Google said on March 27, 2020 that it would hand out $340 million in advertising credits to small and medium-sized businesses, the centrepiece of a commitment worth more than $800 million to cushion the coronavirus downturn. The credits are not cash. They are spending power inside Google Ads.
To qualify, a business needed an active Google Ads account that had been running since January 1, 2019. Google told advertisers the credits would appear in their accounts over the coming months and could be spent across Search, Display and YouTube for the rest of the year.
The company layered other pledges on top. It raised ad grants to the World Health Organization and government agencies from $25 million to $250 million so they could push guidance on preventing the spread of the virus. It put $20 million in ad grants behind community financial institutions and non-profits running relief notices, and set aside a further $200 million investment fund and $20 million in Google Cloud credits for researchers working on treatments.
The aim, Google said, was to “alleviate some of the costs to stay in touch with their customers.” Small businesses were among the first to feel the shutdowns, and the credits were pitched as a way to keep them visible when foot traffic had collapsed.
Details stayed vague for weeks. By late April, Google said each eligible advertiser would receive a single credit, sized according to its past spending, country and currency, and that the credits would begin rolling out in May and expire at the end of the year.
Sources
- Google pledges $340 million in Google Ads credits for SMBs
- Google Ads Releases Details Around the $340m Credit for SMBs
