Tracking Google Maps usage with billing alerts

Stockist works with Google's mapping services to power your store locator. 

Google's mapping services have a generous free tier, and 99% of Stockist clients use less than the free limit. However, Google may ask you to  link a payment method to your Google Maps key in order to use the free Google Maps services on your site. To ensure you don't incur unexpected charges, you can set up billing alerts with Google to be notified if your usage nears the free limit.

Set up billing alerts

Follow these steps to set up a billing alert:

  1. Ensure you're logged into the Google account you used to set up your Google Maps key. You can check the Google Account page to see what account you're currently logged into.
  2. Once you're logged in, click here to open the Google Cloud Platform Billing page.
  3. Click on the name of the billing account you previously linked to your Google Maps key. If you haven't set up a billing account with Google yet, follow the instructions here.
  4. In the billing account details page, click Budgets & alerts in the left menu:
  5. On the Budgets & alerts page, click Create budget:
  6. On the Scope page, choose a name for your reference (e.g. Stockist Store Locator Map Usage) then ensure both Credits checkboxes are unchecked so that you are alerted as your free credit is utilized, rather than only after your free credit is used up. Then, click Next:
  7. On the Amount page, enter your total budget amount. If you want to track your free tier usage with Google, enter $200. Then, click Next.
  8. On the Actions page, you can optionally review or change the alert thresholds. You'll receive emails once these percentages of your free tier are used up. Then, click Finish to create the alert:

  9. Once saved, your billing alerts are fully set up and you'll receive emails if the set thresholds are reached. You can return to the main Budgets & alerts page at any time to see your current budget usage or make changes to your alert levels:

These billing alerts track and monitor the Google Maps usage on your website; also consider enabling service quotas to set up maximum limits for your website's map usage.

Related Articles