Google Finance Launches

Today, you can start checking financial quotes and news over at Google as they launch a beta version of Google Finance.  I have to be honest, when I heard this was on its way I thought to myself, great another Google product, what is next Google Cola? 

Well, I gave it a test run and it is a pretty good tool.  I'm not sure if I will use it as a primary source, because well, if you are going to buy stock, you should be using more information besides just news.  However (and that's a big emphasis on however), I really like how they organize all available news including blogs.

I tested it using a quote on the New, New, New, and Really It Is New AT&T and I found the organization of the information impressive.  Plus, it pulls in all available news feeds, not just the ones that have a news feed deal with the publisher.  I like the mouse overs, especially the ones on the executives which pulls in insider trading activities from Yahoo Finance.  It also puts AT&T's competition right on the page so you don't have to guess.  Finally, the lower left hand side of the dashboard has other resource links including Yahoo!, MSN, and The Street.com.

Of course the beta version has no advertisers, so it is a little unfair to start design comparisons with Yahoo and MSN.  However, I like the dashboard feel and the organization of the page. I think I would use it as part of stock research because I'll get more information, but I don't think it would become my primary research.  That still would stay with Fidelity.

From a marketing perspective, if you are an online broker, I would be beating down the door to run advertising in it.  I used to purchase stock quotes as part of a search buy and this is now far superior to the results of the past.  If you are Yahoo! Finance or other finance publishers, I'd study it to see what improvements could be copied, err sorry, researched, but I wouldn't be jumping through hoops.  You already have a huge competitive advantage with your consistent organization, advertisers, and existing traffic

Google Finance - a pretty good product, just not sure if it will rule the world on its own.  I think people managing their finances are more sophisticated than the average Google user and use a variety of sources.  However, as part of a looming Google dashboard - very interesting and a worthy baby step into organizing financial data.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Comments

[bill]

great post, great blog. drop me an email. i didn't get one in your post on my blog