‍How to Automatically Use Web Scraping for Google Maps Data Extraction

This reading explores how to use Latenode to automate data scraping, also known as web scraping. It will show how with a simple scenario you can collect and organize data about local businesses found on Google Maps.

Hi everyone, Radzivon here! I'm a low-code enthusiast with a passion for writing about this topic. So let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways: Web scraping Google Maps data using low-code platforms like Latenode offers businesses valuable insights for market research, lead generation, and competitive analysis. The article provides a step-by-step guide on setting up an automated scraping scenario using Latenode, Google Sheets, and SerpAPI to extract local business information efficiently. While highlighting the benefits of this approach, including optimized advertising strategies and location selection, the article also emphasizes the importance of ethical scraping practices and offers information on Latenode's tiered pricing for different scale operations.

What is Data Scraping?

Data scraping is the process of gathering valuable information from third-party websites. This typically involves extracting contact details of visitors, pricing information, and other content using programming languages and automated low-code platforms. By scraping info, you can build databases from various sources and analyze the collected details to monitor current trends, understand user behavior patterns, and make informed decisions.

This approach can help various businesses, including e-commerce websites, healthcare companies, software startups, etc. Web scraping doesn’t only help in collecting important data. It also allows for seamless monitoring of brand mentions, tracking ad campaign performance, connecting with people interested in your brand, and many other things. The scraping possibilities are almost limitless.

However, some websites's terms of service prohibit scraping. Additionally, gathering users's contact information without their knowledge or consent and then contacting them may violate their privacy. Ethical scraping involves following website guidelines, using publicly available data, and complying with legal regulations, ensuring that the process respects the data sources and the people behind the data.

Various services offer scraping tools through user-friendly interfaces, making them accessible to non-programmers. They also support code enthusiasts by allowing them to code in Python or Javascript or use free APIs from third parties for customized and automated data extraction. Latenode is one such service. 

It allows you to create scenarios using nodes, integrations, and AI-made or custom JavaScript code to perform any task. With this service, you can automate almost every aspect of your business. You can set up communication with site visitors without human intervention by integrating it with ChatGPT, connect to CRM systems like Hubspot, or even scrape data in bulk from websites or Google Maps. But wait, why do this in GMaps?

Why Scrape Data from Google Maps: Key Benefits and Techniques

When companies data scrape Google Maps, they gain access to a treasure trove of information in a specific location. This includes addresses, website URLs, business hours, customer reviews, and ratings needed to understand the local market. Using this data, you can gain a competitive advantage or find whatever places you need in any city. This knowledge makes you informed in your company decisions.

This approach enables you to perform in-depth market research in local areas and analyze your competitors' challenges. It helps you target your ad campaigns more effectively, choose optimal locations for new stores, track the tendencies in user preferences through reviews, etc. Additionally, you can scrape data to create cold outreach spreadsheets with contact details of local businesses.

By analyzing competitor profiles and customer reviews, you can tailor your SEM strategy to identify the keywords, phrases, and PPC ads that appeal to local customers. This approach can enhance your brand's visibility, drive traffic to your website, and ultimately boost sales. By leveraging GMaps, you can capture the attention of local customers and gain a competitive edge. 

Here is a concise, dotted list with all the key benefits when you scrape data from GMaps:

Lead Generation

• Extract contact information of potential clients or partners.
• Build targeted marketing lists for outreach campaigns.

Market Analysis

• Scrape data on locations, reviews, and ratings.
• Gain insights into market trends and customer preferences.
• Make informed decisions about new branch locations and service improvements.

Competitive Analysis

• Use data scraping to gather competitor locations and customer feedback.
• Develop strategies to enhance competitive advantage.

Advertising and SEM Strategy:

• Tailor SEM strategies by identifying effective keywords, phrases, and PPC ads.
• Enhance brand visibility and drive traffic to your website.
• Boost sales by appealing to local customers.

Optimal Location Selection

• Choose the best locations for new stores or offices based on market data.
• Use web scraping to understand local demographics and preferences for better business decisions.

Trend Tracking

• Monitor trends in user preferences and behavior through reviews.
• Adjust products or services to meet changing customer needs.

By using web scraping in Google Maps, businesses can enhance their understanding of the local market, optimize their strategies, and ultimately boost their sales.

While the benefits of Google Maps are clear when you scrape data from it, manually doing so can be time-consuming. Automating this with scripts written in Python, JavaScript, or made through low-code services like Latenode can simplify data collection and enable it to be done automatically and in bulk. Below, you’ll see how Latenode works and a simple scenario to scrape local business data from Google Maps.

Automate Your Business with Latenode: The Ultimate Low-Code Platform for Web Scraping and Automation

Using low-code platforms like Latenode for business automation or web scraping is a game-changer. You can set up workflows to handle repetitive tasks like updating databases, sending notifications, and communicating with clients, which saves loads of time and cuts down on errors. Imagine not having to enter data manually anymore; everything stays up-to-date automatically.

You can create custom low-code scripts that sync with your CRM, social media, and e-commerce platforms. This means seamless data flow and better coordination across your teams. For example, your sales team can get instant updates on customer interactions and stock levels, simplifying decision-making. Latenode’s strength is its ability to connect with APIs and web services. 

Setting up scenarios is straightforward and requires low code skills. Latenode offers an intuitive interface, making it easy to customize workflows to fit your needs. But if you want to build custom integrations with other services, try JavaScript AI assistant or write code yourself. By automating routine tasks with Latenode, you free up time to focus on more important stuff, boosting productivity and getting better results.

