First, thanks for all the great comments to my previous posts on the search and portal wars. A comment posted by Ira from Accoona on Friday caught my attention. Ira made an excellent point in noticing that newer or second generation mapping products were getting far less traction in market share of visits then the industry leader Mapquest. Over the weekend, I had the idea of approaching this issue from a different perspective. Rather than using market share data, what about search terms on the leading map brands.
The Hitwise Research group has been very successful in developing ways of leveraging search term data to provide insight into brand equity. Specifically, with our sample of 10MM Internet users, we have some very valuable insight into consumer mind-set from our search term data. What someone types into a blank search box is a great proxy for unaided brand recall.
Today I received a comment from Frank Taylor (Frank has a great Google Earth Blog), with a link to a chart for the top mapping brands. Frank you beat me to it. I’ve recreated Frank’s chart using Hitwise search term data, which we prefer to use because a) it’s a sample of search behavior across all search engines v. just Google searches and b) provides quantifiable volume data in market share of searches.

Ira, to get back to your question of how Mapquest could continue to dominate when second generation mapping sites provide superior functionality. I think the answer lies in the power of the Mapquest brand. While I know it’s anecdotal, going to my own experience, when I’m running out the door and need to get a quick map to my next business meeting, my fingers automatically type “Mapquest” as I’ve used the service for years. This is the challenge that other players face, specifically search engines, in expanding their portfolio of content. Strength of brand applies in the online world just as it does offline. I think this is an excellent demonstration of that.