I ran a recent Mapquest/Google Maps comparison of visitation at Compete.com. It appears that Google Maps has passed Mapquest as the most visited mapping site:
Google 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 hibernation” and have introduced a number of new features in the Local space, it does not appear to be fast enough.
These number reflect worldwide traffic. Google has a much stronger presence than MapQuest in much of Asia & Africa while Mapquest has traditionally been strong in North America. It would be of interest to see the US and European numbers broken out as well. I am sure there Mapquest is doing better.
I certainly hope so Google deserve it. Google Maps and the way it moves between satellite view, hybrid, photographs and wikipedia is fantastic.
I also like the way Panaramio pics are pulled in – I like to contribute a few pics a month if I see something I think will be interesting or of use to others.
It is one of those things that I literally need in my life
David
Comment by Joe The SEO (1 comments) — February 9, 2009 @ 10:30 am
Gmaps is certainly a fantastic tool. I’m thinking about going to Searchfest 09 in Portland next month and was just using the distance calculator to plan the drive (with a pitstop in Seattle), checking on other hotels besides the one sponsoring the conference (checking their locations before I visit their website for rates), using the public transit system to get to conference center at Oregon Zoo from hotel(s), etc…
Comment by Stever (204 comments) — February 10, 2009 @ 3:36 am
[...] shows Maps as having passed Mapquest in overall traffic. But as Heather points out the nature of the traffic is dramatically [...]
Pingback by Maps Vs. Mapquest: Hitwise has Mapquest still in the lead » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search — February 11, 2009 @ 12:47 pm
[...] Google is in the process of passing Mapquest in total visits, user engagement with Maps has historically been shallow. Mark Law of Mapquest noted in a [...]
Pingback by Google Maps: Enhanced Map View and other tidbits » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search — February 18, 2009 @ 8:31 am
[...] Edward has a couple of additional data points to add to the Google vs. MapQuest market share question; in addition to the four-point gap Hitwise reported, comScore apparently says that Google beat MapQuest in January; Compete.com reports something similar. [...]
Pingback by Report: Google Surpassed MapQuest in January | Maps & Atlas — March 3, 2009 @ 3:02 am
[...] mapping site…seems that they have been succeeding in that, having caught up and possibly passing [...]
Pingback by Google Maps Vs. Mapquest User Engagement » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search — March 9, 2009 @ 1:26 pm
[...] showed Google Maps overtaking Mapquest in visitors in January as did Comscore. At the time Hitwise showed that Maps as nearly passing [...]
Pingback by Hitwise: Google Maps passes Mapquest » Understanding Google Maps & Yahoo Local Search — April 13, 2009 @ 8:56 am
[...] and is now the number one most used mapping product. This, according to figures of both comscore, compete and as of this weekend, also [...]
Pingback by Google Maps takes the lead : Local Search Optimization — April 13, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
Great post.. I wanted to share my site with your audience as I think they would greatly benefit from it. I created a website Google Maps vs Mapquest where a user types in 1 address to search, and has results from BOTH google maps and mapquest displayed side by side. I will be adding the ability to show directions from both services side by side as well here soon. The site again is http://www.mapvsmap.com
Comment by Gary B (1 comments) — September 17, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
I feel that Google just has better technology than map quest. I made the switch a few years ago and that is because 30% of the time mapquest is wrong, in my experience.
Comment by David Lewallen (5 comments) — April 3, 2010 @ 8:08 pm
[...] mapping mostly separate. If nothing else the combination gave Google monthly bragging rights in the many public comparisons made by Hitwise & [...]
Pingback by Does the Separation of Google Maps and Google Local Portend a Divorce from infoUSA? | Understanding Google Maps & Local Search — May 27, 2010 @ 9:13 am
There’s no comparison. Please don’t use google maps for anything important. A year ago they left my wife & me 20 blocks past the US capitol when we were looking for an IMAX theater that turned out to be in the Smithsonian on the Mall! Tonight they directed us in EXACTLY the wrong direction when we looked for a famous restaurant (El Perro Chico) in Bilbao Spain. Fortunately, we had learned our lesson, so we checked with our hotel before setting off. Do no harm! Puhleeeze! We will never trust Google Maps again. Incidentally, Mapquest had it right.
Comment by becj dafogop (1 comments) — June 12, 2010 @ 6:44 pm