Google Maps Business Lead Extraction to Sheets using Dumpling AI - n8n Workflow

Sales and Marketing Teams: Generating targeted business leads (e.g., specific restaurant types in a city).
Data Analysts: Requiring structured, up-to-date geographical data for competitive analysis.
Automation Enthusiasts: Users seeking effective n8n templates for web data extraction and CRM integration.
n8n Specialists: Developers needing a reliable solution to pull data using a dedicated API instead of standard web scraping.

Lead generation often requires tedious, manual searching and copying of information from platforms like Google Maps. This limitation is overcome by deploying this specialized n8n workflow. By utilizing the Dumpling AI API within a custom n8n node, this solution quickly searches Google Maps based on a defined query (e.g., 'best restaurants in New York') and extracts essential business details, such as address, website, phone number, rating, and price level.

This robust n8n template then ensures that every piece of extracted data is cleanly organized and appended line-by-line into a designated Google Sheet, creating a scalable, automated database of potential leads. Setting up this n8n automation eliminates the need for manual data entry, providing fresh, structured data ready for outreach or analysis.

This efficient n8n workflow operates in four main stages:

1. Initiation: The process starts with the 'Trigger: Manual Test Run' n8n trigger, which allows for immediate testing and data collection. For production use, this should be replaced with a Schedule n8n node for regular execution.


2. Data Extraction: The ‘Search Google Maps via Dumpling AI’ n8n node executes an HTTP POST request to the Dumpling AI API. It includes a specific query (currently set to search for restaurants in New York). This API call returns a comprehensive JSON object containing an array of business results.


3. Data Structuring: The ‘Split Places List for Processing’ n8n node receives the data array and breaks it down. This is critical because the final step requires processing each business (place) as an individual item, ensuring that one row is created per lead in the spreadsheet.


4. Data Logging: Finally, the ‘Save Results to Google Sheet (Place Info)’ n8n node maps the parsed data fields (like Name, Address, Website, rating, and Phone number) from each individual item onto designated columns, appending the new lead record to the target Google Sheet document. This completes the fully automated n8n workflow.

To deploy and utilize this powerful n8n workflow template, follow these steps:

1. Import the n8n Workflow: Copy the provided JSON and paste it directly into your n8n instance via the 'New' button and 'Import from JSON'.


2. Configure Dumpling AI Credentials:

1. Specify Target Sheet: Within the Google Sheets n8n node, select the desired Spreadsheet Document ID and the specific Sheet Name where the leads will be logged. Ensure the sheet columns match the data mapping defined in the node parameters.


2. Customize Search Query: Modify the JSON body in the ‘Search Google Maps via Dumpling AI’ n8n node to change the query parameter (e.g., change "best+restaurants+in+New+York" to target a different industry or location).


3. Activate and Test: Run the n8n workflow using the manual n8n trigger to confirm successful data extraction and logging.

Trigger: Manual Test Run (Manual Trigger n8n trigger):
Function: Serves as the immediate starting point for testing the n8n workflow logic. It should be replaced with a Schedule n8n node for recurring, hands-free automation.
Search Google Maps via Dumpling AI (HTTP Request n8n node):
Function: Executes the external API call to Dumpling AI to perform the specialized Google Maps search and retrieve structured business data.
Key Configuration: Uses POST method to the Dumpling AI maps search endpoint. The JSON body contains the essential query parameter.
Split Places List for Processing (Split Out n8n node):
Function: De-arrays the returned JSON data. It splits the array located under the places key into individual items, allowing the subsequent Google Sheets n8n node to process each business lead separately.
Key Configuration: Splits the array on the field places.
Save Results to Google Sheet (Place Info) (Google Sheets n8n node):
Function: Appends the highly detailed lead data extracted from Dumpling AI into a designated row within the specified Google Sheet.
* Key Configuration: Operation set to append. Data fields are meticulously mapped using expressions like ={{ $json.title }} (for Name), ={{ $json.address }} (for Address), and ={{ $json.phoneNumber }}.