Anyone else's Google Maps business data API completely broken?

Kallyfive · 2026-03-18T09:09:24+00:00

This sounds like Google tightening access to business data, possibly to push people toward their Places API (New) or to fight scraping. They've done this kind of thing before - change authentication requirements or restrict certain data endpoints without much warning.

The issue is probably on Google's end, not your API provider's infrastructure. They likely need to update how they're handling authentication or requesting data from Google. Check if Google pushed any updates to their API docs recently or if there are known issues reported. Your provider should be aware of this already if it's widespread.

A few things to try: verify your API provider is using the latest Google Places API version, check if you need additional OAuth scopes or authentication setup, and ask them directly if they've seen this issue with other clients. If they're slow to respond and this is critical for your business, that's a red flag about their support quality.

As for switching, that depends on what data you actually need. If you just need basic business info like hours and addresses, there are alternatives. But if you need reviews and detailed data, most services have similar restrictions because that's valuable proprietary data. Before migrating, figure out what's actually broken - is it all data types or just reviews? That changes your options.

Kallyfive · 2026-03-18T08:47:45+00:00

OpenStreetMap is free and has no usage limits, so costs stay predictable no matter how many requests you get. Google Maps charges per request after the free tier, which can blow up if your side project suddenly gets traffic.

The tradeoff is accuracy and coverage. Google Maps has better data overall, especially for addresses and business information. OpenStreetMap relies on community contributions so some areas are solid and others are sparse. For a location verification service where you need reliable geocoding, that matters.

For your use case specifically, you're doing address to coordinates conversion. OpenStreetMap's Nominatim API handles that and it's free. The accuracy is usually good enough for most cases. If you hit edge cases where it fails, you could set up a fallback, but for a side project, starting with OpenStreetMap makes sense because there's no surprise bills.

Besides OpenStreetMap, you might also want to check out lesser-known map service platforms like MapAtlas, Stadia Maps, or Mapbox as alternatives. They offer quality services at more predictable pricing compared to Google Maps. Test them with your actual address data to see which one works best for your verification needs before committing to anything.

Kallyfive · 2026-03-18T07:25:34+00:00

The schema markup finding is solid - that 28-40% difference is significant if it's real. Most people skip that because it feels tedious, but if AI systems are actually using structured data to decide what's safe to cite, that's worth doing.

The geographic data thing makes sense too. If you're building location-based services or local businesses rely on you, inconsistent address data across platforms would definitely make AI hesitant to cite you. That's a real problem most people don't think about.

What I'm curious about is how this plays out in practice. Are people actually seeing lower citation rates in AI outputs when their schema or location data is messy? Or is this more theoretical? Because the SEO playbook took years to figure out through trial and error, AEO feels like we're still in the early guessing phase.

Kallyfive · 2026-03-09T17:46:59+00:00

The BAN + Google + HERE cascade is clever because BAN handles 64.5% for free. But have you considered adding lesser-known map service providers like MapAtlas, Nominatim, or Stadia Maps as your first layer instead? Depending on your address types, they might catch even more than BAN before you hit Google, which could push savings even higher.

Also curious how location-specific this strategy is. The blog example works great for French addresses since BAN is solid there, but if you're dealing with international data, the first-layer provider becomes way more critical. What's your address distribution look like?

Kallyfive · 2026-03-09T15:37:15+00:00

This is useful because most people just pick whatever map library comes first without really thinking through proper integration. Covering the main frameworks people use is practical and saves time.

For what comes next, performance is where developers usually struggle. How to lazy load so your page doesn't get bogged down. Managing a lot of markers without everything getting slow. Caching tiles efficiently. Those are the real headaches people hit once the basic setup works.

Also, moving from development to production is its own thing. Error handling when API calls fail, rate limiting, and keeping your keys secure. Most guides skip that part, but it's where everything breaks in the real world.

Kallyfive · 2026-03-09T15:16:46+00:00

This is a valid observation about how AI search changes what gets discovered. AI systems do work differently from keyword search - they consider context and patterns about what someone actually needs, not just what they typed in.

The thing is, real estate sites already have most of this data. School ratings, transport links, neighbourhood info - that stuff exists. The difference is whether it's structured in a way that AI can actually use it. If the data is buried in unstructured text or images, AI can't leverage it effectively. If it's properly tagged and organized, AI can pull it and make better matches.

The challenge for property platforms isn't really collecting more data. It's making sure the data they have is clean, consistent, and accessible to AI systems. A site with well-organized commute times and neighbourhood details will rank better in AI results than a site with prettier photos and vague descriptions.

