Google Trying to Put It All on the Map
Google Inc. continued to expand onto the turf of other powerful Internet companies Tuesday when the world’s most popular search engine introduced a map service.
Google Maps lets people search for addresses and local business listings, then plot them on a map. A query for “great sushi Hollywood, CA,” for example, returns 10 results overlaid on a map. Clicking on a listing shows the address and phone number, plus a link to driving directions and a review on Citysearch.com.
The service, which is in early testing, or, as techies call it, beta, is far from perfect. Type “Silicon Valley” and it returns three results -- all in Kansas.
Spokeswoman Eileen Rodriguez called Google Maps “an experiment” and said the company would “continue to improve and enhance the product based on user feedback.”
Google Maps puts the Mountain View, Calif.-based company squarely in competition with Yahoo Inc. and America Online Inc.’s MapQuest, part of Time Warner Inc.
Google taps both services to generate results for searchers on its main page at www.google.com.
Although Google Maps is now available only at maps.google.com, the service is expected to join or replace its competitors in Google search results when the company believes it’s ready for prime time.
Said AOL spokesman Brian Hoyt: “We welcome more competition and innovation in the marketplace.”
Maps have become a key battlefield for big Internet companies. The market for local online advertising reached $700 million last year and is forecast to jump to $5.1 billion by 2009, as advertisers shift more money onto the Internet from phone books and newspapers, according to the Kelsey Group, a market research firm.
“Mapping is a critical piece of local search,” said Greg Sterling, a Kelsey Group analyst. “What’s really at stake is to keep consumers in your realm in order to deliver the most value to advertisers.”
A Google executive said the service wouldn’t feature ads to start with but may later.
Google showed its interest in digital mapping last year when it acquired Keyhole Corp., which uses aerial and satellite photos to let users zoom in on particular places.
The current version of Google Maps uses geographic data from NavTeq Corp. and Tele Atlas but none of Keyhole’s technology, at least for now.
“We’re going to continue to explore how we’re going to integrate them sensibly, but we don’t have anything to announce today,” said Marissa Mayer, Google’s director of consumer Web products.
Internet message boards were buzzing Tuesday with talk of the service’s high-resolution graphics and ability to quickly scroll a map to view nearby neighborhoods and cities. But some complained that Google Maps’ coverage was spotty, with entire small towns missing.
Microsoft Corp. employee Robert Scoble noticed the Silicon Valley glitch and posted it to his weblog, where he noted: “If you type ‘Google Mountain View’ it accurately will bring you to Google’s headquarters, but if you type ‘Google Kirkland’ it doesn’t know where the new Google office is up in Kirkland,” Wash.
