Official Google Canada Blog: October 2020

The future of news should not harm a free and open web

Monday, October 26, 2020

Editor's Note: This first appeared in The Globe & Mail on October 25.

In 1990, more than 75% of newspaper ad revenue was from classifieds, department stores, auto dealers, and supermarkets. Today, people buy and sell used skates on Kijiji and social marketplaces. They start their holiday shopping online and turn to job sites to find part time work. Print still plays an important role in the path to purchase and advertising, however, the internet and the emergence of the digital economy has changed user behavior and drastically impacted newspaper business models. Many Canadian publishers are innovating their way forward - The Globe & Mail is a global leader in award-winning digital journalism, Village Media has reinvented local news and found profitability in cities like Sault Ste. Marie. Glacier Media has grown a successful real estate listings site (Rew.ca) in Western Canada. But now, big news publishers are calling on governments to compel companies like Google to pay hundreds of millions a year for links to news content that shows up in Search results - something we don't do for anyone. Demanding that Google pay to include search results undermines the very principle of the open internet as we know it today. People trust Google to help them find useful and authoritative information, from a diverse range of sources. Results in Search, including links to news, are determined by relevance - not commercial considerations. Google does not accept payment to appear in organic search results nor does it pay for sites to appear in search results. While Google is committed to contributing to the sustainable future of journalism, these proposals fail to recognize that's not how search engines work, or should work. Nor does it reflect the value search brings to the news sites who benefit from search traffic. In essence, search is a global, virtual newsstand, driving valuable traffic from Google's users at no cost to the publisher. When you search on Google, no matter what you are looking for, you will see a list of blue links and in some cases, one or two lines of text (sometimes referred to as 'snippets'). In the case of searching for a news article, you can only read the article after clicking through to the publisher's site. In 2019, Search drove over 5 billion visits to Canadian news publishers for free. This traffic is valuable because it gives publishers the opportunity to show readers advertisements or offer subscriptions. Deloitte estimates the value of traffic to be around CDN $ 0.10 per click, which equates to about half a billion dollars a year for news publishers. While we send significant amounts of valuable traffic to news publishers, news actually represents a tiny proportion of overall searches. Looking at our overall business in Canada, Google last year generated approximately $ 9M in revenue - not profit - from clicks on ads against possible news-related queries in Canada. And news represents a small number of queries - in 2019 just 1.5% of total searches in Canada. The internet has dramatically transformed the media environment and how we all access information. If publishers receive over $ 500M in value from Search while Google only earns $ 9M in revenue, it's clear that publishers receive significant benefit from this exchange. Digital platforms do not owe publishers compensation for the emergence of an Internet based economy, nor is it a sustainable solution to one single industry's economic challenges. None of this is to deny the vital role that the news industry plays in our society. Earlier this month, we announced Google News Showcase, an initiative committing more than USD $ 1 billion globally to pay publishers directly to create and curate high-quality content that will drive even more traffic to publishers' sites.And our work doesn't stop there - we are deeply committed to supporting the future of journalism for the long term. We make it easier for users to subscribe to premium content through Subscribe with Google. We created the Google News Initiative to provide programs, tools and training to help journalism thrive in the digital age. We provided emergency funding to 5,600 local publishers globally, including 150 newsrooms across Canada, to help with the impact of COVID-19. And our work doesn't stop there - we are deeply committed to supporting the future of journalism for the long term.

We have been in Canada for over 20 years. We have more than 1,500 employees here. Last year, research from Public First showed that Google's search and advertising products helped generate $ 23B in annual economic activity for over 500,000 businesses in Canada, a total impact equivalent to approximately 1.1 percent of Canada's entire GDP. We are deeply proud of the work we do here and the contributions we make. We will continue to actively engage in discussions with governments, regulators and industry. And we will continue to collaborate with the news industry on further innovation to enable a sustainable future for news.

Posted by Sabrina Geremia, Vice President, Google Canada

Google Cloud Awarded Framework Agreement for Secure Cloud Services by Canadian Federal Government

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Google Cloud has secured a Framework Agreement for Secure Cloud from the Canadian federal government. This agreement now enables Google Cloud to directly sell innovative cloud platform and collaboration technologies to federal agencies, helping them digitally transform and better serve their communities and constituents.

