Yes, there are two properties that are important for Google Maps:

1. Mercator is conformal, which means angles are preserved. So if you zoom into any small part of the map, it will look right. Equal-area maps distort angles.

2. North is always in the same direction—up. Together with the conformal property, it means that all directions are preserved: North, South, and everything else.

The primary use case for Google Maps is not to show the whole world at once, rather it is targeted at street-level mapping. Hence, Mercator is an ideal choice.