It seems like Google is starting to put fees on every of its product, or so could be a thing in future. The first one to be charge is Google Maps. Recently, it has been reported that users of Google Map links for their websites will be charged for heavy usage of the service. The charging will start from January 1, 2012. But this charge will only apply if more than 25,000 map hits are made within a day.
Mostly, travel firms and tourist websites use Google Maps to link customers so that they could view the destinations they want to know more about. The charge will be $4 per 1,000 views for those excessing this limit. Google says that this is only a prior change as it will affect only 0.35% of the users.
The reason because of which Google came up with this policy is that it says that the company is aware that developers are in need of time to evaluate their usage. The time will allow them to be certain if they will be affected and then they can take action accordingly.
According to Thor Mitchell, who is the product manager of the Maps API at Google:
“We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning. However, with the continued growth in adoption of the Maps API, we need to secure its long-term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest-volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable.”
