Google’s lead generation product, Google Compare, will sunset in March 2016.
Google sent an email to Compare partners, informing about terminating the product, as noted by Search Engine Lands. The Google Compare team informed its partners on Monday night that they will start ramping down the Compare product from Tuesday, February 23, 2016. Additionally, the team mentioned that the product will shut down completely on March 23 – in both the US and the UK – markets where it is currently offered.
Search Engine Land received a copy of the email sent to Compare partners:
Dear Partner,
Beginning on February 23, 2016, we will start ramping down the Compare product, which is currently live in both the US and the UK. We plan to terminate the service as of March 23, 2016. As you know, Compare (formerly Google Advisor in the U.S.) has been a specialized, standalone service that enables consumers to get quotes from a number of providers for financial products such as car and travel insurance, credit cards and mortgages.
Despite people turning to Google for financial services information, the Compare service itself hasn’t driven the success we hoped for. We greatly appreciate your partnership and understand that this decision will be disappointing to some. But after a lot of careful consideration, we’ve decided that focusing more intently on AdWords and future innovations will enable us to provide fresh, comprehensive answers to Google users, and to provide our financial services partners with the best return on investment.
We’re grateful for all the feedback that you have provided over the course of this product’s development, and we are looking forward to partnering with you to achieve greater success in the future.
We will work with you during this transition and beyond. Please reach out to your Google representative if you have any questions and to discuss the next steps.
The Google Compare Team
Google has confirmed the news and admitted that it is shutting down its Compare product. The company’s spokesperson also said that this news might be a surprise for outside world but is not coming as a shock within the organization, and Googlers who have been working on the Compare product will find new roles within Google.