Google announced today that it’s adding a new label on Maps and Search that will allow people to identify their business as being LGBTQ+ owned. The new label is now available to merchants in the United States with a verified business profile on Google.
The new label joins the current options available to merchants, which include Black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned. The label also expands on the “LGBTQ+ friendly” and “transgender safespace” labels that are visible on business profiles on Search and Maps.
“We want to make it easier for others to find LGBTQ+ owned businesses in their own community,” said Mackenzie Thomas, the product and marketing inclusion lead at Google, in a statement. “Starting today, merchants in the U.S. with a verified Business Profile on Google can add an LGBTQ+ owned attribute to their profile, making it easier for customers to find and support them through Search and Maps.”
On a support page, Google notes that self-identification is optional and is currently only available to retailers based in the United States. Customers are able to filter for businesses using the identity attributes.
Merchants can add labels to their business profile by logging into their Merchant Center and navigating to the “Business information” page. From there, you need to find the “About your business” tab and scroll down to the “Business identity attributes.” You can then click the toggle button next to the identity you want to add.
