This is what I tried to solve and in this article I am going to show you exactly what you need in order to get the CID number on Google maps for your listing ( and to track your competitors as well!)
You can track your competitors using this amazing Ranktracker that I found called Noozle.io.
How to Find the CID Number
What You’ll Need:
Time: 5 minutes
Equipment: Computer or Smartphone
Tools: Google Search
Cost: Free!
1. Using the “GatherUp” Chrome Extension
Here’s how to find the cid number of a Google My Business listing. The fastest way to do this is to install the GatherUp Chrome Extension. This tool checks the listing and identifies the numbers (also called ludocid) so you don’t have to look for them yourself. If you are looking to determine how to view this and locate the CID yourself, check option 3.
- Install the GatherUp Chrome extension
- To get the CID number of a listing pull it up in Search or the Local Finder
- Select the GatherUp chrome extension
- You can now copy the Maps URL with the CID number in it
2. Using the “Company Information in Google” Chrome Extension
Tom Waddington, a fellow Google Product Expert created a chrome extension that is another great option for how to find a CID URL. It is called Company Information in Google.
3. Method #3 for Finding a Business’s CID Number for a GMB listing
If you like testing things out and tinkering with Google here are a few more methods for you to test out.
From Google Maps
A great friend of mine who does web design in Bucharest and freelances all over the world now, has showed me that if you have the business open in Google Maps:
- Do a search in Google Maps for the business name and make sure it’s the only result that shows up.
- Replace http:// with view-source: in the URL
- Click CTRL+F and search the source code for “ludocid”
- The CID will be the string of numbers after “ludocid\\u003d” and before #lrd
NOTE: You sometimes need to write ” ludo_cid ” to get results in the search bar!
Example: If this is the code, which is his business listing:
ON+L3Y+4V8\\u0026ludocid\\u003d18208190227674681406#lrd\\u003d0x882ace1b6df9d1db:0xfcb07c8a7b49d03e
From Google Maps for an SAB Listing (with hidden address)
The process for finding the google maps CID number for a service area business (SAB) is slightly different than for finding it with a business visible on Google Maps.
- Pull up the listing on Google Maps
- It will be some super long URL like this:
- You want to look for the super long set of characters that start with 0x (there are 2 of them and the second ends before the exclamation point). I highlighted them in the above example.
- The second of the 2 (the one in blue above) lists the CID in hexadecimal after the 0x (leave that off). In this example, you’d be talking about: ae7ce47d78d8b07e
- Throw that into a hexadecimal converter and you will have the CID number (In this example you should have ended up with 12573175487261094014)
There you have it! 3 simple and fast ways to get the CID code for a GMB listing!
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