Neighborhood information site Walk Score has removed ads from the free version of its “Neighborhood Maps” product, which rates the walkability of any property and presents nearby amenities on a map.
Currently, over 30,000 real estate sites have embedded the Neighborhood Maps tool from Walk Score, which was acquired by tech-focused brokerage Redfin in October.
The free version of the tool rates a property’s walkability on a scale of 1 to 100 (100 being the most walkable) known as a “Walk Score,” and shows nearby amenities, Google Street View and a Commute Report that shows drive times to work.
The firm also offers a paid, premium version, which has all of the above and also includes a “Transit Score,” a rating of how well the spot is served by public transit.
Screenshot of Walk Score’s Neighorhood Map tool.
“Our new version of the Walk Score Neighborhood Map is advertising-free, since our goal is to have as many sites as possible using Walk Score,” Walk Score noted in an email announcing the change to its Neighborhood Map customers.
Why did Walk Score decide to remove ads from the free product?
“The ad revenue isn’t meaningful to Redfin so we removed the ads to get more distribution,” Matt Lerner, co-founder of Walk Score and vice president of products at Redfin, told Inman.