Google Pledges $340 Million in Ad Credits to SMBs for Coronavirus Relief

Google are helping to alleviate some of the cost for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to stay in touch with their customers during this challenging time.

In the coming months, if you’re a small to medium-sized business and have been an active Google Ads advertiser since the beginning of 2019, you will see a credit notification appear in your Google Ads account.

As part of its larger commitment to support SMBs, health organizations and governments, and health workers on the frontline of this global pandemic, Google has pledged $340 million in ad credits to SMBs worldwide.

Google has said,

“Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our communities. They represent about 90 percent of all businesses and more than half of employment worldwide, according to the World Bank. COVID-19 has posed a particular challenge to these businesses, who may be facing closures and declining revenue even as they find ways to support and protect their employees. Through ad credits, we hope to alleviate some of the cost to stay in touch with their customers.”

Google is currently in the process of building these specialized credits into Google Ads accounts, therefore notifications will not show immediately, however, they will remain valid for use until 31^st of Dec 2020. The ad credits will also be applicable across the Google Ads platform including Search, Display, and YouTube as well as all campaign types.

Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai details their larger commitments to support those mentioned above in a blog post. He says,

“As the coronavirus outbreak continues to worsen around the world, it’s taking a devastating toll on lives and communities. To help address some of these challenges, today we’re announcing a new $800+ million commitment…”

Ad Credits

The bulk of the relief package is the pledged $340 million in ad credits. But that number is closely followed by their announcement of $250 million in ad grants to help the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global bodies who provide critical COVID-19 information and factually correct public information share their messages far and wide.

Investment Fund

A $200 million investment fund is being created to help financial institutions provide small businesses with access to capital. This is in addition to the $15 million in cash grants Google.org already provides to non-profits to help bridge gaps for SMBs.

Google Cloud

As academic institutions and researchers study potential therapies and vaccines, and identify new ways to combat COVID-19, Google is pouring $20 million into Google Cloud to allow the academics to leverage their computing capabilities and infrastructure.

Financial support for personal protective equipment (PPE) and lifesaving medical devices

Google is working with a long-time supplier and partner, to help increase the production capacity of face masks to 2-3 million in the coming weeks and facilitate increased production of ventilators by lending engineering, supply chain, and healthcare expertise and direct financial support.

Read their pledge in-depth here.