Maps is already heavily monetized. On the developer side, it's monetized via API licensing and pay-per-request geocoding. [0] Any website with a google maps wid

Maps is already heavily monetized. On the developer side, it's monetized via API licensing and pay-per-request geocoding. [0] Any website with a google maps widget and meaningful traffic is paying google to use the maps and/or lookup addresses in a typeahead box. On the marketing side, it's monetized via advertisements, namely sponsored map icons, sponsored links, and (I think) "billboarding". When you scroll in/out in maps and see icons belonging to seemingly seemingly arbitrary businesses, they are likely paying for that exposure. [1] [0] https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing/ https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing/ [1] https://www.quora.com/How-does-Google-monetize-Google-Maps https://www.quora.com/How-does-Google-monetize-Google-Maps