Google Now Has a Dedicated Climate Change Search Function

Over the next few months, Google is unravelling a series of changes that spell good news for sustainable businesses and ethical marketers.

Google, the search engine giant has already committed to more intensive climate change initiatives in the years to come. However, these new updates are unique in that they move to promote accurate, sustainable, and ethical advertising on their platform. These changes ostensibly aid consumers interested in reducing their carbon footprint but benefit ethical businesses by proxy. 

Here’s a breakdown of some of the upcoming changes that are most relevant to marketers. Google, the search engine giant has already committed to more intensive climate change initiatives in the years to come. However, these new updates are unique in that they move to promote accurate, sustainable, and ethical advertising on their platform. These changes ostensibly aid consumers interested in reducing their carbon footprint but benefit ethical businesses by proxy. 

Here’s a breakdown of some of the upcoming changes that are most relevant to marketers. 

High-Quality Climate Change Search Results

The update will bring users who search “climate change” to a high-quality dedicated results page. New features include added “Causes”, “Effects”, and “Take Action” tabs in addition to the traditional “Overview” and “News” tabs that appear at the right-hand side of the screen after a climate-change related search. 

The data for climate-change-related search tabs will now be sourced directly from the United Nations in an effort to prevent the spread of misinformation. This new climate change results page format should lend a boost to sustainable businesses as people continue to become more informed about the effects of climate change—and start to seek out more ethical businesses as a result. 

Promoting More Energy Efficient Shopping Solutions

Sometime early next year, Google will start automatically showing results for hybrid and electric vehicle models when users search for vehicle manufacturers or models. 

Meanwhile, a new rollout that promotes more energy efficient and cost-friendly appliances is already active in the US. Ideally, initiatives like this will continue to grow, lending an active boost to businesses that promote fairly-priced and eco-friendly products.

Prohibition of Misinformative Climate Change Ads

Even more recently, Google announced that it will prohibit monetisation based on climate change facts contrary to the broader scientific consensus. The new policy applies to Google advertisers, promoters, and YouTube creators alike. 

Suffice it to say, ads promoting climate change denial do no favours to ethical businesses. It is confusing for consumers when they see misinformative ads lined up against more sustainable choices. As Google continues to make efforts to clear the air about climate change, it should support sustainable PPC ad campaigns in reducing harmful competition.

What Does This Mean for Ethical Marketers? 

The current Google shopping initiative is directly helpful to marketers in the ethical automotive and home appliance sectors. However, these more recent developments also suggest a wider trend of search engines promoting more sustainable and ethical business models. 

Some search tools, like Ecosia, already have in-built features that help draw attention to green businesses. The innovative Green Search feature awards a green leaf icon for eco-friendly and sustainable enterprises. They also warn consumers of companies that are significant polluters by marking ads with an unappealing black coal logo. 

These trends suggest that major search engines like Google are likely to follow suit. It is safe to say that we can continue to expect search engines to promote and highlight businesses that promote sustainable products in the future.

The Value of Teaming Up With an Ethical SEO and PPC Agency

As search engines continue to promote more sustainable solutions, it is more important than ever to work with an ethical PPC marketing partner who knows how to help you tell your unique sustainability narrative in a way that will be heard. 

Here at Climbing Trees, we specialise in promoting ethical and sustainable business models built to last. For instance, we have worked extensively with sustainable and charitable organisations and businesses like Greenpeace, Things Made Public and Orangutan SOS to help them generate increased regional and global reach through their PPC marketing campaigns. 

We also applied a rigorous targeted PPC and brand optimisation strategy that helped charity group Blueprint for All mobilise their Google Ads Grant to generate increased awareness. We rapidly expanded the number of campaigns in the account and delivered over 6,000 new users to the site in just a few short months.

If you want to build a genuinely sustainable marketing strategy in an increasingly unpredictable future, you need to work with a digital partner you can trust. To prove that we practice what we preach, we are in the process of earning our own elite Certified B Corporation status.“