Over 1 billion people use Google Maps every month, making it the world’s most popular digital mapping service. The scale, reach, and richness of data on Google Maps make it a goldmine for businesses looking to analyze competitors, optimize logistics, or build detailed local business directories.
But here’s the thing: getting that data manually is slow, inconsistent, and incredibly tedious. That’s why many companies turn to a Google Maps scraper API—a tool that lets you automate the process and pull large volumes of structured data in minutes.
If you’re wondering how to scrape Google Maps with an API, or whether it’s even legal, this post breaks it all down. We’ll also show you how Traject Data’s SerpScale API makes it easy and scalable.
What Is a Scraper API?
A scraper API is a tool that sends automated requests to a platform—like Google Maps—and returns data in a structured format like JSON or CSV. Instead of clicking through results and copying details manually, you can use an API to extract business names, addresses, ratings, reviews, and more—all programmatically.
Why Scrape Google Maps?
Google Maps isn’t just for finding the closest coffee shop. For businesses, it’s a powerful source of real-time local data. Here’s why scraping it makes sense:
1. Market Research and Competitor Analysis
By analyzing business density, categories, ratings, and reviews in specific locations, companies can identify saturated markets, spot gaps, and benchmark competitors.
- A coffee chain might target areas with few competitors.
- A digital agency might look for businesses with poor reviews to pitch their services.
2. Supply Chain and Logistics Optimization
Scraping location data helps companies optimize delivery routes, identify ideal spots for new warehouses or storefronts, and streamline operations.
3. Large-Scale, Accurate Data Collection
Manually copying business data from Google Maps is time-consuming and error-prone. Scraping automates the process—giving you high-volume, up-to-date info in minutes.
What Data Can You Scrape from Google Maps?
With the right API, you can collect a wide range of data points from business listings on Google Maps, including:
- Business name
- Address
- Latitude & longitude
- Phone number
- Website URL
- Business hours
- Ratings & number of reviews
- Photos
- Categories
- Popular times (in some cases)
This structured data can power everything from lead generation tools to territory planning dashboards.
Is It Legal to Scrape Google Maps?
This is a common question. Google’s terms of service generally prohibit scraping their content directly. However, scraper APIs like SerpScale operate in a legally compliant way, respecting rate limits, avoiding bot detection, and sourcing publicly available data.
As always, it’s best to consult with legal counsel if you plan to use scraped data for commercial purposes—but with a reputable API provider, you’re operating in safer territory.
What’s the Best Google Maps Scraper API?
There are several scraping tools on the market, but many fall short when it comes to scale, reliability, and support. That’s where Traject Data’s SerpScale API stands out.
- High success rates
- Advanced rendering and parsing
- Industry Leading Support
- Low maintenance
- Support for thousands of queries per minute
- Seamless integration with BI tools
Whether you’re monitoring local competitors, building lead lists, or analyzing store footprints, SerpScale makes it fast and easy.
How to Scrape Google Maps in 4 Simple Steps
Getting started with Google Maps scraping doesn’t require a developer team or weeks of setup. Here’s how to do it in four easy steps using SerpScale:
1. Sign Up for an API Key
Head over to SerpScale and signup for an API key to get access.
2. Explore the API Documentation
Read through the documentation to understand how to format your requests, what parameters to use (like location or keywords), and how to handle responses.
3. Make Your First API Request
Example: Scraping Google Maps Using Latitude, Longitude, and Zoom
If the location parameter is set to a latitude, longitude, and zoom value—like in the example below—results will be returned from a Google Maps page:
When search_type=places and you provide location as a combination of lat/lon/zoom, the API scrapes results directly from Google Maps.
Google Maps Request Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
q |
Required | The keyword used to perform the Google Maps search. |
location |
Optional |
Sets the geographic focus of the query. Format: location=lat:43.437677,lon:-3.8392765,zoom:15Zoom values range from 3 (zoomed out) to 21 (zoomed in). |
google_domain |
Optional | Specifies the Google domain (e.g., google.com, google.co.uk). Defaults to google.com. |
hl |
Optional | Sets the UI language of the search results. Defaults to en. |
page |
Optional | Returns the specified page of results (defaults to 1). Each page contains 20 results. |
max_page |
Optional | Automatically paginates and concatenates results across multiple pages in a single response. |
num parameter is ignored in Google Maps searches. To fetch results based on coordinates, use the lat, lon, and zoom values as shown above.
4. Send the Data to Your Favorite BI Tool
SerpScale integrates easily with platforms like Looker, Tableau, and Power BI. You can filter, sort, and analyze data to fit your specific goals.
Start Scraping Google Maps Today
If you’re looking for a scalable, compliant way to access business data from Google Maps, a scraper API like SerpScale is the best way to go.
👉 Sign up for SerpScale
👉 Watch a High Level Overview Video
👉Explore the API documentation for Google Maps
Have questions or need a custom solution? Contact us—we’d love to help you scale your local data intelligence.
Ready to See What Traject Data Can Help You Do?
We’re your premier partner in web scraping for SERP data. Get started with one of our APIs for free and see the data possibilities that you can start to collect.
