Why can't I just export from Google Maps directly?

Google Maps doesn't expose a coordinate export. Google Takeout gives you your saved places as a list of names, but strips the spatial data. Takeout Tools adds the geocoding step that recovers coordinates from each place name and address.

How accurate is the geocoding?

Very accurate for named businesses and locations with clear addresses. Accuracy drops for places described loosely or saved without a street address. You can review and correct coordinates in the export if needed.

Does this work with large shortlists?

Yes. There's no hard limit on the number of places. Large exports take slightly longer to geocode but process fully.

Can I use the CSV to import into my CRM or internal database?

Yes. The CSV format is compatible with any tool that accepts latitude and longitude columns, CRMs, Airtable, Notion databases, or internal tooling.

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Export Property Research from Google Maps to CSV and GeoJSON

Real estate and site-selection work often starts with pinned locations in Google Maps. Getting that data into your analysis tools, with coordinates, is where most teams hit a wall.

For real estate and site-selection teams

Export your location research Browse all tools →

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.

Organising your research before export

Google Takeout exports all your saved places in one file. If your research spans multiple projects or geographies, it's worth organising places into named lists in Google Maps before you run the export, "Q3 retail candidates", "Manchester zone", "Rejected sites". Those list names carry through into the CSV and become a column you can filter on in your analysis tool. Segmenting by list saves time compared to manually tagging rows after export.

Working across teams

When site selection involves multiple stakeholders, acquisitions, planning, legal, different teams often need the same underlying data in different formats. The acquisitions team wants a CSV for scoring. The planning team wants GeoJSON for QGIS. The board wants a KML they can open in Google Earth. Run the Takeout Tools export once and convert to each format as needed using the free converters. There's no need to re-export from Google Maps for each output.

When you need to update the dataset

Site selection is iterative. New candidates get added; rejected sites need to be removed; coordinates occasionally need correcting. The cleanest way to manage this is to keep a master CSV with all sites and track status in a column, active, rejected, under review. Re-export from Takeout Tools when the Google Maps list changes, then merge with your master file using the place name as a key.

Validating coordinates before analysis

Before loading coordinates into QGIS or ArcGIS for spatial analysis, it's worth doing a quick sanity check on the exported data. Open the CSV and sort by latitude and longitude, any entries that geocoded incorrectly will show up as obvious outliers (coordinates far outside your study region, or entries with zero values). Fix these manually before running proximity analysis; a single bad coordinate can skew buffer calculations for an entire dataset. For properties with vague addresses, cross-reference against Google Street View or satellite imagery to confirm placement before the data goes into a scoring model.

Convert between formats

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