Data

Tools

Indexes

Applications

Experiments

Awesome

An open API service indexing awesome lists of open source software.

https://github.com/apify/n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places


https://github.com/apify/n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places

Last synced: 5 months ago
JSON representation

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

          
# n8n Nodes - Google Maps Scraper



This is an n8n community node that integrates Apify's [Google Maps Scraper](https://apify.com/compass/crawler-google-places) with your n8n workflows, enabling you to extract structured data from Google Maps including business listings, reviews, and contact information.



[Apify](https://apify.com) is a platform for developers to build, deploy, and publish web automation tools, while [n8n](https://n8n.io/) is a [fair-code licensed](https://docs.n8n.io/reference/license/) tool for AI workflow automation that allows you to connect various services.



## Table of contents



- [Installation on self hosted instance](#installation-self-hosted)

- [Installation for development and contributing](#installation-development-and-contributing)

- [Operations](#operations)

- [Credentials](#credentials)

- [Compatibility](#compatibility)

- [Usage](#usage)

- [Resources](#resources)

- [Release](#releasing-a-new-version)

- [Version History](#version-history)

- [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)



## Installation (self-hosted)



To install the Google Maps Scraper community node directly from the n8n Editor UI:



1. Open your n8n instance.

2. Go to **Settings > Community Nodes**

3. Select **Install**.

4. Enter the npm package name: `n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places` to install the latest version. To install a specific version (e.g 1.0.0) enter `n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places@1.0.0`.

5. Agree to the [risks](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/community-nodes/risks/) of using community nodes and select **Install**

6. The node is now available to use in your workflows.



> **Note:** This community node only works on self-hosted n8n instances. It is not available for n8n Cloud.



## Installation (development and contributing)



### ⚙️ Prerequisites



- **Node.js**: 22.x or higher (required)

- **npm**: 10.8.2 or higher (required)



Verify your versions:



```bash

node --version  # Should be v22.x.x or higher

npm --version   # Should be 10.8.2 or higher

```



If you use `nvm`, the project includes a `.nvmrc` file. Simply run:



```bash

nvm use

```



### 1. Clone and install dependencies



Clone the repository and install dependencies:



```bash

git clone https://github.com/apify/n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places.git

cd n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places

npm install --legacy-peer-deps

```



The `--legacy-peer-deps` flag is required due to n8n's complex peer dependency tree.



### 2. Build the node package



```bash

npm run build

```



### 3. Start development server



Start the n8n development server with your node linked:



```bash

npm run dev

```



---



### 🔁 Making changes



If you make any changes to your custom node locally, remember to rebuild and restart:



```bash

npm run build

```



---



## Self-hosted n8n: public webhook URL for triggers



This configuration is required for our service's trigger functionality to work correctly.



By default, when running locally n8n generates webhook URLs using `localhost`, which external services cannot reach. To fix this:



1. **Set your webhook URL**

In the same shell or Docker environment where n8n runs, export the `WEBHOOK_URL` to a publicly-accessible address. For example:

  ```bash

  export WEBHOOK_URL="https://your-tunnel.local"

  ```

2. **Restart n8n**

  ```bash

npm run dev

  ```



## Operations



This node provides three operations:



### Scrape places with advanced options



Extract comprehensive business data from Google Maps with full configuration options.



**What you can extract:**

- **Business information**: name, address, phone number, website, category

- **Location data**: coordinates, plus code, neighborhood, city, state, country

- **Ratings and reviews**: overall rating, number of reviews, review distribution

- **Business details**: opening hours, popular times, services offered

- **Photos**: business photos and images

- **Additional attributes**: price level, wheelchair accessibility, payment options

- **Business lead enrichment**: emails, social media profiles, contact details



**Configuration options:**

- Search by keyword, place name, or coordinates

- Define search area with location and radius

- Filter by category, rating, or price level

- Set maximum number of results

- Configure language and region preferences

- Enable/disable images and photos extraction

- Enable/disable reviews extraction



### Scrape place reviews



Extract customer reviews and ratings for specific places on Google Maps.



**What you can extract:**

- **Review content**: text, rating, date posted

- **Reviewer information**: name, profile details, review count

- **Review metrics**: likes count, response from owner

- **Review photos**: images attached to reviews



**Configuration options:**

- Filter reviews by rating (1-5 stars)

- Sort by newest, highest rating, or most relevant

- Set maximum number of reviews to extract



### Generate company and business leads



Extract contact information and business leads from Google Maps listings.



**What you can extract:**

- **Contact details**: email addresses, phone numbers

- **Business information**: company name, website, category

- **Social media**: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn profiles

- **Location data**: full address, coordinates

- **Additional info**: business hours, ratings

- **Employee data** (with business leads enrichment add-on): information about employees working at the business including:

  - Personal details: first name, last name, LinkedIn profile

  - Contact information: business email

  - Professional info: job title, department, headline, seniority level

  - Location: city, state, country

  - Company details: company name, website, size, LinkedIn profile, industry



**Configuration options:**

- Search by keyword and location

- Filter by business category

- Search by place ID or place URL



**AI integration:**

The Google Maps Scraper integrates seamlessly with n8n's AI tools, enabling workflows such as:

- Extract business data and use AI to categorize or analyze market trends

- Scrape reviews and generate sentiment analysis reports

- Build lead lists and use AI to qualify prospects

- Monitor competitor locations and generate strategic insights



## Credentials



This node requires Apify API authentication:



**API key authentication**

- Configure your Apify API key in the n8n credentials section under `apifyApi`

- You can find your API key in your [Apify account settings](https://console.apify.com/account/integrations)



![auth](./docs/auth.png)



## Compatibility



- **n8n**: Version 1.57.0 and higher

- **Node.js**: 22.x or higher

- **npm**: 10.8.2 or higher



## Usage



### Basic setup



1. **Install the node**: Follow the [installation instructions](#installation-self-hosted) above.

