Rrove is a map mashup (note: shameless plug). We’ve learned a lot in building our service and we’d like to share this with you. Hence, we present this guide to building your own map mashup. Use this as a resource as you think, design and program your project. At the very least, this compilation should point you to others who are smarter in the field.

So, you’re ready to build your map mashup. How do you do it? We’ve simplified it to five steps. The steps are all obvious, but the completing them is not easy. And that is where we can help.

STEP 1: Find & Explore Ideas

Start by familiarizing yourself with the mashups in the space. Find out what they are doing, how they are doing it, and why they are doing it. As you learn more and more about mashups, you’ll find it easier to come up with interesting ideas to try. Here’s where you can begin your education:

• Programmable Web: John Musser’s website is the main resource for ALL mashups, not just maps. He maintains a directory of all the mashups (his directory of map mashups is here) and the APIs that power them. Subscribe to the blog for up-to-date news.
• Google Maps Mania: Mike Pegg and his team focus on map mashups, especially ones that are built with Google Maps (that was kinda obvious). They cover more than full-service websites: they also talk about new Google Map features, companies and communities using maps in their websites, and the other players (Y!, MSN, Ask). You’ll find a lot of good map mashups on this site.
• Google Sightseeing: Google Sightseeing shows you interesting things you can find on a map in satellite view. Use it to find interesting angles/topics for your map mashup – how about a map of weird objects or tourist places?

Other resources: Mashups are a big part of Web 2.0. So get the latest on the Internet and the new wave through Techcrunch, Micropersuasion and Mashable, We also wrote an article on 9 awesome community mapping websites that you can use.

When you’re ready, you can start a list of ideas to explore. Don’t stick with just one idea (you’ll find out why later). When you’re brainstorming for your mashup, remember the best advice ever: find a need and fill it.

STEP 2: Look for APIs and Data

To make a mashup website work, you need sources of good data. This is the reason why you need a list of good ideas – some of them might not be executable because there are not information sources to tap!

This next step is all about searching for data and providers of data. There are three places to start your search: Programmable Web’s list of APIs, JotSpot’s WSFinder and WebMashup’s directory.

Here’s an example of what the providers can send:

1. Google: search results, calendared events
2. Yahoo!: responses from Y! Answers, local search, shopping, travel
3. Amazon: products, prices, reviews
4. eBay: products, auction data (unfortunately, not user feedback)
5. Flickr: pictures, categorized by tags, users, geography and/or popularity

When choosing an information provider, you should consider:

1. Quality of information: How rich is it, and can you slice and dice them any way you want?
2. Programming language support: Does the API support Java, PHP, Ruby and etc.? What request and response format (REST, XML-RPC, SOAP) does it support?
3. Reliability of service: Do they keeping changing their call methods/standards? Is there a chance they close shop and go out of service?
4. Amount of calls they allow: If you get a lot of traffic/day, will they stop letting you make calls? (In cases of big volume, the availability of a commercial API is better since you are guaranteed to get data.)

As a rule of thumb, go with established players. They have robust systems and servers in place, established methods and documentation, a large user base (who have solved and can solve problems) and maybe an affiliate program that you can make you some cash.

STEP 3: Choose a Map

Idea and data sources in hand, you’re ready to move to the next step: choosing a map. According to statistics, at least half of all map mashups are built using Google Maps. That said there are other options (with links to the APIs):

1. Google Maps: Most widely used in mashups. Strong developer community. Fast.
2. Y! Maps: No call limit. Flash version available (note: embeddable on MySpace).
3. Microsoft Virtual Earth: Bird’s eye view is very cool, if not useless.
4. Ask: No API. Too bad, their map service is pretty good.
5. Mapquest: Most popular map service in town. Grandpa and mom will be most familiar with it. No satellite view.

All of them will allow you to add points and get driving directions. These services, except Mapquest, allow you to drag maps and zoom in on locations through Ajax.

A lot of reviews prefer Y! Maps because of the functionality it provides for users. Positives on the developer side too – the Flash version gives allows more creativity in its use. On a personal note, we still prefer Google Maps. Its faster, there’s a wealth of resources and solutions out there and the techie crowd that likes mashups are used to it. Keep to Google or Y! and you’ll be fine.

Other links:

• Techcrunch review and comparison of these five maps (from a user’s angle).
• See places side-by-side on all Google, Y! and VirtualEarth. Decide which one looks best.
• Here’s another one that allows you to toggle between maps. It has Ask maps as an option (don’t ask us how they got it).
• See Google, Y! and VirtualEarth compared in a nice table format.
• We can’t leave Mapquest out. Here’s Google, Y! and Mapquest compared.

STEP 4: Build your Mashup

At this point, you have everything you need – you just have to put them together. This is the hardest part of all since you’re actually building the service. It’s also the most fun. Here are a few articles, websites and events that will help you accomplish this step.

• IBM has the most comprehensive tutorial on building a mashup.
• Programmable Web also has a guide. Go to the bottom half: you’ll see articles on how to mix and mash some of the popular services. Most were provided by the engineers who wrote the APIs.
• Learn tricks from Mashup University. You have to wait until it comes around but its 100% free.
• Join the Google Map API and the Y! Map API discussion groups to connect with a community of experts.

Before you start building your map mashup (or anything for that matter), do not overlook usability. Read Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think. You can finish it in an hour and you’ll learn a lot from it.

STEP 5: Market & Promote

Your mashup is running smoothly, now what? Contrary to popular belief: if you build it, they will NOT come. Sure, there are cases where websites come out of nowhere to become a household name. Realistically, however, for each of these superstars, there are twenty or more products that are still ramping up. A good service builds a reputation over time, not overnight.

You’ll have to work hard on it, but you’ll get there. In the meantime, here are some affordable marketing strategies and tactics to test and get you started:

1. Viral Marketing: Everyone wants to do this since it costs nothing and can bring in huge numbers. Viral marketing is, however, a hit or miss. The foundation of viral marketing is simple: provide content that is useful and/or entertaining. Learn from the MarketingSherpa’s top viral marketing campaigns of 2006. Also: try to ride the MySpace phenomenon. Photobucket did.
2. Start a Community: Get your users involved through blog, forums or wikis. This is probably the hardest of all the tactics and there is no one sure-fire way of doing it. Use this Craigslist case study as a starting point. Read through the sources and the comments to see how Craig Newmark built his community.
3. Public Relations & Events: Get on the radar of the experts mentioned above. Hopefully, they’ll feature you on their websites and send you their traffic. Write them an email (look for their addresses on their websites) or meet them at Mashup Camp (free) and Where 2.0 (pricey).
4. Link Building: 91% of all Internet users use search, and it now ties email as the most common activity on the Web. Top search ranking are gained through links – the more links from quality sites you have, the higher you are in the search engine results pages. Use this comprehensive SEOmoz article to start building links, connections and roads to your mashup.

Remember: marketing and promoting your service is a good thing – you’re really providing something useful to others and making their lives nicer. So don’t be shy about it.

A FINAL NOTE: if building a map mashup is too much work, you can always use existing services (most are free). Aside from Rrove, there is Map Builder, Wayfaring and Platial.

Happy map mashup making!

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