The search giant first began testing a mortgage comparison tool in the US in 2009 and last year rolled it, along with other products, into Google Advisor, a site designed to help consumers quickly find relevant financial products.

Google Advisor is still running, offering information on credit cards and checking and savings accounts but the mortgage comparison tool has been ditched.

Meanwhile, in the UK, having acquired comparison site Beatthatquote.com for £37.7m. in March, Google launched a trial service called UK Compare Mortgages in July. However, by September the site was suspended.

A spokesman confirmed that the US offering has been killed off, but added: "This change was for the US product only and has to do with the dynamics of the US mortgage market. We're still committed to this space overall. As an example, we recently acquired Beat That Quote in the UK and have been working hard on great new experiences for our users that combine Google and BTQ expertise"