Will More Companies Leave Google Maps?
March 22, 2012
Here’s an interesting observation, or will be if this really does become a trend: Digital Trends asks, “Why Are Companies Defecting from Google Maps?” Writer Geoff Duncan notes that both Foursquare and Apple are reducing their usage of Google Maps. Two withdrawals, however, do not necessarily mean more are on the way. If more do follow, we will know that Duncan was on to something.
The article supplies a brief history of mapping and route-planning services, a field in which Google came from behind players like MapQuest to dominate the market. It helped that Google was giving away the service for free, and even helping third parties use it on their sites. That is Google’s usual path to domination, after all.
There is, however, a reason other companies have not followed Google’s lead in this direction: the mapping and routing process calls for a lot of man-hours, even in the digital age. Last autumn, even Google introduced a paid version. Duncan writes:
“Google first announced plans to begin monetizing Google Maps nearly a year ago, including a requirement that any new services forward display advertising in Google Maps along to their end users, so Google could start generating advertising revenue from the service. The hammer truly dropped in October 2011, when Google finally revealed pricing for Google Maps services. Lightweight usage was still free — subject to terms of service, of course. However, significant load volumes would begin to incur charges: basically, services and applications that generated more 25,000 map loads per day would be charged $40 to $10 for every additional 1,000 map loads. For folks using styled maps — the most intensive and customized option — the initial threshold is 2,500 maps per day.”
That’s a lot of maps, and the vast majority of sites using the service would remain un-charged. For behemoths like Foursquare and Apple, however, it seems that it may have made the difference; the trial period ended shortly before these companies (mostly) jumped ship. Only time will tell whether other Google users will follow their lead.
Stephen E. Arnold, March 22, 2012
Sponsored by Pandia.com <http://www.pandia.com/enterprise-search>
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