Google Search Trends revealed that at the same time the dual crises of COVID-19 and racial injustice were devastating communities of color in America, search interest in supporting Black-owned businesses was higher than ever before. The data provided the opportunity for us to find creative ways to utilize Google Search and product UI to connect Black-owned businesses with the Google users searching to find and support them, backed by the insight that inn 2020, U.S. search for black owned businesses skyrocketed over 600% from the year before.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused 41% of Black-owned businesses to close their doors, more than any other racial group in America, and nearly double that of their white counterparts. While COVID was devastating minority-owned businesses, Google Search Trends data showed that people were searching to support Black-owned businesses more than ever before, with searches spiking over 600% compared to 2019.

The problem was that there was no simple way for people to find and support the Black-Owned businesses they were searching for. There was no tool that empowered Black business owners to self-identify, and enable users to connect search queries for Black-owned business to actual business results at scale. Knowing that Google Search and Maps could provide a solution at scale, we immediately set out to update both products and show people how they could search and support the businesses that reflected their values.

Our creative idea was to connect Black-owned businesses with the Google Search, Maps, and Shopping users seeking to support them.

Google Search Trends data showed that people were searching to support Black-owned businesses more than ever before, with searches spiking over 600% year-over-year in 2020. But there was no way for people to find these businesses at scale near them.

To close this gap, we added features into Google’s business profile tool that allowed business owners to self-identify as Black-owned, and worked with Black Chambers and hundreds of Black business owners to build a representative “Black-owned” icon that would appear in Google business profiles. We then made that information and icon accessible in Google Search, Maps, and Shopping, evolving the way these products index information to make the first-ever identity attribute that people could search for, discover, and directly support.

In addition to the overall spike in interest for Black-owned business, we also saw that searches were specifically spiking in cities where a higher percentage of Black businesses owners lived. As such, we set out to address the specific barriers those communities faced.

We partnered with the Black Chambers of Commerce to understand the most urgent issues facing Black business owners. Our research revealed that innovations were needed to help people support Black-owned businesses in their own communities.

One of the main ways business owners connect with customers is through their Google business profile, which can be customized to include photos, reviews, store hours, etc. However, there was no option for an owner to self-identify as Black-owned.

On the consumer side, The interest in Black-owned business was overwhelming but there was no simple way to find these businesses at scale.

While Search Trends data showed that people were searching to support Black-owned businesses, it wasn’t clear how interest would evolve following the initial events that triggered the search spike. Not only did people continue to search for “Black-owned,” but the more people searched, the more specific their queries became — from “Black-owned businesses near me” to “Black-owned banks.” Search was higher in cities where there were more Black-owned businesses, so we focused on onboarding business owners with physical storefronts in these areas and targeting the types of businesses people were searching so their communities could find them.

We also saw people searching for “Black-owned” in certain cities that had fewer Black-owned businesses than other geographical areas and for some businesses that tended to be online-only. To expand access, we made it possible for people to search for Black-owned merchants that didn't have a physical storefront through Google Shopping.

Since launch, more than 96,000 businesses have identified as Black-owned, with the majority saying the feature has already helped improve their business. By making black-owned businesses searchable for millions, we didn’t just keep doors open for businesses at a time when they need it most, we gave people a tool to shop their values.