Identity field
Place ID
Google's stable unique identifier for the listing — the only field in the export you should deduplicate on.
- Column name
- place_id
- Group
- Identity
- Availability
- Every plan, free included
What this column contains
The opaque Place ID string Google assigns to a location. Two rows with the same Place ID are the same listing, whatever their names look like.
Where the value comes from
Read from the listing itself and carried through untouched. Every export is deduplicated on this key before it reaches you, including across the sub-searches that a grid split produces.
Example value
ChIJN1t_tDeuEmsRUsoyG83frY4
What people use it for
- 01Deduplicate reliably across multiple runs, cities or date ranges.
- 02Use it as the primary key when you sync into a CRM or a warehouse.
- 03Re-query the Google Places API for the same location without a fuzzy name match.
- 04Detect that a business moved: same Place ID, changed address.
What it will not tell you
Place IDs are stable in practice but not eternal — Google occasionally reissues one after a listing is merged or rebuilt. Treat a disappeared ID as a signal to re-check, not as a deleted business.
Questions about this field
- Why deduplicate on Place ID rather than name and address?
- Because names carry marketing suffixes and addresses get written five different ways. Place ID is one string that either matches or does not.
- Does the same business have one Place ID per branch?
- Yes. Each physical location is its own listing with its own ID, which is exactly what you want for territory planning.
This is one of 41 columns on every row, on every plan. See the full field reference or check pricing.