Australia Blog
News and notes from Google Down Under
Helping Australian small businesses do more with simpler ads products
Thursday, July 12, 2018
We know that Australian small businesses are pressed for time - that’s why we launched
Smart campaigns
, a new Google Ads tool to help businesses create ads in minutes, connect with relevant customers, and get back to what they want to be doing — running their business. This new tool helps businesses do more within their budget, connect with customers in different languages, create multiple ads, and bring people to the most relevant pages on their website.
Get the results you care about
Nine in ten
Australian small business owners who advertise online want customers to call, visit a store, or make a purchase. Google Ads helps to connect businesses with people who are looking for a service or product that their business offers and helps businesses to get results.
Simone Kingston and Margaret Hennessey, owners of
DOGUE
in Bondi Junction, NSW, started using Google Ads to promote their dog grooming and playtime services. Smart campaigns helped them to connect with the community of dog lovers around their shop, driving calls from ads and ultimately getting people into the store.
Margaret said: “with Google Ads we can easily track the results just by the number of customers who call us or come in to our store”. Check out Simone and Margaret’s
story
.
Your results are at your fingertips
70 per cent
of Australian small businesses that advertise wish there was an easier way to track the impact of their marketing efforts. With Smart campaigns, businesses can check the dashboard anytime and see how a campaign is working.
And this is just the beginning
Smart campaigns is our latest effort to help small business owners succeed and get the results they want from their ads. Want to learn more about getting your business online? Visit
The Digital Garage
, our digital skills hub for small businesses.
Posted by Richard Flanagan, Head of Business Marketing, Google Australia
Do more with Google Pay
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
When we
launched Google Pay
, our goal was
to make it easier to use your Google Account to pay in stores and online using the payment methods saved to your Google Account
. In the past few months, we’ve made this possible by bringing fast, simple checkout to more devices, browsers, and services.
Today, we’re now rolling out updates that will let you do even more with Google Pay.
Here’s a look at the newest features:
Earn loyalty points with Woolies
When you’re out on your grocery run you can make your purchase count without having to carry your loyalty card. For the first time, you can earn Woolworths Rewards points via Google Pay. Just add your loyalty card along with your payment card to Google Pay and use your phone at the pinpad to earn more points: tap once to log your Everyday Rewards card, and then again to pay. Your Rewards Point balance is refreshed periodically in the Google Pay app, so you can see if you're eligible to redeem the Woolworths reward and get $10 off your next basket.
Save concert tickets and boarding passes
Never miss another show because you forgot to bring your tickets. Just save them and you’ll always have them on hand. Once your tickets are saved, you’ll find them with your loyalty cards, gift cards, and offers on the Android app’s new Passes tab. When it’s time for your event or flight, use your phone as your ticket—no printing required. You’ll be able to store event tickets and boarding passes from even more places soon, including Ticketek and Virgin Australia.
Manage your info in one convenient place
Now that you can use Google Pay on desktop in stores or on transit, on your phone or with your Assistant, we’ve also made it easier to manage your payment info in the app or on the web at
pay.google.com
. Everything is synced with your Google Account, so if you update your payment info on the web, it’ll be reflected on your phone. Plus, if you download the app, you’ll be able to quickly set up eligible cards saved to your Google Account to pay with your phone in stores.
Easily manage your payment info on the web or in the app
Get the app
and
visit the site
to check out all the new features.
Posted by Gerardo Capiel, Product Management Director, Consumer Payments
Celebrating NAIDOC Week 2018: Because of her, we can!
Monday, July 9, 2018
Australia would not be the rich, diverse country that it is without the many contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
These strong and determined individuals have helped to shape our families, our society, and our shared narrative as a nation.
And through their stories we are proud to support NAIDOC Week 2018, which honours the invaluable contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women under the theme ‘Because of her, we can!’
Yesterday we kicked off NAIDOC Week with a Google Doodle, created by guest artist Cheryl Moggs, a Bigambul woman from Goondiwindi and National NAIDOC poster competition winner for 2018.