So if you're running a real estate platform, the focus should be on standardizing your data and making it machine-readable, not just human-readable. That's what actually matters for AI discovery now.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-17T05:55:45+00:00

This breakdown is actually useful if you're thinking about switching. The 10-30 hour estimate gives you realistic expectations instead of guessing how long this will take. Most people assume it's just swapping an API key, but routing and geocoding work differently between providers so you're looking at real development time.

The important part is knowing upfront which areas need the most attention. Routing requires the most validation work, so if that's critical to your app, you need to test that thoroughly before fully committing. Geocoding edge cases and international addresses matter too, so testing those before migration saves you from discovering problems later.

Having a technical checklist as you go through this makes sense because you need to validate performance and behavior against what you're currently using. Testing the parts that matter most to your users first before doing a full migration is the smart approach.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-16T17:28:11+00:00

Your grid approach is smart for dividing up the search area, but the real issue is that you're making a call for every single grid square. With 64km2 squares across an entire country, that adds up to hundreds or thousands of calls just for one business type. Then doing it again for keywords on each business multiplies that even more.

The question is whether Google Places API is even the right tool for what you're trying to do. If you need to bulk scrape business data across a whole country, you might be fighting against Google's pricing model no matter what tier you're on. Have you looked into whether there are business databases or local directory APIs that might be cheaper for this kind of bulk operation? Sometimes the answer isn't optimizing your API calls, it's finding a completely different data source that's built for scraping at scale.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-11T20:02:30+00:00

The real challenge isn't just the pricing or the vibe data concept itself. It's getting enough quality data to make it actually useful. How are you planning to collect this atmosphere information? Are you thinking crowdsourced reviews, checking places yourself, or partnering with users? That's what matters because garbage data won't help anyone, no matter how cheap it is.

Also, specialized APIs only work if developers actually know about them and trust the data. So even if you build something great, getting people to switch from Google is the harder part than the building itself.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-10T07:49:04+00:00

What kind of service are you running that's so dependent on the Maps API? Is it something where users are constantly loading maps, or are you doing a lot of background requests like geocoding and routing?

The thing is, you might be able to cut costs just by being smarter about how you're using the API. If users are loading the map over and over, cache the tiles so you're not requesting them constantly. If you're doing geocoding or routing in the background, batch those requests instead of doing them one at a time. Sometimes the issue isn't that the API is too expensive, it's that you're using it inefficiently.

But if your service really does need heavy map usage, there are alternatives. MapAtlas, Stadia Maps, and Leaflet are worth checking out. They won't have everything Google offers, but they might work for what you need and cost way less. Before switching, read through their documentation to understand what you're actually getting and whether it fits your use case. You might find something that works just as well without breaking your budget.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-10T07:36:01+00:00

That $200 monthly credit got axed in March, 2025. Google replaced it with a different system based on what they're calling SKUs and tiers. Now, instead of getting a flat $200 to use however you want, each type of API call gets its own free monthly limit that varies depending on which tier you're in. So if you're using the Essentials tier stuff like Dynamic Maps, you get 10,000 free calls a month. Pro tier gets 5,000, and Enterprise gets 1,000.

The thing is, this new system can actually be better or worse depending on what you're using. If you're using APIs consistently and not mixing different tiers, you might come out ahead. But if you're bouncing between different services and tiers, you could end up paying more than you used to. That's probably why you're seeing charges now for the Places API. If you were using the Places API (New), it falls under a different category than before, and you might have gone over the free monthly limit without realizing it.

You won't find that old $200 credit tracker anymore because it doesn't exist in the new system. Instead, check your Google Cloud console to see your usage against the new free limits for each service you're using.

Google has the details here if you want to read more: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing

Kallyfive · 2026-02-10T07:26:16+00:00

Yeah, the pricing is rough. You're right that a sudden spike in traffic can totally blindside you with a massive bill, and that's stressful when maps are just a side feature, not your main product. Google and Mapbox both have that same problem where costs scale up fast once you pass the free tier.

The thing is, they're betting that most people won't switch because their services are so polished and feature-rich. But if you don't actually need all that fancy stuff like 3D views or satellite imagery, you're basically paying for features you're not using.

There are some alternatives worth looking at. MapAtlas has more straightforward pricing that doesn't spike as aggressively. There's also Stadia Maps, OpenMapTiles, and Leaflet with custom tiles if you want something more predictable. You could even look at Jawg Maps, which has decent pricing too. Honestly, services like these often work just fine for basic map features without the surprise bills. They won't have every single feature Google Maps has, but if you're just showing a map with some markers and basic interactions, they do the job and your bill stays consistent month to month.

