Past Maps grows with Google search by focusing on a small niche

In short: A small website called Past Maps is growing by serving a narrow audience and relying on Google Search traffic and subscriptions.

What's going on

Craig Campbell, a former Meta engineer and startup founder, chose in 2022 to build a website instead of starting an AI company. He said investors offered strong financial backing, but he wanted to work on something different.

His site, Past Maps, lets people layer historical maps on top of modern maps and fade between them, like using a dimmer switch. The old maps come from public sources such as the US Geological Survey, and Campbell built the tools that make them easy to explore.

Campbell originally made the tool for his metal detecting hobby, to spot where old buildings and trails used to be. After sharing it on Reddit, he found other people wanted it too. The Verge reports the site grew from about 20,000 active users a month to more than 300,000 a month by its third year.

Past Maps gets most of its visitors from Google Search results. Campbell said he helped Google understand his pages by labeling maps and web pages in a way Google can read, which improved how often the site shows up when people search for local history.

Instead of relying mostly on ads, Past Maps charges for deeper access: a $9 weekly pass or $52 per year. Campbell also uses AI tools behind the scenes, including a program on his desktop that sorts his email, drafts replies, and prepares refunds, cutting customer support time to about 10 minutes a day.

What to watch

Past Maps is one example of a broader shift toward small, paid sites that aim to survive changes in search and online advertising. It will be worth watching whether Google search changes and AI-written summaries reduce traffic for niche sites, or whether focused services like this can keep growing.

Source: The Verge AI