30Seconds Selected to Represent the State of Illinois in Google's Annual Economic Impact Report Entrepreneurs Editor's Letter Become the Fire

We are humbled and honored to share that 30Seconds was selected to represent the State of Illinois in Google's 13th annual Economic Impact Report!

"Today we are releasing our 2021 Economic Impact Report, which reflects Google’s wider contribution to the economy," said Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet. "The report shows we helped provide $617 billion in economic activity for millions of American businesses, nonprofits, creators, developers and publishers last year."

Google's Economic Impact Report showcases how businesses, publishers and nonprofits across the United States are using Google search and advertising tools to connect with the people and communities they serve. This year, small businesses generated $24.48 billion in economic activity in Illinois.

“Small businesses across America reflect the most innovative and optimistic workforces in the world, tapping into digital tools that strengthen their entrepreneurial spirit to support their customers and attract new ones,” said Mary Ellen Coe, President of Google Customer Solutions. “We are so thrilled to see how our digital solutions continue to empower small business leaders to grow and contribute economically to their communities.”

The 30Seconds team used Google Analytics to fine-tune our content and expand beyond parenting to cooking, wellness and more. It was especially useful when people changed habits during the pandemic. We could see, for example, that food and health content was outperforming travel content. Google Analytics helped us make sense of it all, and we used it to pivot toward what our readers wanted and needed.

Entrepreneurs juggle so much. Doing everything from growing the site’s audience to forming partnerships with experts, our team was still trying to set up a fully viable ad program. Then we enlisted Google AdSense, which matches ads to site content based on relevance. With one line of code, we were able to monetize our ad inventory in a way we couldn’t do on our own.

In the second half of 2021, the site’s revenue more than quadrupled. AdSense has freed up time for us to collaborate globally using Google Workspace, and respond to insights from Google Analytics, producing more of the content our readers are demanding (I even wrote a book – Become the Fire will be published this fall!).

Traffic on the site has more than doubled to nearly 3 million unique users a month. Without having to worry about driving ad revenue, we can pour our energy into what we do best: creating compelling content and  building an inspired community.

We launched 30Seconds to offer engaging content that makes the world a happier, healthier and more delicious place – 30 seconds at a time. What started out as a site making a difference with quick parenting tips has grown into a digital lifestyle media company that publishes thousands of articles, recipes, travel and beauty tips, health and wellness insights, and perspectives generated by a diverse team of about 1,000 contributors (and growing). Our goal is to be the place where our community comes to inspire and be inspired.

30Seconds is one of many American businesses that used the internet to connect with customers in 2021. According to a newly released poll conducted by The Data Catalyst Institute (DCI), in partnership with the Connected Commerce Council from November 29 to December 9, 2021, 92 percent of U.S.-based small business owners indicated that digital tools have been helpful for them to engage with customers, with 87 percent using digital tools to find new customers.

We are so proud of this recognition, and we are grateful to Google for highlighting our story in this year's Economic Impact Report. With Google as a trusted business partner, we are excited to continue to grow and thrive!

Want to Contribute?

If you have some inspiration you'd like to share, we invite you to join our tribe and become a 30Seconds contributor. On 30Seconds, we realize that time is your most precious resource, and we’ll help you make the most of it. We look forward to having you join our thriving community.

You can learn more about me at ElisaSchmitz.com, and get my inspiration for achieving career and life success at BecomeTheFire.com.

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