Google Maps lead generation by hand, and why buying a list is faster
Google Maps lead generation by hand means searching a trade and city, opening each result and copying the name, phone, website and rating into a sheet, which works for a few dozen businesses and stops working at a few hundred. Buying a filtered list is faster once you need more than that: as of 12 Nov 2026, 67Leads holds 150,200 sellable US local businesses with a phone, graded against the trade, and counting how many match your filter is free before you export anything.
Key numbers
- 150,200Sellable businesses with a phone
- 7,056Email confirmed by the mail server
- 27,378No website on the listing
- 150,968Listings graded on-trade
Live from the 67Leads warehouse, computed (US Central) when this page was served. Sellable means graded as the trade, with a phone, opted-out businesses removed. Methodology.
Shortcut: the free Google Maps lead tool shows the first 20 businesses for a trade and US city with the full count, the lead list cost calculator prices a list, and the lead list pages show live counts by trade and state.
How to do it by hand
- Search a trade and a city. "Plumber in Columbus" and scroll the results.
- Open each listing. Read the name, phone, website, rating and review count.
- Copy into a sheet. One row per business, columns for each field.
- Mark the signal. For example, "no website", "under 4 stars" or "few reviews".
- Clean up. Remove duplicates, closed businesses and off-trade results such as supply stores.
- Repeat for each trade, city and suburb.
That is a real method and costs nothing but time. Use it to learn a trade before you spend money, or when you want 20 names to test a script.
Where the manual method breaks
- Time per row. Even at a minute a business, 300 businesses is five hours of copying before a single call.
- Result limits. A map search shows a limited number of results per query, so covering a metro takes many searches with different words and areas.
- Mixed trades. A search for one trade returns other kinds of business. Our off-trade count measures how often that happens.
- No owner or email. Maps does not give you either. You would have to open each website and look.
- Stale rows. By the time you finish, early rows may have changed. See how to verify a lead list.
- No filters. You cannot ask Maps for "no website and 4.5 stars". You have to read each listing.
What buying a list changes
A bought list is the same public information, already collected, graded and filterable. The work moves from copying to choosing:
| Task | By hand | From a list |
|---|---|---|
| Find businesses in a trade and city | Many map searches | One search |
| Filter by no website | Open each listing | One filter, 27,378 match today |
| Confirm trade | Read each result | Graded before you see it |
| Find an email | Visit each website | 7,056 have a mail-server-verified email |
| Remove duplicates | By eye | Done |
You still check the top of the list yourself. The list changes how many you can check in a day, not whether you check.
How to choose a list without getting burned
- Count before you pay. A good source shows how many rows match your filter without charging.
- Look for grading. Ask how off-trade rows are handled. 67Leads withholds listings graded as another business, and counts them on our methodology page.
- Check freshness. Ask when each field was last collected.
- Compare per-lead cost. The lead list cost calculator shows what the same number of rows costs at 67Leads and at other providers, from their published prices with the date we checked.
- Test with a small export. Export a few dozen rows and call five before you buy more. Our alternatives pages compare other tools.
When to stay manual
Stay manual if you need fewer than about 30 businesses, if your trade is unusual enough that no list is graded for it, or if the point of the exercise is to learn the market. A founder who wants to understand roofers should call twenty before buying a thousand.
What to do with the list
Choose one signal and one script. Call the owners at the start or end of the day, and email only where you hold a verified address. Send honest, short email that includes your postal address and an opt-out, as the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires. For wording see cold email to local businesses: templates.
How 67Leads fits
67Leads is a search over public business listings and company websites. Search and counts are free with contacts masked, your first 67 leads export free, and after that credits start at $6.70 per 1,000. The pricing page lists every plan.
Questions
Can I get leads from Google Maps for free?
Yes, by hand: search, open each listing and copy the fields. It is free but slow. For a faster free start, the free Google Maps lead tool shows 20 businesses for a trade and city with the full count.
Is buying a lead list faster than building one?
For anything beyond a few dozen businesses, yes. The list is already collected, graded and filterable, so the time goes to checking and calling instead of copying.
How many local businesses are in the 67Leads warehouse?
As of 12 Nov 2026, 150,200 sellable US local businesses with a phone, graded against their trade. We hold 150,968 sellable listings in total, including ones without a phone.
What should I check before buying a list?
How many rows match your filter, how off-trade rows are handled, when each field was collected and the cost per lead. Export a small sample and call five before buying more.
Get 67 leads freeNo card. Search is free with contacts masked.