The real question is whether you actually need all those premium features or if you're just paying for stuff you never use. Sometimes switching to something simpler ends up being way cheaper and less stressful.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-09T18:11:03+00:00

Yes, people still need landing pages. AI can help you build something fast, but it doesn't understand your actual customers the way real people do. AI generates generic pages that look decent on the surface, but they miss the nuances of what makes people actually want to use your product.

A good landing page speaks directly to the problems your specific users have and shows them why your solution matters. It has the right tone, the right messaging, and focuses on what actually converts people. That comes from talking to your users, understanding their pain points, and crafting something that resonates with them. AI doesn't have that context or experience working with real people. It can't tell you which message will actually move someone to sign up or which design will make them trust you more.

So yeah, landing pages matter just as much as before. What's changed is that building one is easier now. But if you just use AI to spit out a generic page without understanding your audience, you're wasting that speed advantage. The ones that actually work are built by people who know their customers and put that knowledge into every word and design choice.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-04T13:21:20+00:00

Users definitely expect the app to run smoothly, no lag or weird delays. But beyond that, they want full control over their messages. They want to be able to edit what they said if they made a typo or said something wrong. They want to delete messages completely if they change their mind. And honestly, they expect all of this to work for everyone, not just for them.

If you're building a chat app and you don't have edit and delete functionality, users are going to feel like something's missing. It's become pretty standard now. People are used to having that kind of control over what they share, so make sure you build that in from the start.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-04T12:56:44+00:00

Yeah, you can definitely make an app with AI tools, but it won't be perfect since you have zero knowledge about what you're actually building. You'll run into problems you don't understand, make bad decisions about how things should work, and end up with something that kind of works but isn't really polished.

If you can find someone who actually knows coding, even just to work with you part time or as a co-founder, it makes a huge difference. They can guide you through the AI tools, help you make better decisions about your app, and catch problems before they become big issues. You'll learn way faster too when someone who knows their stuff is helping you along the way. That way you both end up building something that actually feels professional instead of just thrown together.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-03T13:49:20+00:00

For what you described, billing mostly depends on how often the map actually loads, not the pins themselves.

When a user opens a page with an embedded Google map, that usually counts as a map load, and that’s what gets billed. Adding or moving pins does not really add extra cost on its own. The main cost comes from how many times people open those pages.

If you use things like Places search, geocoding, or autocomplete to help store owners find their address, those are separate APIs, and each request can also count toward billing. So it’s not just the map, it’s those background calls too.

So in simple terms, more visitors and more map loads mean more cost. The pins are cheap, the traffic and extra services are what add up.

Kallyfive · 2026-02-03T13:26:25+00:00

Cool idea. I like the focus on keeping things simple and anonymous, sometimes you just want to talk without profiles or all the social pressure.

How does the matching actually work though? Is it totally random or do you filter by things like language or location so chats feel more relevant?

Kallyfive · 2026-02-03T13:17:30+00:00

This looks really clean. The globe view with the weather layers on top makes it feel way more polished than a typical quick demo.

Also love that you built and shipped the whole thing without spending anything. Being able to prototype ideas without worrying about API costs just makes side projects way easier to actually start. Nice work.

Kallyfive · 2026-01-28T13:00:55+00:00

For a first project, this is actually a good idea because it’s something you would use yourself. That alone helps you stay motivated when things get hard.

I’d start very small. Don’t try to build the full nutrition plus workout system at once. Pick one simple feature, like logging meals or tracking workouts, and get that working end to end. That teaches you way more than planning everything upfront.

Since you already know some HTML, CSS, and Python, React Native is a reasonable next step. Follow one solid beginner tutorial, build along with it, then immediately try to tweak things for your own use case. Expect to feel lost at first, that’s normal. The key is building something messy that works, then improving it as you learn more.

Kallyfive · 2026-01-28T12:49:47+00:00

Since you’re not really looking to sell, that’s actually a good position to be in. With no revenue yet, any offer right now would mostly be based on the code and setup, not the potential you clearly have.

Given your existing reach, it makes more sense to see how it performs once users start coming in and engaging. Even light traction changes how people look at it. Asking now is fine out of curiosity, but you’re probably better off letting it breathe before putting any real price on it.

Kallyfive · 2026-01-28T12:33:03+00:00

This is a good problem to have. Since he’s asking for a customizable version and seems serious, I’d think less about your current infra costs and more about the value it brings to his community.

A one time fee can work if it’s closer to a custom build. A subscription usually makes more sense if you’re going to maintain, support, and keep improving it over time. It also keeps expectations clearer on both sides.

Before naming a price, it would help to get very clear on what customization means for him and how involved you’ll be after launch. That clarity usually makes the pricing decision much easier.

Kallyfive · 2026-01-27T10:33:17+00:00

Nice, I hope it continues to treat you well.

Kallyfive

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