Google Maps fails to make any impact, beyond the hype
News Category: Industry News
Published: 23-Jul-2010
The jury remains out on Google Maps, with property portals around the globe uncertain as to its impact on their businesses.
Seventy international delegates at the Property Portal Watch workshop held in San Francisco said that the emergence of Google Maps – so far in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand – had failed to make any real impression, other than hype and conjecture.
The delegates also agreed that using mapping as a property search tool was not as user-friendly as a list.
However, most of the portals reported seeing Google as a threat, mainly because they did not know what Google’s real intentions are. Some believe that Google may be on the path to disintermediating not just estate agents but property portals too.
Alistair Helm, chief executive of realestate.co.nc in New Zealand, said that Google is now driving 64% of overall traffic to his site, but that Google Maps only drives 5.5%.
The delegates said that until Google integrates Google Maps into its main search engine, it is unlikely to drive significant traffic.
Delegates were split as to whether to engage with Google Maps or avoid it.
In the UK, Zoopla has notably decided to partner Google Maps. Equally notably, Rightmove has given it a wide berth.
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