Comments on: Local Market Share October – Google resumes upward swing

By: Rajat

Rajat — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 07:06:44 +0000

I’m seeing an ad for Best Western in a prominent position on the page. That’s quite a large franchise. What are the opportunities for small local businesses to advertise on MapQuest for city specific pages.

By: Affiliate Marketing & Lifestyle Blog » Google Maps Edges Closer To MapQuest

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:57:45 +0000

[...] October, MapQuest rolled out some new features. At the time, it looked as though MapQuest had already lost the momentum to hold the #1 spot but now that those [...]

By: Has Google Maps surpassed Mapquest? » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:20:14 +0000

[...] Maps has been gaining on Mapquest for the past two years. Hitwise data in October indicated that Maps was closing in on Mapquest. While MapQuest may have “come out of [...]

By: Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search » Search Trends for Mapquest & Google Maps - | Developing Knowledge about Local Search

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:38:46 +0000

[...] In a recent interview (soon to be published at SEL) I asked Mark Law what he would say about the Hitwise reports of Google Map’s market share [...]

By: MiriamEllis

MiriamEllis — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:25:15 +0000

Let’s see…unless I’ve missed it, I don’t believe that MapQuest’s Local page has lodging information. At least, they don’t in my nearest city.

I wonder if they’ve considered incorporating that, as they do have dining information.

But I don’t know if that’s a burning question, Mike.

Something else I’ve noticed is that the advertising on the Local page doesn’t seem especially local. For example, right now I’m seeing an ad for Best Western in a prominent position on the page. That’s quite a large franchise. What are the opportunities for small local businesses to advertise on MapQuest for city specific pages. Cost prohibitive?

Miriam

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:21:48 +0000

@Miriam

I too like the bold graphics, I am not such a big fan of the other clutter on the page…the heavy use of display and text ads, etc on the main page.

The local portal is interesting- http://local.mapquest.com/ it is somewhat cleaner interface and allows some ability to remove elements from the page…but when I got rid of what is truly not useful the page ended up sort of funky…

In the end though, it might just be habits that are hard to break….

That all being said you must have a question for him, that is just burning a hole in your brain,no?

Mike

By: MiriamEllis

MiriamEllis — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 06:40:24 +0000

I think Mapquest’s maps are as good as Google’s and I actually like their presentation quite a bit. It feels somehow large and friendly…for some reason it reminds me of the extra fat crayons they give little ones before they can handle slim crayons.

I think Mapquest’s user relations are way above average, owing to my recent experiences with them.

We’ve talked about this previously, Mike, and I have to agree with you that what is missing from the Mapquest picture is the business index. Because most of the local searches I perform are to get business information, I keep turning to Google for this. I wonder if I’d turn to Mapquest if they were offering an LBC type function like Google’s.

I’m really looking forward to your interview with Mark. He’s a very nice gentleman.
Miriam

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:47:54 +0000

Hi Duncan Yes the shift to localized searching is an interesting topic. The problem is that the numbers I have seen are at best hazy (Greg Sterling has some interesting ones). Part of that haziness for me anyways, is caused by the inclusion of the Local in Google Universal results. That is the elephant in the room. I did do this estimating the numbers. But it is guess work. Mike

By: MapQuest Continues to Add Features « Screenwerk

MapQuest Continues to Add Features « Screenwerk — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:45:49 +0000

[...] MapQuest has in recent months come back to life after a long period of limited upgrades. These new features and upgrades make the site much more interesting and useful in my opinion. However Google apparently is continuing to gain on the market-leader’s traffic according to a Hitwise analysis prepared for Mike Blumenthal: [...]

By: Duncan Ogle-Skan

Duncan Ogle-Skan — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:42:29 +0000

Hi Mike,

I’d like to know more about the growth of Local. The market share figures (above) are fascinating in terms of the shift of default location for Local search, but the growth in user-defined localising of search would be most useful for me. Thanks for your work on the blog.

Duncan.