Google is making it easier to find LGBTQ+ owned businesses in Search and Maps

It is pride month, so many companies are wrapping themselves up in the rainbow flag and proclaiming their allyship with the LGBTQIA+ community. It is in this spirit that Google has launched a new label in its Maps and Search products to let businesses indicate that they are LGBTQ+ owned.

The new attribute is currently only available in the US, and only to merchants that have a verified Business Profile on Google. Google says that it gives people a way to support diverse businesses, adding to the existing Black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned attributes that verified business are able to use.

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In announcing the new attribute, Google points out that: "The LGBTQ+ community represents nearly 8 percent of the total adult American population, with 20 percent of Gen Z identifying as a member of the community. As the number of LGBTQ+ individuals increase, so does our presence and prominence in our communities".

The company goes on to say:

We want to make it easier for others to find LGBTQ+ owned businesses in their own community. 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. This new offering joins the Black-owned, Latino-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned business attributes we already offer, and is yet another way people can support diverse businesses.

This builds on our previous work with the globally available LGBTQ+ friendly and transgender safespace attributes, and offers a more objective attribute that only businesses can add to their profiles.

The image below shows how the labels appear on mobile devices.

In making it easier to identify LGBTQIA+ owned businesses, Google is not only making it easier to support such enterprises, but also for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to find businesses that are sympathetic to their needs.