30 Links in 30 Days Linkbuilding Campaign - Day 17 - Wikimapia

Today we turn to a new topic which is an aspect of local search, namely geographic or map search. There are several map tools out there (besides Google Maps and Google Earth). Some are overlays or information provided within a mapping interface (think of an object on a map as a result entry on a SERP), and some are the mapping framework itself where objects can be created.

Tomorrow we will discuss Panoramio which shows up on Google Earth and Google Maps and is the former. Today we discuss Wikimapia, which is the latter.

Wikimapia and Geographic Search

Wikimapia is only one of a few specialized local search tools which are sprouting up and are wonderful community resources including the Open Cycling Map which is itself a part of the Open Street Map project. Open Street Map is another opportunity for link-building.

Wikimapia, Maps, Wikis, Community and Value Creation

We believe that contributing to these wiki projects not only provides a useful function for our clients, but also develops the map resource itself, which is in our estimation a value-creating activity. Certainly there are network effects at work in any directory or social network (any linking activity, actually). With wikis the value of editing is not to be underestimated. It is the foundational activity, after all.

The work of adding roads, road names, and locations such as this Open Street Map Thai Language School in Chiang Mai is both engaging and value-creating for future users.

Thailand and other Southeast Asia Maps and Wikis

For places like Thailand, mapping support is less well-developed than in other parts of the world. Nonetheless, Wikimapia does a good job of supporting this geographical location. For example, My Thai language teacher's school can be handily located as follows:

• How to Learn Thai - Thai Language Teaching and Tutoring in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Excellent Language support in Wikimapia

In addition there is multiple language support (entries can be edited in Title 101 languages as of 2009-11-08. For Indochina there is support for the five major languages of Thai, Lao, Khmer, Burmese and Vietnamese, as well as many interesting languages with smaller user-bases such as Nepali.

Map Metadata

A Title and a Description can be entered (Title required) as well as a Street and Building Number, and category tags, as well as a checkbox to indicate if the item is a building.

Related posts:

1. 30 Links in 30 Days Linkbuilding Campaign - Day 18 - Panoramio
2. 30 Links in 30 Days Linkbuilding Campaign - Day 2 - The Google Profile
3. 30 Links in 30 Days Linkbuilding Campaign - Day 11 - Google Local Listing