The shame of this is that they allow it for an industry that is highly likely to abuse it.

It's called testing different add formats

I think it's called Google gaming a system they control to increase their own profits.

If they were just "testing", they would or should have other advertisers involved so they can get a better representative sample.

I'm curious to know whether or not they're actually bidding for position #1 or if they just put themselves there. And if they are bidding for that position, what are the effects on those other advertisers.

I see no evil in Google, but then again, I'm self-deluded.

That's exactly what I said few years ago... instead of some very strong commercial query SERP you will get signup form.

We are coming to another Microsoft.

Andrey
Well, if Google put something ridiculous, say £1million to put the add there. Where's that money going? Straight back to Google :-P

Isn't this google trying to narrow down your search, though?
If you type in Secured Loans, there's a 50% chance you want one.
If you want one, why not let Google narrow it down for you, and heck, search the best prices whilst it's at it.

If this were a Onebox instead of being in the advert thing, there'd probably be a much different attitude towards it's placement.

I realy dont understand what is bad with this add.....
Seriously, if I was looking for a loan, tha one thing I would do for sure, was to compare the different offers from differnet banks...
Or, If i had decided on a bank/lender, I d' like to know which of their offers suited me best...

So, what is wrong with that???

GO GOOGLE, GO!

Couldn't this just be one of the new gadget ads?

This is Google marketing. They will lour you in with this Ad to a landing page, and then sell advertisements and make a ton of money. It's genius and easy way to make money because they can push there ad to the number one spot, but is it fair???

>> If this were a Onebox ... there'd probably be a much different attitude.

Exactly. As you can see, this isn't a Onebox, therefore we cry foul. It's a blatant circumvention of their own system.

Here's a possible explanation: it's a different kind of ad. Unfortunately for Google, it was mixed with AdWords ads.

From the FAQ http://www.google.co.uk/help/merchantsearchbeta/index.html :

<< When you search for certain terms on Google, the Google Merchant Search ad unit will appear near the top of the page, allowing you to refine your search further.

For example, a search for 'secured loans' may allow you to specify the loan amount in the Google Merchant Search unit. Clicking Compare lenders will take you to a results page of lenders matching your requirements. >>

Google couldn't have used an OneBox because the service shows paid listings, not organic results.