Latest Web Stats: Google Maps Gaining on MapQuest

“In November, the most recent month for data, MapQuest’s unique-visitor count fell 9% from November 2007 to 41.5 million, while Google Maps’ rose 29% to 38.8 million, market tracker comScore says.”

Analysts note that Google’s position as top search engine drives much of Google Maps success. Christian Dwyer, MapQuest’s general manager, details two instances what Investor’s Business Daily calls “dirty pool” which seem to promote Google Maps and move down MapQuest.

(1) In a Google search the top search result gets a lot of space, pushing all other search results lower on the page (often that result is Google’s).

(2) In paid links Google seems to always come out above MapQuest.

The article confirms these observations. The good news? No one seems to think there’s anything wrong with MapQuest, though the sentiment “too little, too late” comes through.