Place from Google Maps missing in Google Places API

Question

I've been trying to find specific place in Google Places API with no success. When I type "La Cucina Trattoria" in Google Maps I get three results. However, when I run this query:

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/autocomplete/json?key=API_KEY&input=la%20cucina%20trattoria

I only get two results. So I've tested more queries with similar effectiveness:

input=la%20cucina%20trattoria%20gmbh - no results

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/search/json?key=API_KEY&location=48.139649,11.602685&rankby=distance&keyword=cucina - place missing in results (I've put its exact location as a parameter)

location=48.139649,11.602685&rankby=distance&keyword=Neherstraße%209 - place missing in results (however, it is returning results from the same street)

My client named two random places he knows and none of them could be found in Google Places API. Is it possible that Google Places API and Google Maps operate on two different databases? Or can these places be hidden in the public API?

Woosley

Answer 1

I've come across similar issues, but usually changing the query gave better results. Aside from reporting it, you can manually add a place:

POST https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/add/json?key=AddYourOwnKeyHere HTTP/1.1
Host: maps.googleapis.com

{
  "location": {
    "lat": -33.8669710,
    "lng": 151.1958750
  },
  "accuracy": 50,
  "name": "Google Shoes!",
  "phone_number": "[phone]",
  "address": "48 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont, NSW 2009, Australia",
  "types": ["shoe_store"],
  "website": "http://www.google.com.au/",
  "language": "en-AU"
}

This should allow your application to immediately see the place and potentially have it added into Google Maps.

Komara

That doesn't answer the question of whether the Places API uses a different database than maps.google.com – Wally

According to their webpage it is: developers.google.com/places "Backed by the same database used by Google Maps..." – Komara

Well, that's an answer although it seems unsatisfying – Wally

Adding a place manually won't satisfy the app's needs, I'm afraid. It should have every place Google Maps has and adding every missing one is not an option. If they have the same backend, is there a possibility that some places are invisible for Google Places API, I wonder. – Woosley

I'm wondering if maybe some places aren't actually "places" but a different entity within Google's mapping system that they are able to return on Google Maps through metadata and internal "what's the user actually likely for" algorithms that aren't utilised within the Places API. As there's no way to check, this remains purely a thought. – Needlewoman

Link doesn't work anymore. 2024. – Absinthe

Answer 2

I was unable to find La Cucina Trattoria in Places, and I tried a number of different tactics, including a Text Search (https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/textsearch/xml?query=italian restaurant on Neherstraße in munich&key=MYKEY). I'd report it to the Place API Issues tracker here: https://code.google.com/p/gmaps-api-issues/issues/list?can=2&q=apitype:PlacesAPI%20type:Defect&sort=-stars&colspec=ID%20Type%20Status%20Introduced%20Fixed%20Summary%20Internal%20Stars

Check through the extensive list of existing bugs to see if you can add your name to an existing one and speed its resolution. Here are some similar confirmed bugs:

Some queries return no results when there should be many

Bug: Sparse search results in germany

Bug: Place details request returns wrong result

Wally

Thanks for the response, all of the places my client named were in fact in Germany, so the second issue can be connected. – Woosley