Export Property Research from Google Maps to CSV and GeoJSON

The gap between discovery and analysis

Early-stage location research lives in Google Maps. You pin prospective properties, save comparable sites, mark competitor locations, and build shortlists over days or weeks of scouting. It's the fastest way to collect and organise spatial information.

The problem starts when you need to do something with that data. Scoring sites in a spreadsheet, running proximity analysis in QGIS, presenting a shortlist to a client with a custom map — none of that works directly from a saved-places list. You need coordinates, and Google Maps won't give them to you.

What site-selection workflows actually need

Location research only becomes useful when it reaches the tools where decisions get made:

• Spreadsheets and scoring matrices — Excel and Airtable need a CSV with address, latitude, and longitude so you can add scoring columns, filter candidates, and compare site attributes side by side.
• GIS tools — QGIS and ArcGIS need GeoJSON or KML to run proximity analysis, overlay planning data, and map site clusters visually.
• Client deliverables — Google Earth and Google My Maps accept KML and let you present a custom styled map without building anything from scratch.

The Takeout Tools workflow

Google Takeout exports your saved places as a CSV — but without coordinates. Place names and categories are there; the latitude and longitude that make the data useful are not.

Takeout Tools geocodes each place in your export, recovering coordinates via the place name and address. The result is a clean, structured file you can take directly into your analysis workflow.

Which format fits which step

CSV

The right starting point for most site-selection work. Import into Excel or Airtable and build your scoring matrix — add columns for zoning, footfall estimates, proximity to transport, and whatever else drives the decision. You can always convert to GeoJSON later once candidates are shortlisted.

GeoJSON

The right format when the next step is GIS analysis. Load directly into QGIS or ArcGIS to run buffer analysis, overlay data layers, or visualise candidate distributions across a region. If you have existing KML files, convert them here.

KML

Best for client-facing deliverables. Google Earth renders KML with custom icons and labels, and Google My Maps lets you share a styled, interactive shortlist without any development work. Convert from GeoJSON to KML if you're coming from another tool.

Convert between formats

Already have a geo file and need it in a different format? Use the free online converters:

• KML to GeoJSON, KML to CSV, KML to GPX
• GeoJSON to KML, GeoJSON to CSV, GeoJSON to GPX
• GPX to CSV, GPX to KML, GPX to GeoJSON

Frequently asked questions