Introduction: The Evolution of Digital Lead Generation Platforms
For people of my generation, we pretty much all had the same ritual on Facebook. We'd change our profile picture on a Sunday at 6 PM, we were exciting to find out who had left us a birthday message, we started our high school crush while doing our homework. In short, to my teenager mind back then, Facebook was limited to personal use.
We can draw a parallel here with Google Maps. With one billion active users per month, it's quite huge. Nevertheless, Google Maps is still perceived as a simple navigation app, as a simple tool to search for a place when we are lost, to check if the restaurant we want to go is still open, or to check reviews before intending to buy something.
But as an adult, my perception is different from the one I had 10 years ago. To my mind, these two platforms are no longer entertainment tools - they are both professional digital lead generation platforms first and foremost. Tools that allow you to find quality business leads for online B2B lead generation. The only difference is that on Google Maps you've got detailed business pages, and on Facebook you've got Facebook business pages.
The challenge here lies in determining which platform is the best for your B2B lead generation campaign. Let's dive into it.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: The Evolution of Digital Lead Generation Platforms
- Comparing Lead Generation Data: What Each Platform Offers
- B2B Lead Generation: Which Platform Has Better Business Coverage?
- The Facebook Illusion: Why Google Maps Wins for B2B
- How to Use Scrap.io: The Ultimate Google Maps Lead Generation Tool
- The Complete B2B Lead Generation Data Set: 70+ Data Points
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Comparing Lead Generation Data: What Each Platform Offers
First of all, we are going to talk about the kinds of data you can retrieve on Google Maps and on Facebook for B2B lead generation. I decided to target the very same company in order to remove or at least to minimize as much as I could data difference between both platforms.
When I'm talking about data, I think we can divide it into two different categories:
To begin with, you've got data allowing you to filter out your results, to filter out your leads in an effective manner. And secondly, you've got data which can help you to contact your leads - so this could be phone numbers, emails, contact pages, this kind of stuff.
People tend to underestimate the first category and to overestimate the second one.
Google Maps Data Extraction Capabilities
On Google Maps, you can collect:
- The business category
- The description (if available)
- The complete address
- The phone number
- The business website
- The opening hours
- The price range
- The rating (which is also related to the number of reviews)
- In some cases, you've got a CTA
- In another tab, you have access to the different services offered by the company
Facebook Business Page Data Available
The funny thing is that all the data we have listed can also be found on Facebook - they are just located differently. However, there is something more on Facebook business pages. There are some data fields you can find on Facebook but not on Google Maps, and I'm particularly thinking about the direct email address.
As you can see, this company decides to write its email address, and in addition, you can also directly contact the company through Messenger, which is something that cannot be directly done on Google Maps.
Nevertheless, we will find out that there is a kind of technique which can help you to extract email addresses from Google Maps even though the email address is not directly written on the platform.
So from a B2B data perspective, Facebook has an advantage over Google Maps.
B2B Lead Generation: Which Platform Has Better Business Coverage?
We talked about what kind of data you can retrieve, and now we are going to talk about what kind of companies you can target on Google Maps and on Facebook for B2B lead generation.
As the previous example, we picked up a restaurant, and it was not a random choice. It was because you are likely to find a restaurant on Google Maps and on Facebook very easily, but it's not always the case depending on the industry.
Understanding Company Behavior on Each Platform
Something which has to be understood is that companies can interact with their customers on Facebook, which is not the case on Google Maps. So companies can try to attract customers by publishing posts, blog articles, surveys, whatever you want, but on Google Maps you cannot do that.
What consumers can do, however, is to look for information from a specific company. As a result, you are likely to find on Facebook companies targeting consumers, so it makes more sense in a B2C approach.
Facebook's Limited B2B Scope
We can list here restaurants, hotels, cafes, hairdressers, makeup shops, and that's pretty much it. So it's something really specific for consumer-facing businesses.
Google Maps: The Comprehensive B2B Database
But on Google Maps, it's way, way broader for B2B lead generation. There are around 2 million businesses listed on Google Maps all over the world in around 200 countries. And what about the categories? Well, on Google Maps, you are more likely to find smaller and medium-sized companies, but overall, you can find around 4,000 different business categories on Google Maps.
I cannot list them all here, so if you want to have access to the full list, we'll let you link in the description.
One cannot deny that Google Maps is a more comprehensive lead generation database, and the reason is simple: it's because companies have more interest in being listed on Google Maps rather than on Facebook.
The Facebook Illusion: Why Google Maps Wins for B2B Lead Generation
The only competitive advantage of a Facebook business page is the audience - the number of followers. But this audience, this community, is nothing but a mere illusion. The audience doesn't belong to the company; it belongs to Facebook itself.
When you publish a post, the content will be seen by 15% of your audience. If you want to target the remaining 85% or more, you have to pay for it. You can either boost the post or use Facebook ads.
From both the customers' and the company's point of view, Google Maps remains the better option for B2B lead generation.
The Scalability Challenge: Enter Google Maps Data Extraction Tools
However, whether you want to gather your B2B leads on Google Maps or on Facebook, an issue will ultimately arise. It raises the question: what would you do if you want to automatically collect your leads at a large scale? What would you do if you want to get your CSV or Excel file ready for your B2B lead generation campaign?
To solve this problem, we have created Scrap.io - a Google Maps lead generation tool.
Thanks to Scrap.io, you can get Google Maps leads. What you are going to tell me is that it's not exactly what we have been talking about because I suggested that you can also get Facebook business pages. But if we take a closer look, indeed we can get Facebook pages when the company shows us this piece of data.
