These are the instructions to follow in order to start using Google Maps on your site. We've had to change these instructions several times as Google updates their admin tools from time to time and also seem to be moving all their services into their cloud platform. So let us know if these change.

1. Create a cloud account on the Google Cloud Platform. You can probably use the same account attached to your other "Google offerings". You may have one setup already. The url we see within our account is https://console.cloud.google.com.
2. Once within your Google Cloud Platform account we suggest creating a project for your site if not just for Google Maps for your site. Click the highlighted project chooser within the following:
3. Within the next popup screen choose the "new project":
4. Within the next screen name your project, add it to a organization if you have or want one and click the create button:
5. Once that project is added click the "project select" you chose in the first step, choose the new project name you just created and click the "open" button at bottom.
6. Within the next screen search for "maps" within the search box provided
7. Within the search results click the "Maps Javascript API" as shown here:
8. Click the "Enable" button within the next screen.
9. Now you are in the project home of the project you just created with Maps Javascript API details showing as below…click the APIs link in the left window:
10. Now you should see a full list of APIs currently enabled on your new project. You will need to enable the "Geocoding API" also for this same project as you see in this screenshot. When done you should see the "Maps Javascript API" and the "Geocoding API" enabled for this project.
11. Within the Google Cloud Platform choose the "APIs & Services" link within the left menu.
12. Next click the "credentials" link within the left window.
13. You should see a "create credentials" link in the middle of the page if you have not created API credentials for this project yet.
14. You should see a popup with the newly created API key. Click close and you will see all API credentials in your current project. That API key is what you will use within your Geo Google Maps addon admin tool. You can additionally click on the API key in the list to put restrictions on it's use….like only for your website's url or others. If you put restrictions just make it so it can work on the site your Geo installation is on.
15. Install and enable the Google Maps addon if you have not already, following Installation of Addons. <
16. In your admin panel, go to Addons > Google Maps > Settings, and enter your Google Maps API key. Save the settings. <
17. Change the rest of the setting if you wish to change them from the defaults. <
18. At the bottom of that same page in your admin, after the settings have been saved, ensure that the Google Map Preview displays correctly in the Maps Preview section. If it does not, check the settings and that cURL is working on your server, if the map does not display here it will not display on listing details pages. <
19. [NOTE: in most cases, this step is done for you automatically] Add the tag {addon author='geo_addons' addon='google_maps' tag='listing_map'} to your classified details and/or auction details templates (generally, listing_classified.tpl or listing_auction.tpl). If not already present, you would insert this tag into these templates wherever you want the Google Map to appear.<
20. In Listing Setup > Fields to Use make sure to allow using the Mapping Location field

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1. Place a test listing on your site, and be sure to enter the mapping data. Once the listing is placed, view the listing details to see if the map displays. <

<tip cn>Make sure you test/use this feature with an actual address that can be found by the Google Maps site. If the address is not valid, the window may never appear</tip>