If you’re one of the millions of internet users who have gasped in amazement at a satellite picture of your house on Google UK Maps (maps.google.co.uk), you could be forgiven for thinking that the appeal of the search giant’s latest service lies merely in

Published: 03 Aug 2005

If you’re one of the millions of internet users who have gasped in amazement at a satellite picture of your house on Google UK Maps (maps.google.co.uk), you could be forgiven for thinking that the appeal of the search giant’s latest service lies merely in

With the increasing popularity of online mapping software for a range of commercial uses, there may be more profit potential than meets the eye in a service such as Google Maps. Traffic to sites in the online mapping industry has grown 26% year-on-year according to Hitwise data for the Travel – Maps category comparing June 2004 to June 2005.

Analysis of the sites visited after online maps underscores the inherent commercial value of these sites. An average of 20% of traffic from sites in the Travel – Maps category goes to travel agency sites. The top downstream site for maps.google.com for the week ending 30 July was www.expedia.co.uk. The top downstream site from the more established Multimap is Teletext Holidays, while fellow travel sites Active Hotels and Expedia also feature prominently in Multimap’s top 20 downstream sites. An analysis of the latest crop of search terms for maps.google.com reveals that 25 out of the top 30 terms are commercial, including ‘hotel’, ‘estate agents’, ‘cinema’ and ‘bed and breakfast’.

“Hitwise data shows that online maps enjoy a close relationship with the travel sector. Internet users are researching destinations and hotel locations while booking a holiday” said Heather Hopkins Research Director of Hitwise UK. “The commercial value of online maps is not limited to holiday-makers, however. Consider the possibility that flats for rent in a specific price range and neighbourhood could also be plotted, as well as cash points and petrol stations.”

Google Maps Nips at the Heels of Market
Leader, Multimap

When Google launched the BETA version of its mapping service in April this year, traffic to both the UK and US versions of Google Maps saw a predictable surge as tech geeks and armchair travellers rushed to check out Google’s newest much-hyped online gizmo. But since the site’s launch, its market share has not tailed off and in fact, Google seems to be increasingly stealing market share from the industry’s biggest player, Multimap.

Multimap has experienced an impressive growth rate of 20% amongst all sites since January, but despite its clear dominance, Google has managed to erode some of Multimap’s share of traffic within the online maps sector. For the week ending 12th April, when Google Maps launched, Multimap’s market share within the Hitwise Travel – Maps category fell below 50% for the first time since December 2004 while Google Maps’ traffic has continued to rise (reaching a peak of 10.2% for the week ending July 23rd).

Hitwise allows firms to evaluate their own site’s growth as well as growth relative to competitors. The resultsare critical to understanding a site’s performance.