2021

Did you know searches for corsages and boutonnières are one of the top trending categories this month in the U.S.? Meanwhile in Italy, one of the top growing categories of searches this month is charms and pendants. And in Japan, searches in the drawing and painting kits category have grown over 100% in the past month.¹ 

People around the world turn to Google to be inspired, discover new brands and find what they need. Consumer behavior is changing rapidly, so we’ve been busy building products to help you be ready for what’s next. 

Register now for Google Marketing Livestream on Thursday, May 27 at 8 a.m. PT. You’ll be the first to learn about Google’s new products, the latest trends, and actionable best practices. You’ll also hear from many industry leaders, including:

As many countries got a glimpse of post-COVID changes for life and work on the horizon, Google Cloud introduced new trainings, features, and products to help you make the most of what the future holds. Here’s our recap from last month’s most popular Google Cloud blog posts.

Google Cloud trainings help you increase your cloud skills at no cost.

Since January, we’ve introduced a number of no-cost training opportunities for you to grow your cloud computing knowledge and showcase your cloud skills. You can now see all the trainings from the first quarter of 2021 in one place. These included skills challenges in areas like data analytics and artificial intelligence, and events like Google Cloud OnBoards that offer introductions to the core components of Google Cloud. Other trainings explore specific Google Cloud products such as Looker and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). Check back regularly for the latest updates.

Visual cheat sheets illustrate Google Cloud products.

Last month we introduced a number of cheat sheets designed by Cloud Developer Advocate Priyanka Vergadia to help developers visually navigate important decisions. The cheat sheets cover topics like determining the best way to move your business to the cloud, options totransfer your data to the cloud or deciding on the best storage options for your business data. You can find colorful cheat sheets to guide you through scenarios for using Google Cloud products like Dataproc and VMware Engine. Finally, for those just getting started with the cloud or those looking to brush up on their cloud knowledge, check out this list that quickly summarizes every Google Cloud product in four words or less.

Three new products arrived to help you manage your documents.

We announced the general availability of three different Google Cloud products to help customers make the most of their documents. Document (Doc) AI platform

https://cloud.google.com/document-ai

 is a unified console for document processing that lets you quickly access all processors, tools and solutions. Lending DocAI helps mortgage brokers, banks and other financial institutions speed up the loan application process from weeks to days, dramatically reducing the cost of issuing a loan. Procurement DocAI helps businesses accelerate document processing for receipts, invoices and other important documents in the procurement cycle. All three products are built on decades of AI innovation at Google to bring powerful solutions to these challenges.

Boost your Workspace productivity with video tips.

We also introduced recent updates to the Google Workspace Productivity Tips video series to help Workspace users get the most out of Gmail, Meet, Docs, Sheets and Slides. The series of video topics walk you through mastering your inbox with Gmail’s right-click menu, asking Google Assistant to take notes, and filtering out distractions with noise cancellation in Meet. These videos come from Google’s productivity expert, Laura Mae Martin, and you can check out her entire series of videos online for more productivity tips. 

That’s a wrap for April. Stay tuned to the Google Cloud blog for all things cloud.

If you’re truly passionate about the content you’re creating, chances are there’s an online community that shares your interests and enthusiasm. So how do you develop a loyal following eager to check out your content? We asked successful web creators, bloggers and influencers for their tips on creating content that engages and resonates with their audiences — and helps them build their brands. 
   

Find your niche.

With millions of web content creators publishing on every topic under the sun (and beyond), it’s easy to get lost in the mix. Successful web creators like personal trainer and nutrition coachBrittany Noelle recommend finding a niche where you can focus your content development. “I love to teach people how to fit fitness into their lives,” says Brittany, who blogs about fitness, wellness, nutrition, lifestyle and travel. 

“Take time to interact with your audience and stick with a specific niche in the beginning,” Brittany  recommends. Her blog posts, such as Exercises to do at your office to help relieve low back pain, focus on her niche of helping regular people find easy ways to incorporate fitness into their daily routines.

Every year, people around the world send nearly $700 billion to friends and relatives in their home countries, which pay for essential expenditures like healthcare, education, bills and more. According to a recent Mastercard study, 73% of people regularly send money abroad. However, in the last year, 38% of people surveyed reported greater involvement in international payments. This suggests that as the pandemic continues to create uncertainty, easing the financial anxieties of loved ones is even more critical. 

Starting today, Google Pay users in the U.S. will be able to send money to Google Pay users in India and Singapore, thanks to a new integration with Western Union and Wise. By the end of the year, we expect that U.S. Google Pay users will be able to send money to people in more than 200 countries and territories through Western Union and to more than 80 countries through Wise.