Compare Infobase launched its first project, Indiaprofile.com, on 15th August 1998. The site was developed with the focus of emerging as the default portal for information on India. It started with information structured around travel, infrastructure, economy, education, culture, celebrations and maps. By October 1998, it was clear to all the entrepreneurs that within Mapsofindia lay an idea whose time had come.An analysis of the detailed traffic report indicated that 50% of the traffic, which was coming to Indiaprofile, was going to the smallest section of the site, which was Mapsofindia. The Mapsofindia section had about 50 maps on India and its important states.
The decision was taken to immediately launch Mapsofindia.com with maps of all states, important cities and thematic maps on India in general. On 14th December 1998 Mapsofindia.com became fully operational with over 250 maps.
Those were early days; Yahoo was the king in search engines and submissions. India on the Internet was limited, and maps on India were nowhere to be found. Yahoo's directory on India did not have a sub-directory on maps and fewer than 2000 India specific sites were listed on Yahoo. Yahoo was impressed with Mapsofindia in terms of the depth of information that was offered, and worked together with Mapsofindia to develop a directory structure within yahoo's India sub-directory called Maps & Views. With a cross routing, Yahoo also developed a directory structure called States and Union Territories. Yahoo reciprocated the gesture of Mapsofindia by accommodating Mapsofindia in each section of the new directory structure. Chandigarh, Pondicherry, Haryana & the whole of the North East, was among the new directory structures created specifically to accommodate Mapsofindia.
