Edwin

I believe this is relatively new, as it's the first time I'm seeing it.

On a search for "credit cards", Google is returning 4 ads above the fold, including a new "Comparison" ad type positioned above and slightly separate from the regular ad slots.

I imagine this is going to pour cold water all over the various comparison sites further down the SERPS, which find themselves even further below the fold and "beaten" by an ad in a position they can't buy into, even if they were the top Adwords bidder!

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mat

I saw this a while back. I can't remember what the exact search was for though.

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Caz

So can anyone see a pattern as to where google is going?

Over the next year you will see google adding to it's product/service review database maybe even some related purchases if review type businesses.

Looks like a move Montgomery would be proud of.

I could be wrong of course

Edwin

I'm afraid it's very obvious, and they're not even being very secretive about it. Anywhere where there is a "middleman" role to be taken between a buyer of "something" (product/service/whatever) and a potential customer, Google wants to have a cut of that transaction. Be it an Adwords click, a straightforward referral commission (Google is its own super-affiliate) or what have you...

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GreyWing

I do wonder though if Google could be drawing too much attention to itself in the eyes of the regulators of the EU.

They are risking two things in my opinion, 1 getting so big that Governments will be concerned over market share. 2 that people will see it more as a website than a search engine.

Both are a few years off but the seeds are being planted.....

Edwin

Microsoft survived countless legal challenges just fine. It seems to be a constant series of "locking the stable door after the horse has bolted" exercises, because each case takes so long to come to court and get decided that the goalposts have moved dramatically from wherever they were at the time the case was first filed. Google's not going to have everything its own way, but it's pulling so very hard in so many different directions that by and large it's going to get its way.

Of course, just like Microsoft was sandbagged by Facebook, Apple etc. in various markets, it is going to be in the marketplace that Google might - just might - start to get its comeuppance. But waiting for regulators to administer a slap on the wrist that really hurts - that's a wait that will probably go on forever...

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GreyWing

I think the area they are most likely to get slapped down for as the extras it provides. It basically subsidises those maps, news, gmail from profits from it's main adsense service.

That's a fairly big no no in British business not to mention the EU. It's quite anti competitive and I think that is what people will be arguing as Google keeps branching out.

Take your site maps.co.uk, if you were ever to start a site in competition you wouldn't be on a fair playing field with them. They would bring in huge cash reserves from other parts and attempt to run you over. Might sounds fair to some but it's highly illegal in theory. That's just one extreme example but if they keeps branching out it's going to stifle competition it's going to hit more and more people and eventually the EU will insist on splitting its European operations.

I dislike the EU but when it comes to acting against global super giants it does the job better than the UK, Germany, Spain etc all acting on their own. I think they started investigating them a few years ago for this but not heard anything since so may be on the back burner.

Blossom

Isn't it just this?

http://www.leadconfidential.com/goog...lly-means.html

http://www.google.com/ads/innovation...arisonads.html

JMOT

This has been around for a good while now.. about a year in the US, more recently UK. They do it on loans, mortgages, credit cards and soon travel.

God bless Bing and all those who search on her. That 36% and rising search share in the US gives me hope

WaftyCrank

I think Bing shall now on be my search engine of choice. I have also ditched my Google+ account because I don't like the way Google are heading. They're essentially squeezing the life out of a major share of online enterprise.

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