How to Target Businesses by Category on Google Maps
If you want to target businesses by category on Google Maps, the process is simple: search using the exact category name a business would use to describe itself (like "dentist," "auto repair," or "boutique hotel"), pair it with a specific location, then pull the results into a list you can filter and export. Google Maps organizes almost every business under a category tag, which makes it one of the most reliable ways to build a targeted lead list without guessing who might be a fit.
Here's how to do it correctly, step by step.
Why Category Targeting Works Better Than Broad Search
Searching a broad term like "businesses near me" returns a mess of unrelated results. Category targeting works better because it filters out the noise from the start, you're only pulling businesses that have self-identified under a specific label in their Google Business Profile.
This matters for outreach and sales. A list of 200 dentists in Austin is far more useful than a list of 2,000 random businesses in Austin, because every dentist on that list has already committed budget, staff, and expectations to running that specific type of business.
How to Target Businesses by Category on Google Maps: Step-by-Step
Manually scrolling through Google Maps and copying details one listing at a time doesn't scale. A tool like MapLeads handles the search and export automatically:
Enter the business category. Type the category as it would naturally appear, "law firm," "coffee shop," "HVAC contractor," etc. You can also search by a specific business name if you're targeting a known company type.
Set your location. Add a city, zip code, or region to narrow the search to where your leads actually operate.
Hit search. The tool returns every business matching that category within the area, along with the content info pulled from each Google Business Profile.
Check the results. Each result includes business name, address, phone number, website, and other listed details, no manual digging required.
Export the list. Save the results (SVG/export option) so you can filter, sort, or upload the list elsewhere.
This gives you a clean, category-specific list in minutes instead of hours.
Narrowing Your Category Search Further
Broad categories can still return a large number of results in bigger cities. A few ways to narrow it down:
Combine category with neighborhood, not just city. "Yoga studio Brooklyn Heights" returns a tighter, more relevant list than "yoga studio New York."
Search close variations of the category. Businesses list themselves differently, "attorney" vs. "law firm," or "gym" vs. "fitness center", so running a few related searches catches leads a single term would miss.
Cross-check against your saved lists to avoid re-searching categories or areas you've already worked through.
Finding Contact Info for Categorized Leads
Once you've built a category-based list, the next step is getting a working email address for outreach. Some Google Business Profiles list a website you can pull an email from directly; others require a second data source.
That's where the MapLeads – LinkedIn Email Finder Chrome extension comes in:
Install the extension and connect your LinkedIn account.
Add your API key so the extension activates on LinkedIn profiles.
Search for owners or managers within the same business category on LinkedIn.
Pull bulk emails across multiple matching profiles, or grab a single email from one profile.
Save or download the results to merge with your Google Maps list.
This gives you two independent sources of contact data for the same category, which increases how many leads on your list are actually reachable.
Sending Outreach by Category
Businesses in the same category tend to share similar pain points, which makes category-based lists ideal for templated, but still personalized, outreach. From the campaigns dashboard, you can generate AI-written emails tailored to a category, send them in bulk, and track responses.
A few things worth doing differently by category:
Reference a pain point specific to that business type (booking software for salons, review management for restaurants, scheduling for contractors).
Avoid sending the exact same subject line across categories, what works for a law firm won't land the same way with a coffee shop.
Track reply rates by category so you know which segments are worth expanding.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using vague categories. "Retail" is too broad; "boutique clothing store" is specific enough to be useful.
Ignoring category variations. Missing "attorney" while only searching "law firm" cuts your list in half for no reason.
Treating every category the same in outreach. A generic email ignores what makes each business type different.
Not exporting before switching categories. Save each category search before moving to the next one.
What to Expect in Real Life
Some categories will return hundreds of results in a major city; others will return a handful in a smaller town. That's expected, category size varies naturally by location and industry demand. Focus on the categories most relevant to what you're selling rather than chasing volume alone.
For a broader look at combining categories and locations for lead generation, see B2B lead generation with Google Maps.