Google Place ID

Also called: Place ID, place_id.

Google describes a Place ID as "a textual identifier that uniquely identifies a place." Every business listing on Google Maps has one, and the Places API accepts it to fetch details about that place.

For lead lists, the Place ID is the right key for deduplication. Names and addresses are typed inconsistently ("Joe's Plumbing" vs "Joe's Plumbing LLC"), but the same listing found by two different searches has the same Place ID. Deduping on it is far more reliable than fuzzy-matching names.

Place IDs aren't permanent. Google says they may change over time and can become obsolete if a business closes or moves, and recommends refreshing Place IDs that are more than 12 months old. Place IDs are exempt from the caching restrictions in the Maps Platform terms, so you can store them.

Don't confuse a Place ID with the CID, a numeric ID that appears in some Maps URLs. They identify the same listing in different ways; Place ID is the one the official API uses.

Example

A search for "plumber" and a search for "drain cleaning" in Austin both return ChIJ... for the same business. The second copy is dropped as a duplicate.

In Leadraft

Leadraft dedupes on the Google Place ID and charges once per business per organization, ever. Exports include google_place_id and the Maps URL.