« Google Rebrands, Enhances Google Site Search | Main | Visual Search Engine Viewzi to Launch This Month »
June 3, 2008
Will Google Merchant Search ‘Set the Cat amongst the Pigeons'?
Last week, Google launched Google Merchant Search. This week, Edward Cowell, Director of digital marketing agency Guava; says, ““Google Merchant Search will truly put the cat amongst pigeons for some of Google's biggest search advertisers, the financial services comparison websites.”
Price comparison websites are big business in the UK and all the major industry players
advertise heavily on Google. Research by Resolution Foundation shows that 45% of UK adults used a comparison site to help them make a financial decision in the last year and that the price-comparison market is estimated to be growing at 30% a year.
That's why the launch of the new service comes at a critical time for Google and its financial services advertisers. Says Cowell, “Most big financial services websites are just coming to terms with a marked increase in their paid search advertising budgets due to the recent changes in Google's trademark bidding policies, so Merchant Search could be rubbing salt into the wound.”
Sites such as Ebay have boycotted Google Adwords by withdrawing its adverting when Google attempted to encroach on PayPal's territory. So, uprisings are not unheard of in the search arena.
That's why Cowell and the rest of the industry is waiting to see how the price comparisons companies react to the launch of Merchant Search.
Posted by Greg Jarboe on June 3, 2008 9:11 AM
Comments
I think it is overblown, certainly for the US market. Google is not a content provider, and providing/publishing financial services comparisons comes along with some major liabilities, just anyone including the big-guys Bankrate.com or LendingTree. They've got enough on their plate and I don't think they'll make a move here.
Linda/ RateZip.com
Linda June 3, 2008 11:37 AM
If it generates hard revenue, everything is up for grabs.
Jowan June 3, 2008 4:40 PM
