Google Goes Big For Financial Comparison Shopping, Launches "Google Advisor"

Google has rolled up its tools for consumers seeking side-by-side comparisons of financial products, launching “Google Advisor,” a one-stop-shop for consumers looking for mortgages, credit cards, checking and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. For marketers, it’s an opportunity to gather leads, and Advisor seems to be aimed at stepping up the volume of those leads.

Advisor has its own destination site, at google.com/advisor, which lays out the various financial products that can be compared:

An ad linking to the tool is also being aggressively integrated at the top of the main search results when Google thinks users are searching for financial products.

Users can search and filter by parameters like credit rating, location, fees, initial deposit requirement, etc. to find the appropriate product. Results aggregate advertiser-provided information via a feed from a pricing engine like Mortech, Optimal Blue, OpenClose, and PriceMyLoan. That information, for advertisers, is augmented by offers they manage via AdWords.

Marketers pay on a per-lead basis, whether it be a call, a callback request, or an e-mail contact request. Ranking is based on bid price, as well as quality score. Currently, Google is only offering Comparison Ads to “a limited number of advertisers,” but says it hopes to open them up to more.

With the launch of Advisor, Google is competing even more aggressively with players like Zillow, LendingTree, Mint.com and LowerMyBills.com.

Related Topics: Channel: SEM | Google: Advisor | Google: AdWords | Top News

About The Author: Pamela Parker is a contributing editor for Search Engine Land and Executive Features Editor at Marketing Land. She’s a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since 1998, including a stint as managing editor of ClickZ. She’s also worked to help monetize independent publishers’ sites at Federated Media Publishing. She blogs about media and marketing at The River and about cooking, gardening and parenthood at Free Range. She can be found on Twitter as @pamelaparker. See more articles by Pamela Parker

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http://blog.aubreyh.com aussieaubs

They should have just relaunched FROOGLE!
http://www.searchmuse.com Paul Morris

I have written an article on the google advisor topic at http://www.searchmuse.com/blog/2011/5/23/google-advisor-future.html but to save you leaving searchengineland here goes with my summary:

Google is trying to take over the world e.g. this purchase, sparkbuy (they shut it down the day after purchase!) and the other recently condoned usage of the ITA data/ purchase means they are moving more into the comparison arena and figuring how best to do it without biting the hand(s) that feed e.g. price comparison sites that spend big on PPC.

This service will end up being integrated with comparison ads and/or Google communication ad extensions in some way.

The purchase of BeatThatQuote helps Google develop this proposition and explains the purchase from a sector knowledge and business relationships perspective.

Google will end up adding additional products e.g. insurance, loans, utilities, etc and start charging advertisers for ALL leads.

Google willl extend the product beyond the USA however if moving into the UK they need to be careful as mentioned above not to tred on too many toes