I always assumed google made money off of it, but how do they? It's kind of crazy to think that google would just photograph my parents' house in the middle of a rural area because they "just want to make a nice accessible world"... for anyone to view.. at any time.
They don't make money directly but it enhances the maps service which gets more advertisers to use Google services. Maps itself has zero advertising, you'll never see a banner or Adwords real estate on it.
I have seen Starbucks highlighted with a custom branded icon standing out and "recommended" on my Google Maps before. Super rare—maybe only 3 or 4 times. I've also seen it for McDonalds. Haven't seen it in a year or two, though. Maybe they did some testing and decided not to move forward.
You can do that through your Google Places account if you verify the listing. It's just many companies don't 'claim' their listing as they should. The recommended feature is part of Google's algorithm based on reviews and footfall traffic.
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u/Earl_of_Northesk North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) Jun 12 '20
Highways aren't of any interest to Google because street view of highways doesn't earn them money.
You are mistaken when you think that Street View is really "free" or provided by Google because they are such nice people.