Google To Shut Down Google Compare Products

[smallcompany]

Google To Shut Down Google Compare Products In US And UK On March 23

[searchengineland.com...]

[Robert Charlton]

I gather that these are all comparisons for financial services of various kinds. From the article...

A Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land that while searches on these queries remained high, the product didn’t get the traction it hoped for and revenue was minimal. That’s in part due to the limited availability of the products in both the US and the UK.

I would think that the vendors might not have welcomed analysis of comparative offerings. In the US at least, advertising for banks, etc, is highly regulated, and banks are limited to claims they can make about the products, so they sell basically on image... and perhaps hope no one reads the fine print. Financial comparison services ought to be more appealing to consumers than to advertisers, which perhaps accounts for their lack of success among the advertisers.

Here are threads on two of these which were announced last year.

Google Launches Compare For U.S. Car Insurance
March, 2015
https://www.webmasterworld.com/goog/4740981.htm [webmasterworld.com]


Google Now Has Compare (CPL) for Mortgages In U.S.
November, 2015
https://www.webmasterworld.com/goog/4779046.htm [webmasterworld.com]

[tangor]

Another one bites the dust....

[engine]

The businesses in this space will probably welcome the news that Google is to move out of their territory. It's interesting that Google felt that it didn't give them enough revenue. I wonder if it's because some of these comparison sites spend huge sums of money to build their brand, and many didn't think Google was a comparison "brand."

[piatkow]

I never realised that it was a Google offering, but then there has never been a fat Welshman on TV singing "Google Compare"!

[sem4u]

The businesses in this space will probably welcome the news that Google is to move out of their territory

I am sure that they will, especially as the Google offering currently shows up for branded comparison site keywords.

[JS_Harris]

Maybe if they didn't brand everything with the word Google? There is a trust issue with that brand name, it's not as hip as it once was.

[RedBar]

Where is/was the Google Compare?

I can't see/find it.!.!.!

[vlexo]

It seems they've already removed Google Compare in the UK. Unless there's a glitch somewhere - it's definitely not showing up anymore.

[Atomic]

It's gone in the US, too. Buh bye Google Compare.

[JS_Harris]

I still see it in the US, if you do a Google search for "google compare" you find google properties that compare car insurance, credit cards etc. One property per compare subject.

[RedBar]

if you do a Google search for "google compare"

Ah, there it is, that's a funny way to get to it, was it always like that?

I guess it wasn't successful since so few knew about it, if I didn't then the vast majority of people can't have either!

Anyway, it simply doesn't compare to the fat Welshman or the Meerkats:-)

[engine]

>Anyway, it simply doesn't compare to the fat Welshman or the Meerkats:-)

Exactly, and they spend a small fortune keeping the brand in people's minds.

[JAB Creations]

Not available in the area I'm in though when I went there when I came across this thread. They have access to a lot of stuff and they would be better off than most I suspect of being able to strike deals with companies wanting to compete. Perhaps they did not promote the services properly?

- John

[vlexo]

There's the Google compare box that showed up along with the PPC listing, and the actual Google Compare website. They have removed the Google compare box from the PPC listing - at least in the UK - the website is still functional however.

[JS_Harris]

When you can ask your mobile device to tell you that same info those properties become redundant, I guess Google doesn't want to spend resources on what they intend to make redundant.

[jmccormac]

So yet another Google attempt to knock off the business model of other companies without understanding the market dynamics fails? Wonder if the EU legal actions have any bearing on the decision or is it just another me-too grab that failed?

Regards...jmcc