Google Maps Vs Yahoo Maps, Which One Should You Use?

For my whole Internet life, I was all about Yahoo Maps. It was my absolute favorite map site and I refused to go elsewhere for directions. Way back then, I had tried Google Maps and I didn't like them. At that time they just weren't up to par with Yahoo. However, I have recently reused BOTH Yahoo and Google Maps and I can see that Google has greatly improved. Now I use BOTH sites, but for different reasons. Below is a list of features and a comparison between the two sites. Hopefully this will help you decide when to go to Google and when to go to Yahoo for your mapping needs.

Finding a Location by Address or Name
Yahoo Maps and Google Maps perform equally when it comes to typing in an exact address and having the resulting map return. It's always pretty much accurate and always a quick find. However where Google and Yahoo vary is in the Finding a location by Name. When you type a business name into Yahoo maps, as opposed to an address, it comes back with one result, and usually it's the correct and perfect result. For example, type in Lincoln Park Zoo and you will see Yahoo brings up one location, and underneath the "A" icon, you'll see Lincoln Park on the map. HOWEVER, if you type Lincoln Park Zoo into Google Maps, and you'll get 2,354 results.

If you're like me and you are just a visitor to Chicago, you won't know the exact address and be confused about which entry is correct. Why the big difference? It comes down to this. Yahoo purely pulls data from their database. On the other hand, Google pulls data from a variety of places, one of which is user input. That means users can add AND edit locations. Google marks locations as "unverified", but in my experience that did not help me solve the problem of "what is the actual address of Lincoln Park Zoo?" Upon looking up the Lincoln Park Zoo website, I found that a few of the addresses on Google were correct, but there were others that were wrong and confusing.

Getting Directions
I can tell you before even explaining - Yahoo maps is my choice for getting directions for the most part. Yahoo and Google both allow you to put in multi-stop directions, and both allow you to modify the directions by dragging streets around on the map. However I just find that Yahoo maps are formatted a little bit nicer for directions and the printable version comes out nicer and cleaner, just the way I like it.

Another plus for Yahoo is that you can do other searches, i.e. a Restaurant search, without losing the directions you've already set up. With Google, if you do a search for Restaurants, it erases your map and starts with a clean screen. That doesn't make sense! Especially when I want to find Restaurants along my route.

The only time where Google Maps beats Yahoo in this area is that Yahoo only does directions by car whereas Google let's you see how to get around by public transportation. This helped when planning my trip to Chicago as it told me what buses or trains to take around town, however I don't live near public transportation so it's not helpful to me on a normal day.

Satellite View
This is one place where Google beats Yahoo, but only sometimes. There is no debate about which zooms in closer. Google clearly zooms in a lot closer than Yahoo. Just go ahead and look up your home address on both maps, turn on Satellite, and zoom in as much as you can. You will easily see the difference. However sometimes I find that, even though Google zooms in more, Yahoo is clearer and a little bit easier for putting a picture in my mind. Usually when I'm zooming in on Satellite, I'm trying to get a visual picture in my mind of a location I've never been to. It's almost as if Google shows TOO much detail in these instances. However, if you are just looking to zoom in for fun, Google is the way to go. Try looking up the following phrase "the palm jebel ali dubai" and zoom in to see an island made to be shaped like a palm tree. Scroll to the North East to see the other palm tree shaped island that is complete. It's cool stuff like this that you can only see on google.

Street View
Google wins hands down here because Yahoo doesn't have street view. Street view allows you to see actual pictures of places on the street. I can't even tell you how much this has helped me! I drag the little person icon onto a street I'm going to for a restaurant I need to find and I can see all the businesses up and down that street as if I was driving by. When I do go to that restaurant, I feel like I've already been there! Last week I had to find a dress shop and I wasn't sure where it was, but on Google street view I saw there was a big huge pizza sign right before it. As I was driving to the dress shop, I felt like I had passed it because I wasn't seeing it, however then I saw the big pizza sign and said "there it is!" Street view is very useful for vacations as well. You can clearly see where attractions are and plan your trip accordingly. It's also fun just to explore places you've never been or places that you probably can't afford to visit! Take a tour of vegas while your at it!

Adding and Saving Points
Ok, this is one other thing that Yahoo doesn't have where Google wins hands down. Google allows you to create a map that has pinpoints on it wherever you want in the world. So when planning my trip to Chicago, I put in pin points for all the attractions and restaurants we were visiting. When I was done I could print that out as a good map of where things are. You can create as many maps as you want and share them or keep them to yourself. I have one that I saved that's called "Fun Stuff to Look at" where I save things like those palm tree islands I mentioned above. It's cool to be able to easily refer to these points anytime I want.

In the End
I will still use Google Maps a lot because the Satellite and Street views are fun, but when it comes time to find a place or to get directions, I will go to Yahoo all the time. Perhaps my favorite part of Yahoo is that I can add my favorite addresses and choose them from a drop down. This saves me tons of time when I forget addresses of friends and family members. I even save my favorite restaurants in there so I can always find them. Google let's you save locations too, but I don't find it as easy since it adds a lot of locations automatically that I wouldn't have.

So what does all this mean to you? Both sites have their benefits and both should be on your list of "too visit" whenever you are planning any vacation. Use Yahoo for it's reliability and accurate locations, and use Google for it's ability to show you pictures of where you are going. Enjoy!!