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 […]

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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:Google Advisor

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.

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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.


About the author

Pamela Parker
Staff
Pamela Parker is Research Director at Third Door Media's Content Studio, where she produces MarTech Intelligence Reports and other in-depth content for digital marketers in conjunction with Search Engine Land and MarTech. Prior to taking on this role at TDM, she served as Content Manager, Senior Editor and Executive Features Editor. Parker is a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since its beginning. She's a former managing editor of ClickZ and has also worked on the business side helping independent publishers monetize their sites at Federated Media Publishing. Parker earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University.

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