How to Scrape Google Maps with Octoparse: Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

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You can extract business names, phone numbers, addresses, ratings, and more from Google Maps using Octoparse's visual scraper. Try Octoparse or Apify's Google Maps Scraper for a developer-ready alternative. This guide covers setup, field selection, pagination, and anti-block tactics.

Use Case

Common use cases for Google Maps scraping:

• Lead generation — Build lists of local businesses (plumbers, dentists, restaurants) for outreach.
• Competitive intelligence — Track competitor locations, reviews, and categories.
• Market research — Analyze density and ratings in a geographic area.
• Local SEO — Audit your own or clients' Google Business profiles against competitors.

Legal Note

Google's Terms of Service prohibit automated access to Google services. Scraping public, non-authenticated data has been upheld as legal in US courts (e.g., hiQ v. LinkedIn) for publicly accessible data, but it still violates Google's ToS. Use responsibly: only collect publicly visible data, minimize request volume, and respect robots.txt. Consult legal counsel for compliance in your jurisdiction.

Step-by-Step: Scraping Google Maps with Octoparse

Step 1: Enter Google Maps URL with Search Query

1. Go to Google Maps in a browser.
2. Run a search (e.g., "plumbers in Austin TX").
3. Copy the full URL from the address bar.
4. In Octoparse, create a New Task and paste the URL.
5. Click Start — Octoparse loads the Maps search results.

Step 2: Select Listing Elements

1. Click on the first business card in the results panel (left side).
2. Octoparse highlights similar elements. Use Auto-detect to identify the repeating list.
3. Add fields by clicking:
   • Name — Business name
   • Address — Street, city, state
   • Phone — Phone number (if visible)
   • Rating — Star rating
   • Review count — Number of reviews
   • Website — URL (if shown)
   • Category — Business type
4. Name each field clearly for export.

Tip: Some fields (e.g., phone) appear only on the detail panel. You may need a second step: click into a listing, extract additional fields, then loop back.

Step 3: Handle "More Results" Loading

Google Maps loads more listings as you scroll or click "More results."

Scroll-based:

1. Enable Scroll down to load more data in the workflow.
2. Target the scrollable results panel.
3. Set scroll count or delay between scrolls.

Click-based:

1. If there's a "More results" or similar button, add a click action.
2. Loop: click → wait → extract new items → repeat.

Test with a small run (20–50 listings) before scaling.

Step 4: Key Fields to Extract

Field	Description	Notes
Name	Business name	Usually always visible
Address	Full address	Street, city, state, ZIP
Phone	Phone number	May require opening detail view
Rating	Star rating (1–5)	Numeric
Review count	Number of reviews	Integer
Website	Business URL	If displayed
Category	Business type	e.g., "Plumber"

Step 5: IP Rotation

Google Maps blocks datacenter IPs aggressively. Use:

• Octoparse cloud — Paid plans include rotating IPs.
• Residential proxies — Better success rate; may require add-on.

Run locally (free) only for small tests. For production, use cloud + IP rotation.

Step 6: Run and Export

1. Click Run → Cloud (recommended for Google Maps).
2. Wait for completion.
3. Export to CSV, Excel, or your database.

Octoparse vs Apify for Google Maps

Factor	Octoparse	Apify
Setup	Visual point-and-click	Pre-built Actor, configure input
Reliability	Good with residential proxies	Maintained, battle-tested
Ease	No code, template available	No code for Store Actors
Cost	$75/mo Standard minimum	Pay per run, $5 free credits
Best for	Business users, one-off pulls	Developers, scheduled pipelines

Pricing verified June 2026. Plans change frequently — check the vendor’s official pricing page for current rates.

Octoparse fits non-technical users who want a quick lead list. Apify fits teams needing scheduled runs, API access, and maintained scrapers. Search Apify Store for Google Maps for ready-made Actors.

Comparison Summary

• Octoparse: Template + visual builder. Good for ad-hoc extractions. Needs cloud + proxies for Google Maps.
• Apify: Pre-built Google Maps Actors. Better for recurring jobs, API integration, and scale.

See Octoparse vs Apify 2026 for the full comparison. For SEO and structured data workflows, Apify for SEO covers additional use cases.

Handling Detail View Extraction

Some fields (phone, website, full address) appear only when you click into a listing. To capture those:

1. Add a Loop step after extracting the list.
2. Configure a Click action to open each listing's detail panel or page.
3. Extract the additional fields from the detail view.
4. Go back or close the detail, then move to the next listing.

This adds complexity and run time. For quick lead lists, name + address + rating may suffice. For full contact info, the two-step loop is necessary.

Data Quality and Validation

Google Maps data can be noisy: duplicate listings, merged businesses, outdated phone numbers. After export:

• Deduplicate by place_id or name+address.
• Validate phone format if you're using it for outreach.
• Check website URLs for redirects or 404s.
• Use review count and rating to filter low-quality or inactive businesses.

Rate Limits and Delays

Google throttles aggressive requests. In Octoparse, set a 2–5 second delay between page actions. For cloud runs, use the built-in delays. Avoid running multiple Maps scrapers simultaneously from the same account—spread runs across the day or use different proxy pools.

Next step

Try Octoparse with a small Google Maps search. For scheduled, API-driven extraction, use Apify's Google Maps Actors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Octoparse has a Google Maps template and visual workflow. Use cloud extraction with residential proxies—Google blocks datacenter IPs.

Scraping public data is often legally acceptable, but it violates Google's Terms of Service. Use only publicly visible data and minimize volume. Consult legal counsel for your jurisdiction.

Google blocks datacenter IPs. Use Octoparse cloud with residential proxy rotation. Reduce request frequency and add delays.

Apify's Google Maps Scraper Actors in the Store. They're maintained, support API triggers, and handle proxy rotation. Search 'Google Maps' in the Apify Store.