According to Greenlight’s quarterly report, Retail Banking Sector Report Issue 14, Google’s latest entry into mortgage comparison poses little threat to incumbents in its current form.
Independent digital marketing agency, Greenlight, based their findings on how things have worked out for Google in the car insurance and credit card sectors.
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Following on from its move into the competitive car insurance price comparison market in September, Google has re-launched a UK mortgage comparison service allowing consumers to compare 5,000 different mortgage deals in any one search, online.
The comparison service by Google lists products that are available direct from lenders and via brokers.
Greenlight says the brand is still not one that consumers immediately associate financial services with and has some way to go yet before it becomes a more established player in consumer minds.
Currently, Google’s comparison service does not appear at the top of sponsored search results for all mortgage-related terms.
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By GlobalDataAndreas Pouros, chief operating officer at Greenlight, said: "There will likely be apprehension among competitors that Google will in time use its online search to position its comparison tool at the top of search results whenever any mortgage-related search is conducted using its engine."
Greenlight found that a month after its entry into the car insurance comparison space in the UK, the search giant was the eighth most visible advertiser enjoying a 75% share of visibility for car insurance and 33% for insurance overall.
Pouros added: "Google is as yet not a brand consumers immediately connect or associate with financial-related services and has some way to go before it achieves that status. What’s more, any above-the-line advertising to raise its profile would arguably need to be kept to a bare minimum if Google is to avoid stoking further antagonism with the EU Commission."
