donation link, or both to their Business Profile. There’s also an option to share a message in the post to inform donors of how they intend to use their funds.
Businesses that don’t have a dedicated page of gift card offerings can sign up with any of Google’s partners. These include Toast, Clover, Square, and Vagaro.
Meanwhile, Google has also partnered with PayPal and GoFundMe to enable businesses to accept donations via their GMB listing. The search engine company also stated that the support links would be visible in search results later this month.
Google is not charging business owners or consumers any fee for using the new support links. But, a partner processing fee may be associated with campaigns.
With that said, the initial launch will cover a subset of businesses to prevent misuse. However, the feature would later extend to more countries, partners, and merchants over the coming weeks.
Comments (0)
Most Recent