Build a local business lead list from Google Maps automatically
Search Google Maps for a type of business in an area, pull the contact details, and let AI write a short, relevant opening line for each lead.
What this looks like
One step on screen at a time. Read it, do it, tap Next.
Build a local business lead list from Google Maps automatically
Step 1 of 12
Start with a manual trigger and search terms
Create a workflow and add a Manual Trigger, followed by a Set node holding the business type and location you want to search. Running this by hand keeps you in control of how many searches y
Checkpoint
Running the workflow manually passes a search query and offer description forward.
Before you begin
Tick these off as you sort them. Stopping halfway to create an account is how a fifteen-minute build becomes an hour.
0 of 9 ready
Ticks are saved on this device, so you can come back to them.
- API key
Enable the Places API in Google Cloud Console and add billing — the free monthly credit covers a reasonable amount of searching.
Google Cloud Console - API key
Used to turn raw business details into a short, tailored outreach line for each lead.
- Have ready
Columns: BusinessName, Address, Phone, Website, Rating, OpeningLine. Add the header row before you start.
- Know-how
Decide this before building, e.g. "plumbers in Leeds" — you'll enter it as a fixed value or a small input form.
- Know-how
The AI step needs a sentence describing your offer so the opening lines it writes make sense, not generic filler.
- Time
Building the search and sheet is quick; getting the AI opening lines to sound natural takes the most iteration.
The basics — ticked once, remembered everywhere
- Account
Either the hosted version or a self-hosted install. Everything here works the same on both — the only visible difference is the shape of your webhook URLs.
Create a workspace - Know-how
Adding a node, connecting two of them, and pressing Execute. If any of that is new, the free primer covers it in about ten minutes.
- Credential
You will paste at least one secret during setup. A password manager beats a notes app, and it stops you pasting a live key into a chat window by accident.
The shape of the workflow
The nodes you will end up with, left to right, in the order you add them.
4 things to set here- 1Set — the trigger — everything starts here
- 2HTTP Request — Search Google Maps for matching businesses
- 3Split Out — Split the results into individual items
- 4HTTP Request — Get full contact details for each business
Skip the node hunting
Import a starter file with every node for this build already on the canvas, named after its step and wired in order, each one carrying a sticky note with the values to enter. You still connect your own accounts and fill the fields — that is what the walkthrough takes you through — but you never start at a blank canvas.
In n8n: Workflows → Import from file.
What you will build
Jump straight to any step, or print the list and tick it off beside your n8n tab.
- 1Start with a manual trigger and search terms
- 2Search Google Maps for matching businesses
- 3Split the results into individual items
- 4Get full contact details for each business
- 5Drop businesses with no usable contact detail
- 6Write a tailored opening line with AI
- 7Shape the row for the sheet
- 8Append the leads to your sheet
- 9Review before you send anything
- 10Run a small search first
- 11Check for duplicate businesses
- 12Spot-check a few opening lines against the real business
If something goes wrong
Everything ready?
Start walkthrough