Google Maps Area Scanner

Comprehensive geographic area scanner that bypasses Google Maps' 120-place result limit. Perfect for complete market mapping, competitor analysis, and saturation studies.

What It Does

Google Maps typically limits search results to 120 places. This actor overcomes that limitation by:

1. Dividing your target area into a grid of smaller zones
2. Searching each zone independently
3. Combining and deduplicating all results
4. Returning comprehensive coverage of the entire area

Input Options

You must provide one geographic area definition:

Bounding Box (Recommended)

Define a rectangular area using coordinates:

• north - Northern latitude boundary
• south - Southern latitude boundary
• east - Eastern longitude boundary
• west - Western longitude boundary

Circle

Define a circular area:

• circleCenter - Center point with lat and lng
• radiusKm - Radius in kilometers

GeoJSON Polygon

For irregular shapes, provide a GeoJSON Polygon with coordinates.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Required	Default	Description
Search Query	Yes	pharmacy	What to search for (pharmacy, restaurant, hotel, etc.)
Bounding Box	One of three	-	Rectangular area coordinates
Circle Center	One of three	-	Center point for circular search
Radius (km)	No	5	Circle radius in kilometers
Custom Geolocation	One of three	-	GeoJSON Polygon
Zoom Level	No	15	Grid detail level (12-18). Higher = more thorough
Max Places Per Cell	No	120	Maximum results per grid cell
Deduplicate Results	No	true	Remove duplicate places
Proxy Configuration	No	Apify Proxy	Recommended for reliable scraping

Zoom Level Guide

Zoom	Cell Size	Best For
12	~5 km	Large rural areas, quick overview
13	~2.5 km	Suburban regions
14	~1.25 km	Mixed urban/suburban
15	~625 m	Recommended - balanced coverage
16	~312 m	Dense urban areas
17	~156 m	Very dense areas
18	~78 m	Maximum detail

Output Fields

Each business result includes:

Field	Description
name	Business name
rating	Star rating (1-5)
review_count	Number of reviews
category	Business type
address	Full street address
phone	Phone number with country code
website	Business website URL
description	Business description (when available)
price_level	Price indicator ($, $$, $$$) when available
place_id	Google Maps unique identifier
plus_code	Google Plus Code location
latitude	Geographic latitude
longitude	Geographic longitude
images	Array of image URLs
url	Direct Google Maps link
scraped_at	Timestamp of extraction
searchGridCell	Grid cell metadata (row, col, bounds, center)

Example Use Cases

• Market Research: Find all pharmacies in a city district
• Competitor Analysis: Map all restaurants in a neighborhood
• Site Selection: Analyze business density for new locations
• Lead Generation: Extract contact details for businesses in an area

Tips for Best Results

1. Start with a small test area to verify the search query returns expected results
2. Use zoom level 15 for most use cases - good balance of coverage and speed
3. Enable proxy for reliable scraping without rate limits
4. Keep deduplication on to avoid counting businesses twice

Limitations

• Results depend on Google Maps data availability
• Some business details (description, price level) may not be available for all listings
• Large areas with high zoom levels will take longer to process