COVID-19: Your Questions Answered About Google Ad Credits for Small Businesses
We’ve have many inquiries from clients over the past few weeks about support from our digital marketing platform partners like Google and Facebook and how they are supporting small business. Many of these enterprise partners have worked quickly to put together a plan but those details have not been fully ironed out and the platforms are working on it.
This article answers specific questions about Google’s ad credit plan for small and medium-sized businesses and sheds light on when, who and how that will occur. We thought to make it brief because we know everyone is busy supporting their efforts during this time.
This information is as of April 20, 2020.
Program Overview
Google wants to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stay in touch with their customers during this challenging time. That’s why they are giving SMB customers worldwide $340 million in ad credits, which can be used towards future ad spend, until the end of 2020 across Google Ads platforms (Search, Shopping, YouTube, etc). This is part of a larger commitment from Google to support SMBs, health organizations and governments, and health workers on the frontline of this global pandemic.
Eligible Businesses
Small and medium sized businesses globally, who have spent with a Google Ads account in ten out of twelve months of 2019, and in January and/or February of this year. Eligible customers are those who advertised directly with us or through a partner, and adhere to our advertising policies.
Process of Ad Credits
The ad credit will be for future Google Ads spend. It will not be applied to billed / invoiced past or current Google Ads spend. These ad credits will be applicable across the Google Ads platform including Search, Display, and YouTube as well as all campaign types.
Starting in late May, Google will begin rolling out the ad credit in phases. Over the following months, eligible customers will be notified and will see the ad credit applied in their Google Ads account. The ad credit amount will vary by customer based on past Google Ads spend, and the country and currency where the business and Google Ads account is set up.
For the full details, please visit the Google Help article for the program.
Get more information on grant programs for small businesses during the pandemic.