Latenode can also be used for data scraping. The following segment shows an example of how Latenode scenarios can simplify such complex tasks. You will see how by setting up a simple script, you can automatically collect and organize information from GMaps. The data will appear in a convenient Google spreadsheet, making access as easy as possible. 

How to Build an Automated Google Maps Data Scraper Using Latenode

So, you want to create a Google Maps scraper on Latenode. You will need to duplicate this sample scenario template into your Latenode account so you can adjust it to your needs. You should also sign up for SerpAPI to get a free API key. It will become clear to you later why you need to use it. Here is a guide on how this template is made and how it works:

1. Copy the Google spreadsheet. Inside, you will find a step-by-step tutorial. There will be a link to the spreadsheet with the necessary data structures you need to copy. It consists of two segments, Add Your Search URL Here and Results. To copy it, Just tap File, then Make a Copy. This spreadsheet includes GMaps request URLs that display business addresses in various cities.

1. Go back to Latenode and give all Google Sheet integration nodes access to your Google account.  It will automate processes with real-time data and allow you to synchronize data between GSheets without manually updating information. Press the node, click the purple button, select New Authorization, pick Google Sheets as a service, then tap on your account.

3. Open the first Google Sheets node. Tap My Drive in the first row and select a copy of the table from the link. Then on the next line, you need to choose the Add Search URL Here option. Afterwards, two lines will appear. In the first, Column Letter, write B, and in the second, Value, paste ‘to_enrich’. This node is called Find Row. It is responsible for finding specific rows in your spreadsheet. The final setup for this is as follows:

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4. Continue with the similar process for the remaining Spreadsheet nodes. Node 5 is your second integration with the spreadsheet, extracting data from each cell. The only thing is that for the other Google integration, node 7, you should choose Results in the third column instead of Add my search URL here. 

This node will add information about the businesses you search for with your Google Maps scraper, including their contact details, links to their physical addresses, and other relevant info. The final node, the 8th, updates the query status in the first section of the spreadsheet. If everything works correctly, you'll see a checkmark icon, which may take a while to appear. Here is how the node 8 settings should look (Ignore the blue captions):

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5. Add as many Google Maps search URLs to the spreadsheet as needed. The links are just samples showing how it’s supposed to operate. When you add your search queries, type ‘to_enrich' in the Status column so your Google Maps scraper script knows which rows to interact with. The row 14 shows how it should look:

6. Provide the API key from the service where you will send the data. 

You can get the free key from SerpAPI, a service mentioned earlier. Upon creating an account there, you can check the key and copy it. Afterward, open node 6 and enter your own API key in the last field of the Query Params section. This webhook node sends HTTP requests to get the information from GMaps search and then lets the script transfer it to your Google Maps scraper spreadsheet.

7. Head over to Google Maps and perform some searches. The first image highlights clothing stores in Belgrade, Serbia. The URL for this search is already included in the table. The second image demonstrates how all publicly available information about these places is displayed in the results. Feel free to add as many addresses as you like; your Google Maps scraper will handle each location one-by-one.

8. Click the button to start the scenario and see the magic happening. The button for this is in the lower-left corner of the screen

So, how does it work, specifically? After the launch, your script locates a row with a URL in your spreadsheet, leading to a search results page. The process then goes through the Iterator node, moving on to the next Sheets integration to get data from the row. Next, the Javascript code and SerpAPI nodes work together to transfer the data from Google Maps to the Results table. Finally, the last node updates the link status by adding a checkmark.

Latenode Low Code Script for Google Maps Data Scraping

With this automated Google Maps scraper, you can easily gather a lot of information about local businesses in any city you're interested in. The data will be presented in several table columns, giving you quick access to essential details like contact information, addresses, review pages, ratings, and more with just a few clicks.

However, with the free Latenode subscription tier, you can run your script up to 300 times, each costing 1 credit. For larger businesses that need more credits, there are three other subscription levels available, offering 10K, 25K, and 150K credits, along with many additional benefits. Check out the subscription levels on the pricing page.

Latenode offers a powerful and flexible platform for automating complex workflows, such as data scraping from Google Maps. Using triggers and actions, you can streamline processes, keep your data up-to-date, and save valuable time. Whether you're aiming to boost your market research or improve your business strategy, Latenode makes it easy. 

If you have questions or want to share your data scraping methods and scenarios, join the Latenode Discord community!

FAQ

What is Web Scraping?

Web scraping is the process of automatically collecting data from websites. It involves extracting information such as contact details, pricing, and other content using programming languages or automated low-code platforms.

Why should I Scrape data from Google Maps?

Scraping Google Maps data can provide valuable information for market research, competitor analysis, lead generation, and optimizing business strategies. It allows you to gather details about local businesses, including addresses, ratings, and reviews.

Is Web Scraping Legal and Ethical?

Web scraping can be legal and ethical if done responsibly. It's important to follow website terms of service, use only publicly available data, and comply with legal regulations. Always respect data sources and individual privacy.

Do I need coding skills to use Latenode for web scraping?

While Latenode is designed as a low-code platform, making it accessible to non-programmers, it also supports custom JavaScript code for more advanced users. Basic understanding of data structures and APIs can be helpful.

What do I need to start scraping Google Maps data with Latenode?

You'll need a Latenode account, a Google account for using Google Sheets, and a SerpAPI key (which offers a free tier). The article provides a step-by-step guide on setting up the scraping scenario.

Can I customize the data I'm scraping from Google Maps?

Yes, the Latenode scenario can be customized to extract specific types of data from Google Maps based on your needs. You can modify the Google Sheet and Latenode nodes to capture the information most relevant to your business.