Place not showing up on Google Places API

Question

I'm trying to search for Erna properties. If you type it in Google search, the first result shows up the website. I tried searching for it under Google places API -

1. maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/autocomplete/json
2. https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/findplacefromtext/json

However it didn't show up. Can someone help me with this problem? There is also another issue wherein if I search for it under Google's customsearch, it never shows the result which I apparently get as the first result under normal Google web search which apparently contains the website/

Answer 1

I can see that this place exists in Google Maps:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Erna+Properties/@40.3618793,-74.2530876,11.54z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c231e71254bc01:0x18519e1bff73fee0!8m2!3d40.342263!4d-74.102175

However, indeed, the Places API cannot find it. I believe this is because the place was created in Google My Business as a Service Area Business. Unfortunately, the Places API autocomplete and searches don't work with Service Area Businesses. There is a feature request in Google issue tracker to make SABs available in autocomplete and searches. You can see this feature request here:

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/35828187

Feel free to star the feature request to express your interest and subscribe to further notifications from Google.

In the meantime, if you need a place ID for Erna Properties, you have to use a Google My Business place ID finder located at

https://support.google.com/business/answer/7035772#place_id

I figured out that place ID of Erna Properties is ChIJAbxUEucxwokR4P5z_xueURg. You can use it with place details. E.g.

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/details/json?placeid=ChIJAbxUEucxwokR4P5z_xueURg&key=YOUR_API_KEY

I hope this helps!