To secure this framework, Google Cloud was assessed by the Canadian federal government against all relevant security, privacy, and usability standards. While Google Cloud already works with several Canadian federal government agencies, the new agreement will permit Google Cloud to better support a wide range of federal departments, agencies, and crown corporations.

"Receiving a framework agreement for secure cloud services means we can now support programs that require high levels of data protection for government workloads,” said Mike Daniels, Vice President Global Public Sector, Google Cloud. “This new agreement reflects our continued investment and support for customers in the Canadian public sector, including the announcement of our second data center region in Toronto. It is another example of momentum we're seeing as government agencies move to the cloud.”

Citizens have become accustomed to convenient, easy-to-use, digital services in their daily lives. Government organizations face increased pressure to deliver the same convenience as consumer experiences, often under financial constraints and using legacy systems. This new framework agreement with Google Cloud will enable governments to procure cloud services—and subsequently help close the gap between government and consumer services.

This Small Business Week, we’re helping local businesses forge a way forward together

Monday, October 19, 2020

quickly pivot their business modelsan estimated 30%

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has led the celebration of Small Business Week for 40 years, in support of Canadian entrepreneurs and their contribution to Canada's culture and economy. To help kick off this year’s event, we’re sharing how Canadian small businesses have used Google tools to get started online and grow their presence, for free.

Step 1: Get started online for free

Teatro Verde is a florist in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood. Over the past 24 years, they’ve established a loyal customer base but the pandemic had an immediate impact on the company’s staff and supply chain, and they needed new ways to serve customers fast. Through the ShopHERE powered by Google program, owners Shawn Gibson and Michael Pellegrino were able to quickly set up an online store for free and promote new services for shopping in-person or online via delivery and curbside pickup.

“We are a very high-touch business and have a distinct in-store environment, and we wanted to bring that online. The images on our website have really helped people visualize our products,” Gibson said. “ShopHERE is an amazing way to help develop your business for free especially if you don’t have a lot of time.”

For small businesses looking to get set up online, apply here.

Step 2: Build your customer base

While the pandemic has brought many challenges, it has also opened up opportunities for businesses to find new audiences online. To make local businesses more discoverable, we have launched the Local Opportunity Finder tool. Enter the name of your business and we will provide customized suggestions on how to improve your presence on Google Search and Maps in under five minutes.

New Google My Business features are also helping businesses organize appointments and keep track of customer flow. Saint Lou’s Barbershop has fostered casual, community connections in Halifax, N.S. for years. But when the pandemic hit, they quickly needed to shift their walk-in-only business model to a more organized, appointment-based system for physical distancing and customer safety. Owner Rob Oxner quickly implemented the “book online” feature on Saint Lou’s Google My Business profile, and says most customers now book appointments online.

We’ve also made it free to list your products on the Google Shopping tab, so businesses can connect with millions of online shoppers actively searching for their products. Carmen and Jordan West from Abbotsford, B.C., are the duo behind family and baby clothing line Little & Lively. This year, they’ve seen sales increase as more people shop online and turn to “retail therapy.” The couple call Google Shopping their “magic bullet” for eCommerce, allowing them to reach people actively searching for their products.

Step 3: Stay connected and organized

With the rise of remote working in March, many companies turned to digital tools and cloud technology to stay organized and connected or to meet new demands. Burnaby, B.C., business One Arrow Meats is one of those companies. Cree-Métis chef and entrepreneur Heat Laliberte’s hand-cured artisan bacon is a staple at Vancouver-area restaurants, farmers markets and grocery stores. Orders have quadrupled during the pandemic and Laliberte quickly needed to find ways to delegate some of his day-to-day responsibilities across the team. They turned to Google Workspace (formerly G-Suite), with collaborative tools like Google Calendar, Drive and Meet to help team members stay connected.

Say it with a review: A simple way to support Canadian businesses

Reviews on Google provide valuable information about your business to customers, and can help your business stand out on Google. This year, we’re challenging all Canadians to help small businesses near them by rating their favourite businesses and writing a Google review. These reviews help people research and understand businesses around them, and learn from other people’s customer experiences. This is especially important during the pandemic, as consumers consolidate shopping trips and seek more information around safety protocols. Research has found that positive reviews make 91% of consumers more likely to choose a business.

Learn more about how you can give help this Small Business Week here.

