Generate Google Api Key For Website
- What Is A Google Api Key
- Google Server Api Key
- Google Api Key Generator
- Generate Google Map Api Key
- Generate Google Api Key For Website Download
Where do I find my Google Maps API key? Because of recent changes that Google did, you need your own Google Maps API key if you want to use Google Maps on you own website. But don't worry! It's very easy to get one and it's free - we'll show you how, step by step. Click on the following button to request your own API key (opens in new tab. Open in a web browser. Login to your Google Account. From the left hand menu select Credentials. Click the Create credentials button and select API key. A new API key will be created that can be used with Google Sheets data sources.
Introduction
During the previous years, I published several (free) VBA functions that used Google web services, such as Geocoding, Elevation, and Directions. These functions worked in the same way: a properly formatted request was sent to the Google server, and, then, a response was received in XML format. If the response was successful, the requested field was retrieved (latitude, longitude, elevation, trip distance, etc.) by reading the XML file
These VBA functions working fine for several years, however, Google started to not allow the requests over HTTP protocol anymore, so these functions have become useless. This is the reason why I decided to rewrite all of these VBA functions while guiding you on how to get a free Google API Key that is now required.
August 2018 Update: Due to the new Google’s pricing in effect for the entire Maps Platform (started on July 16, 2018), I decided to re-write this guide, to follow along with their updated policy. The new pricing policy reduces significantly the free usage, but, still, for small, personal projects can be adequate.
The necessary steps to get a free, valid API key
The tutorial can be used for ANY Google API. As an example, I use the Geocoding API. The only prerequisite for this process is to just have a Google account and a credit card. Note: if you don’t exceed the free limits, your credit card will be charged nothing. So, yes, you can use the API key for free, as long as your API usage is low. More information is given below.
Common steps
1. First of all, log in to your Google Account.
2. Search for the appropriate API by using something like “Google API Name API Key”. The first result will probably be the one you need to click.
3. On the API page, click on the Get Started button.
4. A new page will load. In that page, you can hover over the available products, so as to select the one that contains the appropriate API. In this example, we can see that the Geocoding API is included in the third option (Places).
5. Check the appropriate product, the third one in this case, and then click on the Continue button.
6. Select the Create a new project option and click it.
7. Rename the project, select the Yes radio button (agreeing with terms of service) and press the Next button.
New billing account
8. If this is the first time that you are using any Google API, you will have to create a new billing account. So, click on Create Billing Account button to create one. The next time that you will need to use another Google API, you can simply use the same billing account and follow the steps 14 to 16.
9. Select your country using the arrow button on the left, click Yes (or No) on the radio button to receive (or not) updates from Google, click Yes on the radio button to agree with the terms of service and press the Agree And Continue button.
What Is A Google Api Key
10. Fill in the necessary information, such as tax information, address and your credit card. Note that debit cards are NOT allowed. Then, press the Start My Free Trial button.
11. Finally, if you filled all the information successfully, you will get a message like the one below. Press the Got It button.
12. The main dashboard of the project appears. Here you can view some useful information, such as the number of requests, the traffic, as well as the billing. Click on your API (here is the Geocoding API).
13. In the API page, click on the Credentials tab. There, you will find the API key, which you can copy using the button shown below. If you click on the API Key hyperlink, a new page opens. See more on the Restring the API key usage section of the guide.
Existing billing account
14. If you already have a billing account, then you have to click on the Set Account button on the form that will pop up.
15. On the next form, click on the Next button.
16. In the API form that pop-ups, you will find the API key, which you can copy using the button shown below. Finally, click on the Done button. If you click on the API Console hyperlink, a new page opens. See more on the Restring the API key usage section that follows.
Additional information
Restricting the API key usage
If you clicked either the API key hyperlink (step 13) or the API Console hyperlink (step 16), you will end up in a new page where you can rename your API key, but more importantly, you can restrict its access (if you need to do that). Furthermore, you can regenerate or even delete the key if you no longer need it. Don’t forget to click the Save button after any change you make.
Using API key in VBA functions
If you want to use your API key in one of the VBA functions that I have uploaded, for example, the GetCoordinates function, then you have to paste the key in the line that is shown below (e.g. assign it to the ApiKey string variable). Note: use quotation marks before and after the key!
