14 DAY TRIAL // Because Google is the most powerful search engine on the internet and it owns so many online services, the company attracted many competitors that are looking to develop more powerful solutions and gain more popularity than the search giant. Google is a company that likes competition so it decided some time ago to display links for Yahoo's map service for every search query. It seems like things are going to be changed soon because Google now removed every link of its rivals, displaying only a snapshot from Google Maps and detailed information about the location searched by the user.
Since the release of Google Maps service, the search giant displayed for every query a Google Maps link, a Yahoo Maps link and a MapQuest link. Recently, the company decided that it's the time to promote its own service and removed all the links that were redirecting the users to other services than Google Maps. If you try to search for a specific location using Google Search, the search engine returns only a Google Maps link and a snapshot of the location made by the same solution.
"A variety of searches I performed, that should have provided the Yahoo and MapQuest links, were similar in offering only Google Maps. Searching directly for Yahoo Maps or MapQuest of course provides links to those sites. But the removal of those links from "generic" searches could impact their traffic in a meaningful way. MapQuest, which is the category leader, has plenty of direct traffic but Yahoo and Google Maps are running neck and neck. And so Yahoo may be the site that suffers most from this move," Search Engine Land said in a message.
"Google is always working to improve search. The redesign of maps onebox better simplifies the Google user experience when looking for business and address information. Users will now be able to obtain directions and store their default location," was the official response from Google according to the same website.