Automated Lead Generation Machine with N8N: From Google Maps to Your Inbox

Clicking through endless Google Maps results, opening site after site, digging around for contact pages, and copy-pasting emails into a spreadsheet. By the time you’ve got a small list together, you’re already exhausted. This workflow changes that. With N8N, the whole process runs on autopilot. Just drop in a search term like “restaurants in Chicago” or “marketing agencies in London”, and the workflow does the rest. It finds businesses, pulls their email addresses, stores them neatly, and can even kick off your outreach emails—all while you focus on bigger things.

Prerequisites: What You'll Need to Get Started

Before diving into the workflow magic, you'll need access to these APIs and services:

• Google Gmail API for sending automated emails
• Google Sheets API to store and manage your email lists
• Google Gemini AI API for generating personalized email content
• N8N platform with workflow execution capabilities

Don't worry if this sounds technical. N8N makes connecting these services surprisingly straightforward with its visual interface.

Key Components: The Workflow's Building Blocks

This workflow is like a well-orchestrated symphony with multiple instruments playing in harmony. Here are the main nodes that make it all happen:

• Manual Trigger to start your lead generation campaign
• HTTP Request nodes for scraping Google Maps and business websites
• Google Gemini Chat Model for AI-powered email generation
• Gmail node for automated email sending
• Google Sheets node for data storage and management
• Code nodes for email extraction and validation
• Loop and batch processing nodes for handling multiple leads efficiently

Step 1: Set Up Your Search Foundation

The workflow begins with a simple manual trigger where you input your search query. Think of it as planting a seed that will grow into a full lead generation tree. The system takes your query (like "IT companies Amsterdam") and immediately starts the Google Maps scraping process. The HTTP request node constructs a Google Maps search URL and retrieves the raw HTML data. This is where the magic begins, as the workflow starts discovering potential business leads from your search terms.

Step 2: Extract and Filter Business URLs

Here's where things get clever. The workflow uses a custom JavaScript code node to parse through all that messy HTML and extract clean business website URLs. But it doesn't stop there. A smart filtering system removes unwanted domains like Google's own services, ensuring you only get genuine business websites. The workflow then removes duplicates and prepares a clean list of targets for the next phase.

"The beauty of automation isn't just doing things faster, it's doing them more consistently and accurately than any human could manage manually."

Step 3: Scrape Websites for Email Addresses

Now comes the detective work. The workflow visits each business website individually, scraping the content for email addresses. It uses sophisticated regex patterns to identify valid email formats while filtering out common false positives like image files ending in .png or .svg.

The system processes everything in batches to avoid overwhelming target websites and includes error handling to keep running even if some sites are unreachable. All discovered emails get stored in a Google Sheets document for easy access and management.

Step 4: Generate Outreach Emails

This is where AI enters the spotlight. The workflow leverages Google Gemini to create email for each prospect. The system follows a structured approach, generating emails with compelling subject lines and professional content about N8N automation services.

Each email includes specific benefits like appointment scheduling automation, customer management systems, and social media automation. The AI ensures every message feels personal while maintaining consistency across your outreach campaign.

Step 5: Launch Your Automated Email Campaign

The final step brings everything together. Using the Gmail integration, the workflow automatically sends your personalized emails to each discovered prospect. It includes built-in delays to respect sending limits and maintain a natural sending pattern.

The system processes emails in batches, ensuring reliable delivery while keeping track of all sent messages. Everything happens automatically once you hit that initial trigger button.

Real-World Benefits and Use Cases

This workflow transforms how businesses approach lead generation. Instead of spending days on manual research and outreach, you can launch targeted campaigns in minutes. Here are some powerful applications:

• Local Business Development: Find restaurants, retailers, or service providers in specific cities
• B2B Sales Automation: Target specific industries like IT companies, marketing agencies, or consultants
• Partnership Opportunities: Discover complementary businesses for potential collaborations
• Market Research: Build comprehensive contact databases for market analysis
• Event Promotion: Reach out to businesses for conference sponsorships or attendance

The workflow's modular design means you can easily customize it for different industries, geographic regions, or outreach messages. Want to target "digital marketing agencies in London" instead? Just change the search query and let the automation handle the rest.

Your Lead Generation Future Starts Now

What used to take hours of manual work now runs automatically in the background. This N8N workflow represents the future of business development: intelligent, scalable, and incredibly efficient. You're not just automating tasks; you're multiplying your outreach capacity while maintaining quality and personalization. The best part? Once set up, this workflow becomes your tireless digital assistant, continuously feeding your sales pipeline with fresh, qualified leads. Time to let automation do the heavy lifting while you focus on closing deals and growing your business. Ready to build your own automated lead generation machine? The workflow is waiting for you to customize and deploy it for your specific business needs.