28 September 2004

Multimap Enhances its Public Site with Google’s Sponsored Links

Google’s advertisers target internet users by location

Multimap, Europe’s leading online mapping provider, and Google, the global technology leader focused on improving the way people connect with information, today announced an agreement that makes Google’s web site monetisation programme for publishers, Google AdSense™, available on Multimap’s popular public website. Google’s AdWords ads appear whenever a map is shown and are targeted to the location shown on the map. The fact that Multimap understands the user’s geographical interest means that Google can serve appropriate advertising campaigns from local businesses to reach their target market(s); the traffic driven to advertisers’ web sites is expected to increase as a result.

The sponsored links that appear to the right of every map delivered on Multimap.com are geographically relevant to the search that the user conducts. For example, users who have searched for a map in Leeds see links to online businesses operating in the Leeds area, while users who have conducted a search in the UK capital view links to online businesses operating in the London area.

The partnership with Multimap extends the reach for Google’s worldwide advertisers and, now that advertisers can choose to advertise by location, brand awareness among advertisers’ target markets and click-through rates are also boosted.

Sean Phelan, founder and chairman of Multimap.com, said, "We are delighted to be working with the leading search engine, Google, to offer advertisers all the advantages of our highly effective geo-targeting capabilities. We always look to build relationships with complementary businesses, and adding Google as a partner supports our goal of expanding our location-based advertising offerings.”

He continues, “Two years ago, advertisers weren’t that interested in geo-targeting; a year ago it became a nice-to-have for over a quarter of our advertisers; this year one-third of our advertisers are demanding it; and next year we expect at least half to have a requirement for our geo-targeting capabilities. Local advertising is the next big thing in online advertising and it’s great that a major search engine of the calibre of Google has recognised that targeting customers on the basis of place is just as valuable as doing so by content.”

About Multimap.com

Multimap.com is Europe’s leading provider of mapping and location-based services. The company delivers more online maps, point-to-point driving directions and geo-spatial ("where’s my nearest?") searches to more companies than any other supplier in Europe. All services are offered on WAP, PDA, kiosk, and interactive TV platforms and in multiple languages.

The public web site www.multimap.com provides a range of free, useful services to assist with everyday life. Key features include street-level maps of Europe, USA, Canada and Australia; road maps of the world; door-to-door travel directions; aerial photographs; weather forecasts; links to location information; and services such as hotel, restaurant and entertainment booking. The public site attracts over 7.3 million unique users, registers more than 140 million page impressions every month, and is one of the top 10 most visited web sites in the UK. Multimap recently came 27th in The Sunday Times’ Tech Track 100 league table of fastest-growing companies.

About Google AdSense

Google AdSense™ is a programme for online businesses, enabling them to earn revenue from serving ads precisely targeted to specific web content and search pages. A broad universe of sites profit from AdSense, with service levels ranging from online sign-up to dedicated account management. For more information, visit www.google.co.uk/adsense.