Extract Google Maps Leads to Google Sheets Using Dumpling AI & n8n

Opening Problem Statement

Meet Sarah, a freelance digital marketer who spends hours manually collecting detailed information about potential local business leads from Google Maps. Today, she needs to gather comprehensive data on the best restaurants in New York City for a targeted campaign. Manually opening Google Maps, noting down names, addresses, phone numbers, websites, and ratings is tedious and error-prone — taking her nearly half a day each time. This manual process not only wastes Sarah’s precious hours but also often leads to missed or inaccurate data, limiting her campaign’s success.

Sarah wishes for a more efficient, error-free way to extract such business leads in bulk and have them organized in a spreadsheet — ready for her outreach or analysis. This is exactly where the “Extract Business Leads from Google Maps with Dumpling AI to Google Sheets” workflow in n8n becomes a game-changer.

What This Automation Does ⚙️

This n8n workflow automates extracting structured lead information about local businesses directly from Google Maps via the powerful Dumpling AI service and logs the data into Google Sheets for easy access and review. Here’s what happens when the workflow runs:

• The workflow triggers manually (can be adapted to schedule or webhook for automation).
• Sends a POST request to Dumpling AI to search Google Maps with a specific query (e.g., “best restaurants in New York”).
• Receives a rich array of business location data including name, address, phone, website, ratings, price levels, booking links, and more.
• Splits the list of results to process each business individually.
• Appends each business’s details as a new row in a designated Google Sheets document.
• Generates a clean, detailed spreadsheet of lead data ready for marketing campaigns, research, or client presentations.

Using this automation, Sarah can save hours of manual scraping, avoid transcription errors, and get up-to-date, comprehensive local lead information in just a few clicks.

Prerequisites ⚙️

• n8n account — for designing and running workflows.
• Dumpling AI account with API access and sufficient credits for map searches.
• Google Sheets account with OAuth2 credentials set up in n8n.
• Basic knowledge of how to add credentials in n8n.

Step-by-Step Guide to Build This Workflow

Step 1: Add a Manual Trigger to Start the Workflow

In n8n, click + Add Node → Trigger category → select Manual Trigger. This lets you run the workflow manually during testing.

You’ll see a node titled “Manual Trigger” in your workspace. No configuration needed at this point. This node initiates the workflow whenever you press “Execute Workflow.”
Common mistake: Not setting any trigger will prevent the workflow from running.

Step 2: Configure HTTP Request Node to Search Google Maps via Dumpling AI

Add a new node: + Add Node → HTTP Request node.

Configure it with these settings:

• Method: POST
• URL: https://app.dumplingai.com/api/v1/search-maps
• Authentication: HTTP Header Auth (use your Dumpling API key in the header field as credential)
• Body: Select JSON and enter:

{
  "query": "best+restaurants+in+New+York",
  "language": "en"
}

This query searches Google Maps for the best restaurants in New York.

After saving, connect the Manual Trigger node’s output to this HTTP Request node’s input.

Visual: The HTTP Request node will display a response with an array of places under the field “places[].”
Common mistake: Missing or incorrect API credential will cause authentication errors.

Step 3: Add a Split Out Node to Process Each Place Individually

Add Split Out node from the node list.

Under Parameters, set Field to Split Out to places (this refers to the array in the HTTP response).

This breaks the bulk results into individual place objects so each can be handled separately downstream.

Connect the HTTP Request node output to this Split Out node.

Common mistake: Incorrect field name for splitting will cause no data to propagate.

Step 4: Add Google Sheets Node to Save Each Business’s Data

Add a Google Sheets node.

Configure:

• Operation: Append
• Document ID: Copy your Google Sheet ID from its URL
• Sheet Name: Name of the tab where you want data saved, e.g., “Google Maps”
• Columns to Append: Define columns as mapped from JSON fields:

{
  "type": "={{ $json.type }}",
  "Name ": "={{ $json.title }}",
  "rating": "={{ $json.rating }}",
  "Address": "={{ $json.address }}",
  "Website": "={{ $json.website }}",
  "Position": "={{ $json.position }}",
  "priceLevel": "={{ $json.priceLevel }}",
  "Booking Link": "={{ $json.bookingLinks[0] }}",
  "Phone number": "={{ $json.phoneNumber }}"
}

Note: The first booking link is extracted if present.

Connect the Split Out node’s output to Google Sheets node input.

Common mistake: Incorrect field names or sheet permissions will cause data not to save.

Customizations ✏️

• Change Search Keyword: In the HTTP Request node, modify the query JSON field to a different search term, e.g., “best+coffee+shops+in+Seattle”.
• Automate Runs on a Schedule: Replace the Manual Trigger with a Schedule Trigger node to automate daily or weekly data refresh.
• Add Dynamic Query Input: Include a Set or Webhook node before the HTTP Request to dynamically input search terms on demand.
• Extend Google Sheet Columns: Map additional output fields like description, openingHours, or thumbnailUrl to add richer context about the business.
• Handle Pagination: If Dumpling AI supports pagination, add a loop mechanism to handle multiple pages of results.

Troubleshooting 🔧

Problem: Workflow doesn’t start when clicking manual trigger

Cause: Trigger node is not connected or active.

Solution: Ensure the Manual Trigger node is connected and the workflow is active before executing.

Problem: HTTP Request node returns authorization errors

Cause: Incorrect or missing API credentials for Dumpling AI.

Solution: Recheck credentials in n8n under HTTP Header Auth node settings. Confirm API key is valid and properly set.

Problem: Google Sheets node not saving data

Cause: Permissions issue, wrong document ID, or incorrect sheet name.

Solution: Verify Google Sheets sharing permissions include your n8n OAuth account. Double-check the document ID from the sheet URL and the exact tab name matches.

Pre-Production Checklist ✅

• Verify Dumpling AI API key is active and has credits.
• Test the HTTP Request node independently to confirm correct responses.
• Check Google Sheets credentials with a test append action.
• Review data mapping fields in Google Sheets node for correctness.
• Run the workflow manually and preview Google Sheets to confirm data entry.

Deployment Guide

Once testing is complete, activate the workflow in n8n by switching the status toggle to “Active.”

Optionally, replace the Manual Trigger with a Schedule Trigger node for automatic periodic runs (e.g., daily at 8 AM) to keep your lead sheet up to date.

Monitor workflow runs under the n8n execution history in case of errors or performance issues.

FAQs

• Q: Can I use this workflow to search for businesses other than restaurants?
  A: Yes! Change the query parameter in the HTTP Request node to any location-based search term like “best gyms in Boston” or “top bookstores in Chicago.”
• Q: Does this workflow consume Dumpling AI credits?
  A: Yes, each API call to Dumpling AI uses credits according to their pricing model.
• Q: Is my data safe when using Dumpling AI?
  A: Dumpling AI uses secure API access with authentication. Ensure your API key is kept confidential.
• Q: Can I add more business fields to Google Sheets?
  A: Absolutely! The Google Sheets node supports custom field mapping from the API response.

Conclusion

By building this n8n workflow, you have automated extracting detailed local business leads from Google Maps via Dumpling AI, effortlessly compiling them into a structured Google Sheet. This saves you countless hours of tedious manual work, reduces errors, and ensures your lead data is both rich and up to date.

Next, you could automate lead outreach emails using Gmail integration, or set up alerts for new businesses matching your keywords. Alternatively, integrate with Slack to notify your team instantly when fresh leads are gathered.

Now, let’s put this powerful lead generation automation to work and focus your energy where it really counts — growing your business.