Live Maps now supports Google's KML files

Google has been indexing KML files for some time, since they acquired Keyhole in 2005. KML files (short for Keyhole Markup Language) describe geographic features, and are an essential part of Google Earth and Google Maps. They are also responsible for the blue pushpins in Google's community maps feature.

Starting last night, Microsoft's Live Maps and Virtual Earth will also display data from indexed KML files, bringing the community mapping feature to Live Maps. TechCrunch has a great rundown of the new features to Live Maps introduced last night here. You can also visit the Virtual Earth / Live Maps blog post for a more complete description of the new features, which all deserve a post unto themselves.

One great thing about this is that all of the strategy surrounding geotagging and KML usage applies to the Live suite as well, instead of just Google. The big G has a ton of resources for KML developers, which we can now use to target Live.

Localization is the next evolution of search, and will become even more important to all of us in the near future. From an SEO perspective, this new integration gives us all yet another reason to add KML files to our sitemaps, letting the engines know where our business is located. Douglas Karr has provided a great tutorial on how to add a KML file to your sitemap.

IMHO, one of the strongest aspects of the Microsoft strategy is that they will admit when a competitor has had a great idea and either integrate or copy it into their own software. Call that what you want, but its a great way to keep loyal users from leaving over a missing feature.

A few KML resources for those interested:
Google Code: http://code.google.com/apis/kml/documentation/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyhole_Markup_Language

 

Great news, will read further on the sources