The Doodle honours Colleen Shirley Perry Smith (‘Mum Shirl’), a prominent social worker and humanitarian and activist committed to the justice and welfare of Aboriginal Australians.
We also have also worked with prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to share their stories through the Google Assistant. Just ask your Google Assistant ‘What are you doing for NAIDOC Week?’ or to ‘Share some Inspirational indigenous voices’.
To let you know what’s on this week, you will hear from some incredible people:
Alexis Wright
is a member of the Waanyi nation of the southern highlands of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The author of the prize-winning novels
Carpentaria
and
The Swan Book
, Wright has published three works of non-fiction:
Take Power
, an oral history of the Central Land Council;
Grog War
, a study of alcohol abuse in the Northern Territory; and
Tracker
, an award-winning collective memoir of Aboriginal leader, Tracker Tilmouth. Wright is the only author to win both the Miles Franklin Award (in 2007 for
Carpentaria
) and the Stella Prize (in 2018 for
Tracker
).
Dr Jakelin Troy
is
a Ngarigu woman of the Snowy Mountains in Southern New South Wales, and Director of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Research Office at the University of Sydney. Professor Troy’s research and academic interests focus on languages, particularly endangered Aboriginal and ‘contact languages’, language education, linguistics, anthropology and visual arts. She has extensive experience developing curriculum for Australian schools, focusing on Australian language programs.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley
, AC, MBE is a Wiradjuri woman from Griffith in New South Wales. She was Australian of the Year in 1971 and Australian Sportsman of the Year. In 1972 she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and in 1982 she became an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). Yvonne is an Australian former world No. 1 tennis player, and as one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s she won 14 Grand Slam titles including seven singles titles.
Emily Wurramara
is one of Australia’s finest young singer-songwriters. She grew up on Groote Eylandt, off the coast of the Northern Territory. She released her debut EP Black Smoke, which contains stories from her heart and childhood sung in both English and her traditional language Anindilyakwa. Black Smoke has amassed more than 1 million Spotify streams and 50,000
YouTube
views, as well as national radio airplay.
Angie Abdilla
is a Trawlwoolway woman and the founder and CEO of the social enterprise Old Ways, New, an industry advocate for the ethical future proofing of technologies through United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Her academic research on Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence created the foundations for Old Ways, New. Angie is also a Fellow of The Ethics Centre.
Amy McQuire
is a Darumbal and South Sea Islander. She is Buzzfeed Australia’s Indigenous Affairs reporter and worked as a researcher on John Pilger’s film Utopia. I
t's a priority for us at Google to
create the right environments, programs and policies to support women in pursuing their dreams and building tools that change the world.
Evonne Goolangong Cawley is interviewed for the Google Assistant.
I
t's a priority for us at Google to
create the right environments, programs and policies to support women in pursuing their dreams and building tools that change the world.
Alexis Wright, with audio producer Olivia Rosenman.
We also believe we can best serve Australians, and ourselves as individuals, by embracing and striving to understand the many diverse, complex and ancient cultures of our vibrant community.
Our
Reconciliation Action Plan
, developed by a cross-section of passionate Googlers on behalf of their colleagues, articulates our joint vision for reconciliation in Australia and the actions we will take to build closer, more respectful, and mutually beneficial relationships with Indigenous Australia.
I
t’s our hope that, through our RAP, Googlers will choose to personally invest in building stronger connections with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across this land, to deepen their understanding of Indigenous culture and tradition.
We will always seek to build stronger, more respectful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - and help ensure that all Australians can share in the opportunities created through technology.
Posted by Anil Sabharwal, VP of Photos and Communications Products, Engineering Site Lead for Australia
OK Google, open the new Google Melbourne office!
Friday, July 6, 2018
Where can you find The ‘G, Flinders Street and the Yarra Valley all under one roof? At the new Google Melbourne office, of course!
We were delighted to welcome Victorian business partners, community groups and government representatives to celebrate the official opening of the new Google Melbourne office on Collins Street last night.
