AOL's MapQuest: 'Invaluable part of people's lives'

MapQuest is determined to make its services even more ‘invaluable’ to even more people, worldwide.

In a presentation entitled “Six Degrees of Separation,” this morning at the Kelsey Interactive Local Media Conference in Philadelphia, Greiner put forth a “real world” scenario utilizing eight different personas to demonstrate that MapQuest services not only touch, but enrich, the personal and professional daily routines of individuals, particularly “mass-market’ individuals.

During the Q & A, a conference attendee shared his real, “real world” experience with MapQuest. The gentleman said that while listening to Greiner’s presentation of MapQuest services, he attempted to access the services on his mobile device, to no avail. Greiner was not surprised, indicating that the MapQuest go-to-market mobile strategy is currently a “mass-market” one, not an early adopter one; Most people have devices which allow them to make MapQuest’s services part of their mobile lives.

MapQuest generates 14 million maps and directions every day, Greiner said. Greiner underscored, however, that MapQuest is “not just about maps and directions.”

Greiner evangelized MapQuest for “place searching,” citing how MapQuest is used for localized searches. The top five “place searches” at MapQuest:

Airports
Hotels
Restaurants
Schools
Hospitals

Greiner also cited top SEM keywords which drive traffic to MapQuest (three of its top ten performers):

Doctors
Banks
Churches

How about monetization? Greiner indicated that MapQuest has not “made the business as big as the brand,” YET!

MapQuest currently features “in-demand” advertising solutions, but Greiner assured that it is “just scratching the surface.” According to Greiner, “our advertising is considered to be useful content to users.”

MapQuest mainly represents “national advertisers that want to advertise locally.” Greiner believes MapQuest has the solution to bring independent SMEs onboard, however:

Complete automation through self-provisioning.

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