Yahoo! has added new features to Yahoo! Maps in a drive to become more competitive against industry leaders MapQuest and search rivals Google. Driving directions have been expanded on the service in 34 major European countries, along with new systems for making directions easier to remember for users of the service. Yahoo! is aiming to do this by featuring more landmarks and visual clues in directions in order for people to find their way around lesser known areas.Yahoo! has revamped its maps system recently. In a move away from deCarta technology, which the company has been using for over five years; Yahoo! now develops its maps product in-house. This allows them to add more information and features at a much faster rate.
Other recent developments have included the addition of a more natural user interface that's much easier to use, along with real-time traffic information, including road and lane closures, traffic speeds and accidents. An example of the flexibility of the system was showcased recently where Yahoo! removed a section of highway in New York which had collapsed, and updated directional information to include alternative routes.
Yahoo! is rolling out their maps service all over the world, having most recently updated Yahoo! Maps India, in order to gain back market share that has been lost to AOL's MapQuest service and Google Maps. Figures provided by comScore Media Matrix suggest that while MapQuest's visits grew by three per cent over the year since April 2006, Google grew by almost 50 per cent - but Yahoo! Maps lost five per cent of its visitors.
Map services are a major source of revenue for all three companies. Advertisements are displayed on the services by tailoring ads and business listings to localities that are searched for. The Kelsey Group has said that by 2011 it expects advertisers to spend $11.1 billion dollars on local search, compared to $4.1 billion in 2006.