2. **Configure credentials**: Add your Apify API key in n8n's credentials section.

3. **Create a workflow**: Add the Google Maps Scraper node to your n8n workflow.

4. **Select an operation**: Choose between scraping places, reviews, or generating leads.

5. **Configure your search**:

   - Enter your search query and location

   - Select data extraction options

   - Configure filters and limits

6. **Execute the workflow**: Run the workflow to scrape Google Maps data.



### Example use cases



**Local business intelligence**

- Extract competitor locations and business information

- Monitor local market presence and density

- Analyze business distribution across different areas

- Track new business openings in specific locations



**Lead generation and sales**

- Build targeted business lead lists by category and location

- Extract contact information for outreach campaigns

- Generate prospect lists with business emails

- Identify potential customers in specific geographic areas



**Reputation management**

- Monitor customer reviews across multiple locations

- Track rating trends and sentiment over time

- Analyze competitor reviews and feedback

- Identify common customer complaints or praise



**Market research**

- Analyze popular times and business hours patterns

- Compare pricing levels across competitors

- Study service offerings and amenities

- Identify market gaps and opportunities



**Real estate and location analysis**

- Assess business activity in specific neighborhoods

- Evaluate commercial viability of locations

- Map business categories and their distribution

- Analyze foot traffic patterns through popular times data



**Customer service and engagement**

- Extract customer feedback for analysis

- Identify businesses needing responses to reviews

- Monitor brand mentions in reviews

- Track customer sentiment across locations



![workflow](./docs/workflow.png)



## Resources



- [Google Maps Scraper on Apify](https://apify.com/compass/crawler-google-places)

- [n8n Community Nodes Documentation](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/community-nodes/)

- [Apify API Documentation](https://docs.apify.com)



# Releasing a new version



This project uses a GitHub Actions workflow to automate the release process, including publishing to npm. Here's how to trigger a new release.



**Prerequisites (for all methods):**



* Ensure your target branch on GitHub is up-to-date with all changes you want to include in the release.

* Decide on the new version number, following semantic versioning (e.g., `vX.Y.Z`).

* Prepare your release notes detailing the changes.

* If you're using CLI to release, make sure you have the [GitHub CLI (`gh`)](https://cli.github.com/) installed and authenticated (`gh auth login`).



---



## Method: Using the GitHub web UI (recommended for ease of use)



1.  **Navigate to GitHub releases:**

	* Go to your repository's "Releases" tab



2.  **Draft a new release:**

	* Click the **"Draft a new release"** button.



3.  **Create or choose a tag:**

	* In the "Choose a tag" dropdown:

		* **Type your new tag name** (e.g., `v1.2.3`).

		* If the tag doesn't exist, GitHub will prompt you with an option like **"Create new tag: v1.2.3 on publish."** Click this.

		* Ensure the **target branch** selected for creating the new tag is correct. This tag will point to the latest commit on this target branch.



4.  **Set release title and notes:**

	* Set the "Release title" (e.g., `vX.Y.Z` or a more descriptive title).

	* For the release notes in the description field, you have a few options:

		* **Write your prepared release notes.**

		* **Click the "Generate release notes" button:** GitHub will attempt to automatically create release notes based on merged pull requests since the last release. You can then review and edit these auto-generated notes.



5.  **Publish the release:**

	* Click the **"Publish release"** button.



		*Upon publishing, GitHub creates the tag from your specified branch and then creates the release. This "published" release event triggers the automated workflow.*



---



## Post-release: automated workflow & verification



After creating and publishing the GitHub release:



1.  **Automated workflow execution:**

	* The "Release & Publish" GitHub Actions workflow will automatically trigger.

	* It will perform:

		1.  Code checkout.

		2.  Version extraction (`X.Y.Z`) from the release tag.

		3.  Build and test processes.

		4.  Update `package.json` and `package-lock.json` to version `X.Y.Z`.

		5.  Commit these version changes back to the branch the release was targeted from with a message like `chore(release): set version to X.Y.Z [skip ci]`.

		6.  Publish the package `n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places@X.Y.Z` to npm.



2.  **Verify the package on npm:**

		After the workflow successfully completes (check the "Actions" tab in your GitHub repository):

	* Verify the new version on npm:

			```bash

			npm view n8n-nodes-crawler-google-places version

			```

		This should print `X.Y.Z`.



## Version history



Track changes and updates to the node here.



## Troubleshooting



### Common issues



1. **Authentication errors**

	- Verify your API key is correct



2. **Resource Not Found**

	- Verify the resource ID format

	- Check if the resource exists in your Apify account

	- Ensure you have access to the resource



3. **Operation failures**

	- Check the input parameters

	- Verify resource limits (memory, timeout)

	- Review Apify Console for detailed error messages



### Getting help



If you encounter issues:

1. Check the [Google Maps Scraper documentation](https://apify.com/compass/crawler-google-places)

2. Review the [Apify API documentation](https://docs.apify.com)

3. Review the [n8n Community Nodes documentation](https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/community-nodes/)

4. Open an issue in the GitHub repository