Posted by Karen Godwin, Director of Customer Solutions, Google Canada

The new Nest Thermostat: more energy savings for more people

Monday, October 12, 2020

Nest Thermostat More ways to help you save energy Easy to install, set-up and useCompatibility Checker

Clean, simple and sustainable design

continuing our commitment to sustainability Helpful alerts to keep an eye on your heating and cooling systemHVAC monitoringmake sure everything’s running smoothly Handymost markets
Where and whenGoogle StorePosted by Ruchi Desai, Senior Product Manager

A new licensing program to support the Canadian news industry

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Google News ShowcaseUSD$1 billionty content for this product, with plans to extend beyond that as part of our long-term commitment to supporting the news industry. News Showcase will first roll out to readers in Brazil and Germany and will expand to other countries in the coming months where local frameworks support these partnerships. We are thrilled to announce today that this program is coming to Canada.

News Showcase builds on our existing news licensing program, which is already paying publishers for quality journalism and other news-related efforts like Subscribe with Google and Web Stories. Our new service will give readers in Canada more context and perspective on important stories in the news and drive high value traffic to a publisher’s site.

We’ve already signed partnerships for News Showcase with nearly 200 leading publications across Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, the U.K. and Australia with more countries to follow.

Our Canadian publisher partners say this is a positive shift in direction. “We are always exploring new ways to attract readers to our network of local, community based media sites,” says Jeff Elgie, CEO of Village Media. “The new Google News Showcase program will allow us to drive meaningful new revenue for our business, help us further develop our audience, and provide trusted, in-depth news to our readers in partnership with Google.”

Narcity Media sees the value of extending their reach and increasing revenue with the new Google program. “Finding new ways to reach our core audience and showcase our premium content in a curated environment, is a top priority,” comments Chuck Lapointe, CEO of Narcity Media. “Google’s partnership in news will give us access to new markets and provide additional commercial benefits.”

Today’s launch of News Showcase is not only about our substantial financial commitment, but also about a different kind of online news experience—one that will benefit from the editorial curation by award-winning newsrooms to provide readers with more insight on the stories that matter, and let publishers develop deeper relationships with their audiences.

More About Google News Showcase

News Showcase is made up of story panels that will appear initially in Google News on Android. The product will launch soon on Google News on iOS, coming to Google Discover and Search in the future. These panels give participating publishers the ability to package the stories that appear in readers’ news feeds, providing deeper storytelling and more context through features like timelines, bullets and related articles. Other components like video, audio and daily briefings will come next.

News Showcase is distinct from our other news products because it leans on the editorial choices individual publishers make about which stories to show readers and how to present them. Publishers can also bring more detail and context in their own voice—summarizing a complicated story, including an explainer, or adding an interview with a person at the center of a long-running story. The panels are designed to represent a publisher’s individual brand within Google’s products to help readers recognize the unique value and perspective these publishers bring to top stories. And a simple click will take you to the publisher’s site.

These panels will appear in personalized feeds along with other ranked content. Readers will be able to browse content from participating publishers and follow specific publishers whose stories they want to see more prominently featured. News Showcase is also working with partners to pay for free access to select paywalled articles on a publisher’s site.

Long term commitment

The launch of News Showcase and our commitment to spend significant amounts for quality content will contribute towards the overall sustainability of our news partners and builds on our other efforts to help the industry. Those include not just the 24 billion visits we send to news websites globally every month, but also the many projects of the Google News Initiative, including emergency funding for over 5,600 local publishers globally, 150 of which were Canadian, to help with the impact of COVID-19. Over the course of the pandemic we also waived ad serving fees for news publishers globally and drove initiatives to support local news through partnerships and our own marketing efforts. And we recently announced the Digital Growth Program aimed at small and medium-sized publishers.

As a company whose mission focuses on making information universally accessible, we share a common cause with publishers in creating a more informed world. Alongside other companies, governments and civic society groups, we want to play our part by helping journalism in the 21st Century not only survive, but thrive.

Posted by Sabrina Geremia, Vice President, Google Canada

Official Canada Blog

The future of news should not harm a free and open web

Google Cloud Awarded Framework Agreement for Secure Cloud Services by Canadian Federal Government

This Small Business Week, we’re helping local businesses forge a way forward together

The new Nest Thermostat: more energy savings for more people

A new licensing program to support the Canadian news industry

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