Google retreats with a bloody nose

Rightmove shares soared today as Google sheepishly announced that it was binning its property maps search.

You can see the full story in Estate Agent Today here but they say:

Google Maps is to drop property, less than two years after the launch that threatened to change the entire property portal market.

The search engine giant had offered the service for free but blamed low usage.

In a totally unexpected move, which this morning its own press office did not know about when we asked them for a comment, Google announced that the property search feature will be dropped in all the countries where it operates, including the UK, on February 10.

I was never privy to any of the meetings that Google execs held with leading UK agents but I can't help but feel that they have cocked up badly.
 
With such a high percentage of all property searches beginning with the buyer tapping some kind of search criteria into Google they hold a unique position in the market place.  They have a trusted brand and, presumably, some of the brightest people on the planet working for them. They have the opportunity to create something special that revolutionises our industry and shapes the way that we buy houses in the future.
 
As I say, I don't know the Google property team, nor their mid to long term ambitions.... but I do know that I could name half a dozen property marketing professionals who would be able to haul them up off the floor.
 
With or without my help as a recruitment consultant I get the feeling they'll be back before too long.....
 
www.cognacproperty.com