The Victorian Minister for Small Business; Innovation and the Digital Economy; Trade and Investment, Philip Dalidakis MP, kicked off celebrations with the command “OK Google, open the Google Melbourne office”.
The new office, with more than 100 desks, has work spaces named after local landmarks and uniquely Melbourne features, including a graffiti wall.
From just 4 people when Google Melbourne began a few years ago, we now have more than 50 staff today and space to expand the team. We’re growing because our partners - local businesses and community groups - are growing.
More than 200,000 Victorian businesses use Google to connect with customers in Australia and around the world, and those businesses see almost $4 billion of benefits generated by using Google products and services (
alphaBeta
).
We look forward to continuing to work with our amazing Melbourne partners and sharing our new office space with them and the local community.
Posted by Sean McDonell, Google Melbourne Site Lead
Searching for Australia’s forward thinkers - meet the 2018 Google.org Impact Challenge judges
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Last month, we
launched
the third Australian
Google.org Impact Challenge
, with $5.5 million available for nonprofits and social enterprises to support projects that use technology to tackle our biggest social challenges.
The 2018
Google.org Impact Challenge
aims to help Australian nonprofits and social enterprises that are finding new ways to address some of our most challenging problems - from education and economic opportunity to social inclusion.
Today, I’m pleased to announce the panel of esteemed
judges
, with a wealth of experience across community investment and innovation, who will help select the 2018 winners. Judges include:
Professor Alan Finkel AO
- Australia's Chief Scientist, entrepreneur, engineer, neuroscientist, philanthropist and educator;
Professor Tom Calma AO
- Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia and Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group;
Su McCluskey
- Commissioner of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and respected Chairman and Director of listed public companies and nonprofit entities;
Dr Sarah Pearson
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Chief Innovation Officer;
Morris Iemma
- District Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission and 40th Premier of NSW;
Jacquelline Fuller
- Vice President, Google and President of Google.org; and
Anil Sabharwal
- Vice President of Product, Google.
These judges will review applications and hear live pitches from ten finalists at an event in November to determine the winners. All Australians will be invited to
vote
for their favourite idea.
Nonprofits and social enterprises have until
6 July 2018
to
apply
. Get involved today and help support Australia’s forward thinkers!
Posted by Jason Pellegrino, Managing Director, Google Australia
Now available: new ways to explore with Google Maps
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Last month, we introduced
new ways
to experience your city with Google Maps—helping you find the best spots to eat, drink, and play based on the things you’re into. Many of these features start rolling out worldwide today. Read on for seven tips on how you can use Google Maps to see your neighbourhood in a whole new light:
1. The redesigned Explore tab gives you quick recommendations for restaurants, bars, and cafes in any area you’re interested in. Whether you’re staying local or planning a trip, you can always find the perfect spot no matter where you are in the world.
2. Find the best burger in town or track the top brunch spots in the city with trending lists from local experts and Google’s algorithms.
3. Indulge your inner foodie on Android by automatically keeping track of your progress against any of the restaurants featured in the trending lists. So if you’re on a mission to try the 10 best tacos in your area and you’ve only tried five, Google Maps will note that for you so you can get to the tacos pronto. 🌮
4. Know what’s going on. On Android, the new Explore tab now surfaces the top events and activities happening in your area. You can see photos, descriptions, and filter by categories like “good for kids”, “cheap” or “indoor or outdoor” so you can find just the right activity to fit your mood.
The new Explore tab is now available to all Android and iOS users globally.
5. Make plans faster. If you have Location History turned on, each restaurant or bar now features “Your match”, a numeric rating that tells you how likely you are to enjoy a place based on your own preferences—so you can save time scrolling through lists of reviews and quickly make a decision about where to go.
6. Tell Google Maps about your food and drink preferences so it can surface better dining recommendations as you eat your way around town (to do this, go to your Settings to select the types of cuisines and restaurants you like, along with what you’re not so into).
Your match is now available to Android users worldwide.