How to Use Scrap.io: The Ultimate Google Maps Lead Generation Tool
If you want to use Scrap.io for Google Maps data extraction, you first need to create your account, so you can click on login and then on sign up.
Now you know you have succeeded when you have access to your dashboard tab. As you can notice, you will be able to target your B2B leads depending on:
- An activity
- A country
- The level one division (which is the state in the case of the United States, but it obviously depends on which country you picked up)
- Level 2 division (which represents the county)
- The city
Advanced B2B Lead Targeting Features
If I type "restaurant" one more time, you can see that I don't have to select just "restaurant" - I can be much more specific. I can target Thai restaurant, soup restaurant, Asian restaurant, pizza restaurant - you get the idea.
I select my country, so you can choose between tens of different countries, and if I click on search, I will get all the restaurants within the United States.
Advanced Filtering for Quality Lead Generation
But I can filter my B2B lead generation data even more if I want to. If I click on filter, I have access to two kinds of filters: essential filters and advanced ones. But the thing I'm mostly interested in right now is to target leads with a Facebook web page.
If I click on filter, I will get fewer results but much more targeted ones, and it sounds correct to me for effective B2B lead generation.
Exporting Your B2B Lead Data
If I'm okay with my data, I can export it. I give a name to my export and I click on export. The export is taking a bit of time right now, so I'm going to take another example in order to show you what kind of lead generation data you can expect.
The Complete B2B Lead Generation Data Set: 70+ Data Points
I can download a CSV or Excel file, and what you could agree is that you have access to a pretty comprehensive B2B lead generation data set. We have around 70 columns of business data.
Essential Business Information for B2B Lead Generation
We start with:
- The company name
- Whether the company is closed or not
- Different business categories (the main category and the secondary categories)
- Whether there is a website
- Phone number
- The full address (which is divided into different subtypes including the latitude and the longitude)
- The Google Maps link (the link to the detail page)
Contact and Social Media Data for B2B Outreach
- The email address (when there is one, or when there are multiple email addresses, in which case you have access to all of them)
- The Facebook business page link
- The YouTube link
- The Twitter link
- Instagram links
- LinkedIn links
Business Intelligence and Analytics Data
- The price range
- The review rating
- The number of pictures with the URLs of some pictures
- The opening hours
- The characteristics (which is related to the about tab)
Advanced Website Data for B2B Lead Qualification
Starting from the website title column, you have access to SEO and website data, meaning that if the company has a website, you have comprehensive business intelligence. I have access to:
- The website title
- The meta keywords
- The meta descriptions
- The meta image
- Whether there are additional email addresses
- Whether there is a contact page or not
- Additional social media links
Finally, the last two columns provide website technologies and advertising pixels data - crucial for understanding a company's digital maturity for B2B targeting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Google Maps better than Facebook for B2B lead generation?
Yes, Google Maps is significantly better for B2B lead generation. With 2 million businesses across 4,000 categories versus Facebook's limited consumer-focused scope, Google Maps offers comprehensive coverage of B2B companies worldwide.
Which platform provides more comprehensive business data?
While Facebook offers direct email addresses, Google Maps provides more comprehensive business data overall. Through tools like Scrap.io, you can extract over 70 data points from Google Maps, including website technologies, SEO data, and business intelligence metrics.
Can you extract email addresses from both platforms?
Facebook business pages sometimes display email addresses directly. For Google Maps, while emails aren't directly visible, advanced extraction techniques through tools like Scrap.io can retrieve email addresses from associated websites and contact pages.
What are the costs of using Google Maps vs Facebook for lead generation?
Google Maps data extraction through professional tools like Scrap.io offers transparent pricing starting at €49/month for 10,000 leads. Facebook requires paid advertising to reach audiences effectively, with costs varying significantly by industry and competition.
How many businesses can you find on each platform?
Google Maps contains approximately 2 million businesses across 200 countries in 4,000 categories. Facebook business pages are primarily limited to consumer-facing businesses like restaurants, hotels, and retail stores.
Which industries work better on each platform?
Google Maps works better for B2B industries: professional services, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and business services. Facebook is more suitable for B2C businesses: restaurants, retail, entertainment, and consumer services.
Is it legal to extract data from Google Maps and Facebook?
Yes, extracting publicly available business information from Google Maps and Facebook is legal for commercial use in most jurisdictions, including the US and EU. Scrap.io only extracts publicly accessible data and is GDPR compliant.
What's the best strategy for combining both platforms?
Use Google Maps as your primary B2B lead generation source for comprehensive business data, then supplement with Facebook business pages when available to get additional contact methods like direct messaging and social engagement opportunities.
Conclusion
This comparison clearly shows that while Facebook business pages offer some advantages for direct email contact, Google Maps emerges as the superior platform for comprehensive B2B lead generation. With its vast database of 2 million businesses across 4,000 categories, Google Maps provides the scale and depth that B2B marketers need for successful digital lead generation.
The combination of Google Maps data extraction with tools like Scrap.io makes it possible to build highly targeted B2B lead generation campaigns that would be impossible to achieve through Facebook alone. The 70+ data points available provide everything needed for effective B2B lead qualification and outreach.
For companies looking to implement effective online B2B lead generation strategies, understanding the fundamental differences between these platforms is crucial. While Facebook excels in B2C engagement, Google Maps dominates the B2B landscape with its comprehensive business directory and rich data ecosystem.
If you want to implement this Google Maps lead generation strategy for your business, Scrap.io offers the most comprehensive solution available. With plans starting at €49/month and a 7-day free trial, you can start building your B2B lead database immediately. For advanced techniques, check out our guide on Google Maps scraper extensions or learn more about extracting precise location data for your campaigns.