Getting Started

The Google Maps API lets you add easy-to-use interactive maps to your public website, enhancing your customers' experience by helping them find exactly what they need from your organization. That's why it's the most popular mapping API in the world. When Google Maps plays an important role on your public website, or is incorporated in an internal application for your employees, organizations need an enterprise-class application that handles high volumes and provides necessary support.

1. Why Google Maps API for Business?
2. Your Client ID
3. Registering authorized URLs
4. Determining Application Usage
5. Support

Why Google Maps API for Business?

Google Maps API for Business provides Enterprise-ready application support for your mapping application needs. Google Maps API for Business uses the same code base as the standard Google Maps API, but provides the following additional features and benefits:

• A robust Service Level Agreement (SLA)
• Customer support
• Increased limits on Web Services
• Commercial-grade terms and conditions
• Intranet application support within the enterprise

Google Maps API for Business requires registration of your website to access these additional features. For more information, contact us.

This documentation discusses use cases and coding issues particular to the Google Maps API for Business product. For full documentation on all common code, use this guide together with the existing Google Maps API Documentation.

Your Client ID

To access the special features of Google Maps API for Business, you must provide a client ID when accessing any of the API libraries or services. When registering for Google Maps API for Business, you will receive this client ID from Google Enterprise Support. All client IDs begin with a gme- prefix.

Note: this client ID is not a key. It will only work from URLs which you authorize so you don't need to worry about keeping it secret.

Registering authorized URLs

In order to prevent a third party from reusing your client ID on their own website, the use of your client ID is restricted to a list of URLs that you specifically authorize. If you wish to obtain a list of your authorized URLs, or authorize additional URLs to use with your client ID, please contact Google Enterprise Support. You may register any number of URLs for authorization with your client ID.

The following considerations apply regarding URLs that are authorized:

The domain name or IP address does not have to be publicly accessible.

For example, http://myintranet and http://192.168.1.1 are valid entries.

If no subdomain is specified, all subdomains of the domain are also authorized.

For example, if http://example.com is authorized, then http://www.example.com is also authorized. The reverse is not true; if http://www.example.com is authorized, http://example.com is not.

Any subpath of an authorized path is also authorized.

For example, if http://example.com is authorized, then http://example.com/foo is also authorized. The reverse is not true; if http://example.com/foo is authorized, http://example.com is not.

Paths are case-sensitive. /ThisPath/ is not the same as /thispath/.

You may restrict valid URLs to those using certain ports.

This is indicated by including the allowed port as a suffix to the domain name declaration. For example, http://example.com:8080/foo.

HTTPS URLs count as separate authorizations.

For example, https://example.com counts as a separate authorization than that of the default HTTP (non-secure) protocol.

Determining Application Usage

Google Maps API for Business enables customers to determine and analyze the activity on your API application based on client ID. These reports are available from the Resources tab of the Enterprise Support Portal. To track usage across different applications using the same client ID, you may provide an optional channel parameter when accessing any of the APIs that are tracked in the reports. By specifying different channel values for different aspects of your application, you can determine precisely how your application is used.

For example, your externally-facing website may access the API using a channel set to customer while your internal marketing department may use a channel set to mkting. Your reports will break down usage by those channel values.

The channel parameter must use the following format:

• Must be an ASCII alphanumeric string.
• Period (.) and hyphen (-) characters are allowed.
• The channel parameter is case-insensitive; upper-case, mixed-case, and lower-cased channel parameters will be merged into their lower-case equivalent.

  For example, usage on the CUSTOMER channel will be combined with the usage on the customer channel.

• The channel value must be a static value assigned per application instance, and must not be generated dynamically. You may not use channel values to track individual users, for example.

The channel parameter should be appended to the src value of your script tag:

<script src="http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?v=3&client=gme-yourclientid&sensor=true_or_false&channel=yourchannel"
  type="text/javascript"></script>

Support

Google Maps API for Business comes with dedicated Enterprise-level support. Support is primarily offered through the Enterprise Support Portal. Once you obtain a Google Maps API for Business license, you'll receive contact information from a Google Maps API Enterprise Support representative. Otherwise, please fill this form.