Jun
10
0

National Mortgage Rate

Author Ryan    Category Uncategorized     Tags , , ,

After checking my mail and browsing the top headlines on my iGoogle page, one specific keyphrase caught my eye… “National Mortgage Rate.” Now I know what you might be thinking… actually I don’t. Let me just say, it’s on my mind.

Any ways, after checking the average rates, trends, yadda yadda yadda, I did a simple Google search for “National Mortgage Rate” and came up with this ingenious paid search ad:

Interesting huh?

So let’s dissect this just a tiny bit… It looks like a Paid Search ad, there’s a heading, some content, and then a link.. but then there are some radio buttons and a ‘Compare rates’ button. That’s new, well at least, it hasn’t shown up in a Google search result for me before. After a quick click-through, this is what I came upon…

Click the image to get a better view

Do you see what I see?

Sure it might just look like a great way for us to put in our home loan information and then shop around for the best refinancing options available.. I mean its just a phone call away right? But let’s just think about this for one second. Google has all of this information. We’re still at Google.com… we still see our iGoogle login at the top of the screen… why is Google helping me make this very life-changing decision by giving me some valuable information?

Want the hard truth? Google has stepped into the lead generation spotlight. Really.. and I think they have poised themselves to pretty much kill everything, or at least alter, in their wake.

If Google is able to put THEIR link on the TOP of their paid search listings… (Yeah.. it looks new.. so people are going to click it), why would anyone shop around further? I would think they’d stick around on Google for a little while longer right? So let’s just say they do so. Now, people are given hard numbers.. prices, rates.. even phone numbers! If I can see that I can pay $300 bucks less on my home loan with all of the same loan information and all of the same valuation, I’m going to go out and contact that particular bank.. for sure. So where does Google make it’s money?

Instead of Google Adwords selling a company a single click, now they are able to sell a company a true and honest lead. Oh my God. How much do you think companies are willing to pay Google if someone has actively shown an interest in their company and are very serious about buying a home or refinancing? It is really staggering to imagine the money that can be flowing between Google and their advertisers. But I guess that is life right?

So whats next? I say.. look for these same types of comparison shopping (aka Lead Generation) advertisements to flood your searches. It’ll be a while before it hits everything.. but if you’re looking at purchasing a big  ticket item… (mortgage/home, online education, insurance, etc) look out. By all means, USE IT! But understand that Google has poised themselves to get some major bang for their buck when it comes to lead gen.

Peace

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