Why map search matters: It's not just about finding directions, it's about ad revenues. user engagement), the fact that Google Maps is now attracting more unique visitors (which is likely to continue) is worth noting. And while sources tell SEL's Greg Sterling that MapQuest still trumps Google Maps in terms of time spent on site (i.e. Since then, MapQuest's share has plummeted to 39 percent and Google's hovers at about 35 percent. That trend didn't hold, as MapQuest regained an 11 percent lead four weeks later, but it's still down significantly from a year ago, when Hitwise data showed that MapQuest owned about 50 percent of the market to Google's 22 percent.

MapQuest's lead over Google Maps had slipped to just 1.6 percent in the first week of January. Google's grabbing market share, too: Last week, Hitwise analyst Heather Hopkins noted that Google Maps was catching up to MapQuest in terms of market sharea different benchmark, but still a viable indicator of scale. It's the first time Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Maps has attracted more traffic than MapQuest, though there have been signs that the milestone was around the bend: Google Maps has overtaken AOL's MapQuest in terms of unique visitors with 42.2 million monthly uniques in January, to MapQuest's 41.5 millionaccording to the latest stats from *comScore*.

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