Google: Search Engine, Calculator, and Broker

To say Google has made our lives easier over the past years is an understatement. The phrase “To Google” has caught on so much that the company is worried about losing trademark rights. From improved image search to advanced online tools, each innovation has greatly enhanced the experience of search and apparently – preparing for car and home ownership.

Speaking of home ownership, type in “mortgage calculator” and let’s see what you’ll find.

Google Offers Mortgage Calculator Quick Answer Box

In February, Google’s Mortgage Calculator Quick Answer went live. With this built-in tool, users can estimate how much they can borrow by simply typing in their desired monthly payment and APR, unlike in the past when they had to go to a financial website to use its web-based calculator. Now, everything’s right there on the search result.

Additionally, they can also track monthly payments when they type in the loan total and APR, which will allow them to make quick estimates.

This dynamic mortgage calculator provides direct answer in the search results for variations of queries around “mortgage calculator”, and terms such as “interest calculator”, “loan interest calculator”, and many other variations.

Image Source: searchengineland.com

After inputting the variables into the gray fields, you will get the monthly cost and maximum loan cost of the mortgage.

As of the moment, there are about a thousand financial websites offering mortgage and interest calculators. But in early December 2014, Google had begun testing a calculator that would make things so much easier. No more sending users off to a website with a similar calculator – they get what they need upfront.

“Preparing for home ownership just got a bit easier,” Google shared in February. “Starting today, you can ask Google things like ‘How much can I borrow at $200 a month?’ or ‘At 5% APR how much can I borrow over 10 years?’ You can even adjust the mortgage amount, interest rate, mortgage period and more to see which financial options fit your needs.”

But Google’s calculation doesn’t stop here.

Google Tests Car Loan Calculator Quick Answer Box

From mortgage calculators, we head on over to car loan calculators. In November this year, Google tested an interactive loan calculator for car loan payments.  Similar to the mortgage calculator, the car loan calculator is likely to appear on a variety of queries in the auto vertical.

Image Source: moz.com

As seen above, after users input the loan amount, the new tool will show the interest rate and the loan period, as well as the monthly payments. Users can also toggle to get a view of the maximum loan amount.

Google Offers Mortgage Comparison

When it comes to mortgage, calculation isn’t the only thing Google is capable of, apparently. Expanding its fleet of financial services, the tech behemoth now provides home buyers in California with the ability to compare – and contrast – mortgages.

Nearly one in two borrowers doesn’t shop around for mortgages. To this end, Google aims to help home buyers make more informed decisions. “Buying a home is a major financial decision — so when it comes to getting a mortgage, people want an easy way to understand and compare their options online,” Google said on its official blog post.

Image Source: google.com

If you’re a mortgage lender anywhere in the US, Google Compare tool makes business easier for you. It helps users searching for mortgage to easily and quickly find you, whether on their smartphone or desktop computer. If you’re a borrower, you get access to ratings and reviews, and input relevant information to get rate quotes that match your needs.

Powering this tool will be LendingTree and Zillow Group, which will be partnering with and providing mortgage information to Google. Lenders who use Zillow for their marketing efforts will be able to prominently display their rates, ratings, and reviews on the “country’s most visited real estate media network” and the “world’s most popular search engine”.

Much like Google’s search, the online tool is designed to be easy to use, while providing useful and accurate results. After launching in California, Google said that Google Compare will be rolled out to different parts of the US.

In terms of online tools, Google is clearly claiming domination. With the Mortgage Calculator, Google Compare for Mortgages, and a possible Car Loan Calculator, we can’t wait to see some interesting last-minute developments this year and in 2016.

To get in on the latest, follow RefractROI-Partners, your leading SEO company in Denver, and discover real-time about the world of search, digital marketing, and more.