Free API key limitations
Until July 16, the pricing policy of Google allowed 2,500 free requests per day and per API. However, free requests have been dramatically reduced. Hence, according to the new pricing, for the case of Geocoding API, as the image below shows, the free requests per month are only 40,000 (i.e. 1,333 requests per day on average). In other words, the free requests were dropped in the half (46% reduction). So, when you need to use an API, take a closer look at the allowable free requests on this table and try not to exceed them. More information about the billing can be found here.
Monitoring your API requests
As we already mentioned, the free usage is limited to a specific number of requests per month. In order to have an overview of how many requests you performed, you can go to your project’s page in the Google Cloud Console. There, on the Overview tab, you can see the number of requests you have already done. In the example below, 22 requests were sent to Google’s server. If you don’t want to pay any money, be careful with your free limits.
Epilogue
If you followed these steps, you will get a valid API key that you can use on your projects. To save you some time, here are the links to the API key pages that I have used in the VBA functions published in this site: Matlab 2014a activation key generator.
- Geocoding API Key – Geocoding Using VBA & Google API
- Geocoding API Key – Reverse Geocoding Using VBA & Google API
- Elevation API Key – Custom Elevation Function (VBA & Google API)
- Directions API Key – Custom Trip Distance Function (VBA & Google Directions API)
Page last updated: 15/06/2019
Contents
What is Google Maps API key?
Google Maps API key is used to access Google Maps API. Some applications or plugins using the capabilities of Google Maps require getting and adding an individual token. If you have one of these plugins, you should register on the Google API Console and get your own key.Google API key also allows for using capabilities offered by some services. Having an API key, you are given your individual free limit of user queries, according to your quota. This means your widget no longer has to share the usage limit with other widgets of the same origin and you may increase your limits if you need. Moreover, with Google Maps API key, you can monitor your queries and control them if necessary.How to get a Google Maps API key?
Getting an API key is not complicated and just requires a couple of minutes of your time. In the process, you will need to create a billing account or use credentials of already existing one, which will be used for payment, in case you exceed your limits. So be prepared to have your billing data with you. Following 3 steps, described below, you will get your API key.Video tutorial
Step 1 – Create your project
- To start the procedure, go to Google Maps Platform
- Press “Get Started” button and in the appeared window tick all three types of products. Press Continue.
- In the updated window, choose Select a project and enter project name in the box below. Then click Next.
Google Server Api Key
Step 2 – Create a billing account
- In the updated window, click Create Billing Account.
- Create a name for you billing project and press Continue. Fill in the appeared form with your contact data and payment information and click Next.
Step 3 – Get your API key
- In the appeared window, you will be offered to enable your APIs. Press Next.
- You will see a new window with your API key in the box. Save the key to be able to use it and press Done.
Secure your API key
After your key is created, it’s recommended to restrict it to prevent unauthorized usage. Please, go to Google Cloud Platform Console and click on your key. In the appeared form, select “HTTP referrers (websites)” and enter your site domain name in the field below. If you are an Elfsight Apps user, also add *.elfsight.com to be able to manage your widget from Elfsight Apps panel.How do I handle my Google Maps usage limits?
Google Api Key Generator
When you get your Google Maps API key, you can set your daily quota for queries in the Google API console. Google Maps web APIs have 25,000 free requests per day, which means the service stays free during the day until you reach this number. If it is exceeded, you need to enable billing or buy a Premium Plan license to have a higher daily quota and allow for more queries.You can have more information concerning usage limits, higher quotas, billing and applying for increased limits on Google Maps API documentation page.Using your key
So, getting your API key isn’t as difficult as it may sound, you need a couple of minutes and the work is done! We hope that our tutorial was helpful and now you can easily handle the task of having an API key. You can use your key in any Google Maps plugin, for example, Elfsight Google Maps widget is a perfect choice if you need a customizable map with various locations and option to create location lists. It allows to show maximum info about your business and has an automatic route calculation to attract more real-life visitors.Generate Google Map Api Key
*An important note for Elfsight Google Maps users: make sure to add “apps.elfsight.com” and the name of the domain, where you are going to use the widget, to the domain field. The field can be found by choosing HTTP reference option in the Application Restrictions menu.