How will Google monetize Google Maps?

Google has several sources (some potential) of revenue for their Maps service: 1. API Licencing Google provides an API with which you can use their maps service on your site for free provided it loads less than 25k times per day. read more

I think this is an interesting question so I'll answer it. If the goal of Google Maps is to make money (instead of bringing and keeping the user in the Google product ecosystem and gathering data on the user and creating user generated content), then here are my thoughts on how Google Maps can monetize. read more

Google's has tried and will continue trying to innovate and create new monetisation opportunities for Maps, considering the shifts in the mapping (and adjacent) markets taking place at present - Apple moving to their own map system, developers using other map alternatives, Nokia Maps and OpenStreetMaps, and the growing interest in NFC, mobile wallets, local search and discovery, etc. read more

Google Maps' revenue potential is a topic that surfaces regularly in digital media discussion. Some estimates project that Google Maps will deliver $5 billion in incremental revenue by 2020. This runs in tandem with a similarly bullish estimate from Morgan Stanley, which predicts Maps will generate $1.5 billion in incremental revenue in 2017. read more

Though advertising provides its primary income stream, Google also makes money from its Maps platform through sales of the enhanced, customizable mapping program, Google Maps API, geared towards businesses that benefit from having a tailored version of the Maps in their online or mobile applications. read more