7. Get inspired for your next culinary adventure. The new “For you” tab will keep you in the know about everything happening in areas you care about whether it’s near your home, work, or a city you visit frequently. Following a neighbourhood allows you to instantly see if there’s a hot new restaurant in the area, a new cafe that’s a perfect match for your tastes, or if one of your favorite dining spots is in the news.
The For you tab is now available on Åndroid in Australia, the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Japan, with content ramping up this week.
To start exploring, update your Google Maps app from the
App Store
or
Play Store
today. Share your favourite list of restaurants with us on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #OnGoogleMaps, and make sure to follow @GoogleMaps for more tips on how you can use Google Maps to get around and discover your neighbourhood.
Sophia Lin, Senior Product Manager, Google Maps
VidCon 2018: Helping creators earn more money and build stronger communities
Friday, June 22, 2018
I just stepped off the stage at VidCon, a conference created from scratch by Hank and John Green in 2010 that brings together fans, creators, and industry leaders to celebrate the power of online video. I talked about how over the last 13 years, YouTube has grown from an ambitious idea into a worldwide movement built on free expression and the power of openness.
With more than 1.9 billion logged-in users who come to YouTube every month and localized versions stretching across 90 countries and 80 languages, we’re opening up the world to anyone with a cell phone and an internet connection.
YouTube is a vibrant community where everyone has a voice. Every day, creators use their voice to entertain, spur action and bring about positive change. That’s why over the last year we’ve doubled down on building the products and tools that the creator community needs. Not only to thrive on YouTube, but to continue to develop the video platform of the future.
The next big steps for creator monetization
YouTube lets creators connect with their community and gives them the opportunity to earn money while doing what they love. Thanks to advertisers, creators around the world have been able to build businesses, creating an entirely new global economy that’s seen incredible growth. The number of creators earning five figures a year is up by 35 percent and the number of creators earning six figures is up by 40 percent. As in previous years, the vast majority of the revenue is coming from our advertising partners. We’ll continue investing here, but we also want to think beyond ads. Creators should have as many ways and opportunities to make money as possible.
We’ve been working on new tools that not only help creators better engage with their fans, they also enable them to make money while doing it. This is an idea that really began last year with
Super Chat
, a product that allows fans to purchase messages that stand out within a live chat. We’ve seen tremendous success with Super Chat and have since expanded to
Ticketing
,
Merchandise
,
Channel Memberships
and more. We’re also bringing creators and brands together to form unique marketing partnerships via
FameBit
.
Channel Memberships
With Channel Memberships, viewers pay a monthly recurring fee of
US$4.99
to get unique badges, new emoji, Members-only posts in the Community tab, and access to unique custom perks offered by creators, such as exclusive livestreams, extra videos, or shout-outs. Channel Memberships have already been available for a select group of creators on YouTube as Sponsorships. We’ve seen a lot of creators find success with this new business model. So, we’ll soon be expanding this to
eligible channels
with more than 100,000 subscribers on YouTube under the new name Channel Memberships. We hope to bring it to even more creators in the coming months.
Creators who have already been experimenting with this feature on YouTube have seen encouraging results. Since launching in January, comedy creator
Mike Falzone
more than tripled his YouTube revenue. And traveling duo
Simon and Martina
have built a closer-knit community and revamped a miniseries exclusively for their members, in more than 30 countries from Finland to the Philippines.
Merchandise
Merchandise has been a part of many creators’ businesses for a long time. We want to make it easier for more creators to sell merch directly from their channel. So we’ve built a product that allows them to do just that. From shirts with a logo to phone cases with a creator’s face, we’ve joined forces with Teespring so creators can choose from over 20 merchandise items to customize and sell via a shelf on their channel. This will be available to all eligible U.S.-based channels with over 10,000 subscribers starting today, and we plan to bring even more merchandising partners and creators in soon.
Just take a look at Joshua Slice’s merchandise shelf. The creator of
Lucas the Spider
recently turned his hero character into a
plushie
selling over 60,000 furry friends and generating over $1 million in profit in just 18 days, according to Teespring.
