It seems Google is always getting themselves in trouble. The Financial Conduct Authority, a UK financial service industry regular, has taken a look at Google Comparison Ads and found that there have been some complaints about it. These complaints have focused on the fact that Google has been placing their own “product” at the top of search results. This has caused UK price comparison sites to cry foul, as it seems that Google is unfairly competing with them.
Comparison Ads are a form of AdWords, and operates on a CPA basis. Here is an example of how the ads appear in the US search results:
It seems that this UK inquiry is similar to other, more broad complaints against Google around the world.
To make Comparison Ads appear in your search results, certain categories of searches have to be met, like “best credit card offers.” One example, as used in the Original Source, was the UK price comparison site, Moneysupermarket.com.
In Europe, it seems that officials have accepted the argument that Google’s vertical/universal search results are unfair and anti-competitive.