Google Taking Over Lead Generation – Bad News for PPC and SEO

Ask anyone using the Google Adwords program and you will quickly find many people building businesses around the success of their PPC campaigns however unlike how Rome wasn’t built in a day Google can crush you overnight.

The latest change to the Google search results for mortgage related terms such as “mortgage rates”, “mortgage calculator”, “mortgage loan” and more show Google comparison ads in the #1 spot. From the dozen or terms I searched for Google is # 1 across the board.

Not only does this Google self serving ad bump out 1 of the 3 available positions usually available above the organic search results (btw where can I can get a radio button and 4 lines of text for a Google ad!) but it really kills lead generation in the mortgage industry unless you are a company willing to provide rates, a good faith estimate, APR information and more (see results below)

Most lead companies generate leads through forms and usually come with a small disclosure reagrding APR and fees should it be required however posting this information online with what seems to be a required phone number also (if these ads are in fact available through the adwords platform at all) then its much more transparency than most people want to share. In fact, when requesting multiple quotes this is not information you can provide becuase a lead generator is matching clients to providers – not usually offering or publishing offered rates. Of course, the battle for the # 2 ad spot (really # 3) still exists however having Google take over enough space for both the first and second ad this should really bring down many CTR’s for mortgage related terms.

The New York Times wrote about this back in September involving a lawsuit file by LendingTree with regards to the technology Google is using behind the mortgage comparison service.

For domainers this doesn’t mean much since many have not purchased a single PPC ad however for developers who built out PPC campaigns based on historical click thru and conversation rates it may be time to start modifying your business plan … again.

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