How Do I Show a Radius On Google Maps?
For local businesses that offer home delivery — may it be food delivery, plumbing service, or electrical repair — it's crucial to set geographical boundaries as to where they'd deliver their product or service.
Let's take Toronto’s #1 pizza delivery restaurant (according to Tripadvisor), Goodfellas Wood Oven Pizza, for example.
A restaurant that popular is bound to get orders from all over the city. But for them, it doesn't make operational sense to deliver 20 km away on the other side of the city.
So how can they set a geographical boundary?
For one, they can visually show the delivery area on Google Maps. How? Let me show you:
How Do I Show a Radius On Google Maps?
By default, Google Maps doesn’t have any tools to draw & display a radius, so you’ll have to use an external tool like the FreeMapTools’s radius tool or KML4Earth and create your own map.
Step 1: Locate your place on the Google Maps
Pinpoint the location you want to draw a circle around on Google Maps.
Then, note down the location’s latitude and longitude. For that, simply right-click on the location marker.
On left-clicking, the latitude and longitude will be copied to your clipboard. Keep it aside — we’ll use it in our next step.
Step 2: Generate a KML file
Now, go to one of the two map tools I mentioned to generate a KML (Keyhole Markup Language) file. (A KML file is used to display geographical data — we’ll generate it in this step and upload it to the Google Maps in the next one)
I’ll choose KML4Earth for the demo:
- Enter radius distance in km or miles.
- Then, input coordinates, i.e., latitude & longitude you got from the previous step.
- And click on “Generate circle.”
The tool will automatically create and download the KML file on your computer.
Step 3: Create Your Own Map
Obviously, Google won’t let everyone show circles on its universal map. You’ll have to create your own map and draw a radius in it.
To generate your map:
- Go to mymaps.google.com
- Click on “Create A New Map”
Step 4: Import your KML file
Your new map will look something like this:
On the left-hand side, you will have an option to add a layer. Create one, and import your KML file.
As soon as you import the file, the map will zoom in to the location and display the (5 km radius) circle.
Now, make changes to the map/circle if needed. For example, you can change border colors, fill circle color, add markers, add labels, edit the circle, etc., from individual layer elements.
That’s it. You can now share the link to the map with the circle or embed it on your website.