Introducing Premieres
The engagement between fans and creators is at the heart of YouTube. We’re working on new ways to help creators strengthen those unique bonds. Livestreams have brought the YouTube community together during the biggest
music
,
science
, and
gaming
events. We’ve also built a
Community Tab
that allows creators to move beyond just video to build even deeper connections with fans through GIFs, pics, polls, and text. And we’ve started experimenting with our take on
Stories
, but designed specifically for YouTube creators—coming to all eligible creators with more than 10,000 subscribers later this year.
Today, we’re introducing a new way for creators to upload content to YouTube called Premieres. With Premieres, creators will be able to debut pre-recorded videos as a live moment. When creators choose to release a Premiere, we’ll automatically create a public landing page to build anticipation and hype up new content. When all fans show up to watch the premiere, they’ll be able to chat with each other (and with the creator!) in real time via live chat. It’s as if a creator’s entire community is in one theater together watching their latest upload.
Premieres also unlocks new revenue streams. For the first time, creators can use Super Chat on traditional YouTube uploads and take advantage of Channel Memberships perks that were previously only available on Live videos.
Premieres are starting to roll out to creators today and will be available broadly soon. If you want to experience one for yourself, check out some upcoming premieres from creators such as
Leroy Sanchez
,
JacksFilms
,
Jackson Bird
, and
Ari Fitz
, with more Premieres coming from
Corridor Digital
and
Inanna Sarkis
soon.
YouTube creators are the heartbeat of our platform. That’s why we’re committed to building products that empower and support the creator community. We hope these tools help creators build a stronger community and earn more money while doing it, because when they succeed, the entire YouTube community thrives.
Neal Mohan, Chief Product Officer, recently watched "
Lucas the Spider - Plush Introduction.
"
Labels
20%
3D
AdSense
AdWords
AdWords Express
Agencies
agencies adwords TV
Analytics
android
announcements
antarctica
App Marketplace
apps
art
Australia
Australian IT
big data
Big Query
blogging
blogs
books
broadband
business
calendar
campaign management
careers
CeBIT
chrome
Chromebox
cloud computing
competition
computer science
conversion tracking
creativity
currents
cyber safety
cycling
dashboard
Developer Day
developers
digital advertising
digital economy
Display
display ads
Doodles
drive
ebooks
education
Election
energy
enhanced campaigns
Enterprise
entrepreneurship
environment
Equatorgate
Fairfax
film
filtering
G'day Google
Getting Aussie Business Online
Gmail
gone google
gonegoogle
google
Google App Engine
Google Apps
Google Apps for Business
Google Apps for Education
Google Art Project
Google Australia
Google Chrome
Google Code
Google docs
Google Drive
Google Earth
google maps
Google Places
google play
Google Search
Google Serve
Google Sites
Google Talk
Google Trends
Google+
Googlers and culture
government
green
Guest blogger
guest speakers
Hangouts
HR
iGoogle
information
innovation
internet
internet industry
IT
Julia Gillard
language
life
local
maps
measurement
media industry
mobile
Moderator
movies
music
navigation
NBN
netball
new features
news
NGEN
non-profit
online advertising
online safety
open government
open source
Partnerships
picasa
play
Policy
politics
prime minister
privacy
prizes
PSI
publishers
puppies
real estate
Reception
recruitment
removals
rentals
reporting
research
Running
scholarships
schools
science
search
search ads
Security
shopping
sitelinks
sketchup
small business
smartphones
SMB
street view
student programs
students
Stupid Google employee tricks
Summer of Code
Support
survey
sydney
symphony
tablet
technology
Themes
tips
training
transit
translate
transparency
transport
Universities
vault
voicesearch
Wave
women
workplace culture
YouTube
YouTube Live
zeitgeiest
Archive
2018
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2007
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Feed
Google
on
Follow @googledownunder
Give us feedback in our
Product Forums
.
