How to find a Google Place ID

A Google Place ID is a stable, text identifier for one business or point of interest, like ChIJN1t_tDeuEmsRUsoyG83frY4. You will find one in a Google Maps place URL, in the response of the Places API, or in the place_id column of any export built on it - including Gmap Data's CSV.

For lead lists, the place id is the key that makes deduplication and refreshes reliable. Name and address text are not.

• •It is a unique identifier for a place in Google's database; every business and point of interest has one.
• •It is not a human-readable address, and it is not the same as the CID, the numeric identifier used in some Google Maps links.
• •It is not the Maps URL: the URL can change with parameters, while the id stays the same.
• •Google documents place IDs as stable, but it also reserves the right to refresh identifiers over time - treat the id as the best available key, not an eternal one.

1. 1

   From a Maps place URL

   Open the business on Google Maps, check the URL or the share link for a place_id or a long ChIJ-style token; place links often expose it directly or after expansion.

2. 2

   From an export

   Any list built on the Places API carries place_id as a column. Gmap Data's CSV includes it, which is the easiest route for a whole list at once.

3. 3

   From the Places API

   A Text Search or Place Details response returns the id in its payload; this is the route for developers and scripts.

4. 4

   For a CID

   Some Maps links use a CID (a numeric id). Keep it as a secondary key; where both exist, place_id is the primary one in Gmap Data exports.

• •Deduplication: two overlapping searches that find the same shop return the same place id, so the duplicate collapses instead of inflating your list.
• •Branches stay separate: two shops of one brand at different addresses have different place ids, which is usually the correct behaviour for sales and recruitment.
• •CRM imports: mapping place_id as an external key lets a refresh update an existing record instead of creating a second one.
• •Provenance: the id ties a row back to the Google place it came from, independent of the text fields around it.

• •Store them as text: they contain letters and are case-sensitive.
• •Never deduplicate on name plus address; spacing, abbreviations and language differences defeat text matching.
• •Keep the id in every export and project view so later merges have a common key.
• •If an id ever fails to resolve, treat the row as stale and re-check the business rather than guessing a replacement.

Place IDs are not available for arbitrary text or coordinates - they identify places, not locations. A point on a map has coordinates but no place id.

Because Google can refresh identifiers, an id is not a permanent foreign key for a decade-long archive; re-verify periodically for long-lived datasets.

Gmap Data never deletes a business row or its place id, but Google-derived coordinates are cleared from saved records after 30 days as part of its data-handling policy.