Near the end of 2008, MapQuest didn’t even consider Google a mapping competitor despite the latter growing at a rapid clip. In March, Google Maps came very close to overtaking MapQuest for the first time in traffic numbers. At that time I argued that MapQuest would still be a more engaging brand then Google Maps, though it was obvious the Google property would eventually draw more traffic.
Hitwise has the latest numbers and the research firm revealed that Google Maps officially surpassed MapQuest in traffic for the first time April 11. Search experts such as Greg Sterling attribute the traffic increase to Google’s recently local search revisions.
But with the average user spending more time on MapQuest’s domain, is Google Maps really a better brand? What do you think?
