Comparison Ads now a part of the new Google Advisor

Back in late 2009, we launched our initial test of AdWords Comparison Ads for Mortgages. With Comparison Ads, we provided a way for you, our advertisers, to create more relevant and targeted offers for users searching on Google.com. For example, using Comparison Ads, a lender can enter offers for users with specific credit ratings, loan amounts, ZIP codes, and more.

Since our initial mortgages launch, we’ve expanded into a number of additional financial areas, including credit cards, checking and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. We’ve also seen some great recognition of the value that Comparison Ads provides. For example, according to a study done by Leads360, an industry leader in lead management software, mortgage leads from AdWords Comparison Ads converted at a higher rate than from any other source.

Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of Google Advisor, our new user-friendly interface for comparison offers, including AdWords Comparison Ads. Google Advisor is a consumer destination site that helps to guide users through various financial decisions by making it even easier to find and compare relevant offers from qualified financial institutions.

Google Advisor contains offers that come from our Comparison Ads advertisers as well as other sources across the web. By aggregating the most relevant offers and making it easy for users to filter and compare them side-by-side, Google Advisor aims to make financial research faster and easier.

To learn more about Google Advisor, you can read the Official Google Blog post or watch the video below.

At this time, AdWords Comparison Ads remains available only to a limited number of advertisers. Over time, we hope to increase the availability of Comparison Ads to additional advertisers. You can find more information about AdWords Comparison Ads in our Help Center.

Fenomena Pembobolan Situs Pemerintah

Akhir-akhir ini marak terjadi penyerangan (penyusupan) ke situs pemerintah bahkan situs POLRI juga tidak luput dari serangan tersebut. Mengenai alasan mengapa situs-situs tersebut diserang menurut saya bukanlah suatu yang layak dibahas secara Telematika karena bila bicara mengenai alasan maka topik bahasannya bisa dari A sampai Z, begitupun kemungkinan pelakunya bisa si A sampai si Z.

Sebenarnya yang perlu dilakukan cukup fokus terhadap apa yang dihadapi dan mencari solusi sesuai tahapan yang benar. Kita tidak perlu sesali bila situs kena hack, justru itu menjadi feed-back bagi kita bahwa situs kita belum terlindungi dengan benar dan perlu ada pembenahan, perlu ada pembelajaran.

Lalu pertanyaan berikut adalah mengapa situs D,E & F yang kena incar bukan X,Y & Z?

Di luar dugaan kemungkinan adanya niatan dari pihak tertentu (non teknis) salah satu jawaban paling logis dalam dunia hacking adalah apabila suatu metoda berhasil membobol suatu situs maka cara yang termudah untuk kembali sukses membobol situs lain pasti dengan mencari situs yang menggunakan cara yang sama seperti yang berhasil dibobol sebelumnya tersebut, betul bukan?

Hal itu karena tantangan (baca: kebanggaan) membobol situs pemerintah bukanlah kepada "seberapa sulit" bisa melakukan penerobosan melainkan "seberapa banyak" yang berhasil dibobol.