Generate Leads with Google Maps

This n8n workflow automates the process of extracting business information from Google Maps search results and saving it to a Google Sheet. It's designed to help you quickly generate leads or build a directory of businesses based on specific search queries.

What it does

This workflow simplifies lead generation by:

1. Triggering the workflow: It can be triggered manually, on a schedule, or by another workflow.
2. Fetching Google Maps Data: It makes an HTTP request to a Google Maps API (or a similar service) to retrieve business information based on a predefined search query.
3. Processing Raw Data: It uses a Code node to parse the raw JSON response from the API, extracting relevant fields such as business name, address, phone number, website, and other details.
4. Filtering and Deduplicating: It filters out items that might not contain essential information and removes any duplicate entries to ensure data quality.
5. Structuring Data: It uses a Set node to standardize the extracted data into a consistent format, making it ready for storage.
6. Batching for Efficiency: It splits the processed data into smaller batches to handle large result sets efficiently and prevent rate-limiting issues with downstream services.
7. Saving to Google Sheets: It appends the structured business information to a specified Google Sheet, creating a new row for each lead.
8. Error Handling: Includes a "Stop and Error" node to gracefully handle any issues during the data processing, preventing the workflow from continuing with malformed data.

Prerequisites/Requirements

• n8n Instance: A running n8n instance (cloud or self-hosted).
• Google Account: A Google account with access to Google Sheets.
• Google Sheets Credentials: Configured Google Sheets OAuth2 or API Key credentials in n8n.
• Google Maps API Key (or similar): Access to a Google Maps API (or a third-party service that scrapes Google Maps data) that can provide business search results via an HTTP endpoint. You will need the API endpoint and any necessary authentication.

Setup/Usage

1. Import the Workflow:

   • Download the provided JSON file.
   • In your n8n instance, click on "Workflows" in the left sidebar.
   • Click "New" and then "Import from JSON".
   • Paste the workflow JSON or upload the file.

2. Configure Credentials:

   • Locate the "Google Sheets" node.
   • Click on the "Credentials" field and select your existing Google Sheets credentials or create new ones (OAuth2 is recommended for Google services).
   • Ensure the credentials have the necessary permissions to write to your target Google Sheet.

3. Configure Google Maps HTTP Request:

   • Locate the "HTTP Request" node.
   • Update the URL field with the endpoint for your Google Maps API or scraping service.
   • Adjust the Method (e.g., GET, POST) and Headers or Query Parameters as required by your API (e.g., API key, search query, location).
   • Important: Modify the search query within the HTTP Request node to target the specific businesses or locations you want to find (e.g., "restaurants in New York", "plumbers in London").

4. Configure Code Node:

   • The "Code" node is responsible for parsing the API response. You may need to adjust the JavaScript code within this node to correctly extract data fields based on the exact structure of the response from your chosen Google Maps API or scraping service.
   • Ensure the output of this node matches the expected input for subsequent nodes (e.g., name, address, phone, website).

5. Configure Google Sheet:

   • In the "Google Sheets" node, specify the Spreadsheet ID and Sheet Name where you want to save the leads.
   • Ensure the column headers in your Google Sheet match the keys being output by the "Edit Fields (Set)" node (e.g., Business Name, Address, Phone Number, Website).

6. Activate and Execute:

   • Once configured, activate the workflow.
   • You can execute it manually by clicking "Execute Workflow" or set up the "Schedule Trigger" node to run it at desired intervals (e.g., daily, weekly).

This workflow provides a robust foundation for automating lead generation from Google Maps. Remember to test thoroughly after making any configuration changes.