Google Looks Out for Mom and Pop with New Small Business Features

Running a small business in a big business world can get frustrating. Mom and Pop have to work way harder, often for less results.

Then along comes Google, just in time for the holidays.


According to Google, 84% of people say supporting local and/or small businesses is important to them. Google wants to satisfy those consumers (and Mom and Pop) by tailoring some features toward the "little guy."

First, there's the "small business attribute."

As of today, Mom and Pop can use the new "small business attribute" on Search and Google Maps to identify themselves as a small business looking for your business.

Products in Search sold by businesses with a small business attribute will get a "small business" label, as will businesses on Maps. The labels are meant to make it easy for people who want to support small businesses to find them.

Any small business that uses Merchant Center or Business Profile in the U.S., including the Google & YouTube app on Shopify, can add the attribute. Just go to Merchant Center, look over the "business information" tab, go to "details" or "about your business," and turn on the "small business" attribute. In Business Profile, go to the "more" section and "edit profile."

In some cases, Google will automatically add the small business attribute based on factors such as the number of products offered, how many locations the business has, and how many visitors the business gets online. The attribute can always be removed if you don't like it, but this is a pretty good deal if you're a small business looking for a boost.

A new AI-powered tool called Product Studio gives small business owners some big marketing potential. The studio includes cool AI tools to help businesses create and manage their products. It's available to all Merchant Center Next users in the U.S.

Product Studio includes an experimental AI-powered scene generation feature that leverages text-to-image generation that lets you place your product into any kind of setting you can think of, giving small business owners marketing potential even without a budget.

Finally, in select countries (including the U.S.), the knowledge panel that shows up on some retail searches will now offer more information, such as shopping specifics, current deals, shipping and return policies, customer service information, and ratings and reviews.

The knowledge panel will appear for more businesses than before, giving you, as a small business owner, a place to showcase your business. Google will highlight the info you share in the Merchant Center and "authoritative information" on the web.

For Mom and Pop, these features offer a way to stand out as the holiday rush begins.

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