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MetaLocator Zapier integrationAutomate MetaLocator with Zapier.

3 triggers, 2 actions, 1 search. The MetaLocator Zapier integration moves leads, users and locator records between your store locator and the rest of your tools. Here is what each operation does, what it costs and where it trips up.

See the 6 operations

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Overview

What the MetaLocator Zapier integration is for

MetaLocator powers the store locator, dealer locator or searchable directory on your website. Zapier connects it to your other apps: a Zap (the automation you build on Zapier) watches MetaLocator for leads, users or edited records, or writes records into it from elsewhere.

Three outcomes cover most needs. A lead follow-up: New Lead passes each lead captured by your locator to your CRM, so sales sees it without logging in to MetaLocator. A clean external copy: Manually Updated Record picks up the edits an admin makes by hand or that come in via crowdsourcing, which is exactly what you want to mirror in an outside data source. A locator fed from your sheet: Find Record locates a record by its MetaLocator ID or a configured External Key, then Update Record or Create Record writes the change.

Now the limits. No trigger here is instant: Zapier checks MetaLocator on a timer, and that timer depends on your plan. Changes caused by a bulk import never start Manually Updated Record. And there is no delete action, so removing a location stays a job you do in MetaLocator itself.

Before you commit, open our Zapier review, or see our Make vs Zapier guide if you are still choosing a platform.

Vocabulary

The Zapier words you will meet on this page

Eight terms, in plain English. They come back below without a reminder.

Zap
The automation itself: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event that starts the Zap, such as a new lead in MetaLocator. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it.
Action
What the Zap does once started: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you, like creating a record.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. Your plan is a count of those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer for new items. An instant one is reported by the app itself the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when what arrived meets your condition, and stops it otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something that already exists, here a MetaLocator record, so later steps can use what it found.
Multi-step Zap
Any Zap beyond one trigger and one action. A second action, a filter or a search makes it one, and it needs a paid plan.
Cost

What it really costs

Checking MetaLocator for new leads, users or edits never costs a task, however often Zapier looks. Only a completed action is billed.

  • Trigger checksFree, never counted
  • Each successful action1 task
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps
  • Premium appNo

Each action that succeeds counts once: a Zap that creates one record per row costs one task per row. A failed action is not counted. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps of two steps, so New Lead plus one action fits. Add Find Record or a filter and the Zap turns multi-step, which needs a paid plan. MetaLocator is not a premium app. All three triggers are polling, so the grid below sets how long a new item can wait.

Connect

Connect MetaLocator to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. You need a MetaLocator account, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch.

  2. 02

    Pick MetaLocator

    Search for MetaLocator in the dialog, select it, then click Add connection. A new tab opens so you can sign in on the MetaLocator side and finish the link.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Log in to MetaLocator in that tab and let Zapier reach the account. Every Zap that uses MetaLocator then reuses this one connection, so you sign in only once.

First Zap

Your first Zap: tell an admin about each new user

GoalEach new MetaLocator user goes through a filter, and the ones that match your condition are announced in your team chat.

  1. 01

    Set the trigger

    Create a Zap, choose MetaLocator as the app and New User as the event, then select your MetaLocator connection so Zapier knows which account to watch.

  2. 02

    Test it

    Run the test: Zapier brings back the three most recent items of the connected account. Pick a real user, so every later step maps onto actual data.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    Click the plus icon and add Filter. Fill the three boxes: the field to look at, the rule, the value. Use a text rule on text and a number rule on numbers.

  4. 04

    Add the action

    Pick your chat app and its message action, then place the user fields into the message. Test the step and read what came back before going further.

  5. 05

    Publish

    Click Publish to switch the Zap on. With a filter it is a multi-step Zap, so it needs a paid plan. Users created before publishing are not picked up.

Triggers

MetaLocator triggers

3 events start a Zap when something happens in MetaLocator. Zapier checks for them at the interval your plan allows.

1

Manually Updated Record

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a record in MetaLocator is manually edited or created by an admin or via Crowdsourcing. This trigger does not include data changes caused by a bulk import. This is useful for isolating record edits in MetaLocator that need to be synchronized with an external data source.”

Fires when a record is edited or created by hand, by an admin or through crowdsourcing, and hands that record to the next step. Changes made by a bulk import are left out on purpose.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one
When to use it
when hand edits in MetaLocator must be copied to an outside data source, without dragging every imported row along.
Watch out
the Table field is required and defaults to 'locations'; pick another table only if it is configured in your account under Tools > Tables.
2

New Lead

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new Lead is created in MetaLocator.”

Picks up each lead created in MetaLocator and passes its details on, so the person who reached out through your locator does not sit unanswered in the back office.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one
When to use it
to push every lead into your CRM, or to alert whoever handles inbound requests in your team chat.
Watch out
leads created before the Zap is published are never fetched; only new ones go through.
3

New User

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new user is created”

Starts the Zap whenever a new user is created in MetaLocator, which gives you one place to react to every account added to your setup.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one
When to use it
to keep a list of MetaLocator users in a spreadsheet, or to notify an admin each time someone is added.
Watch out
what the trigger returns about each user is best read at test time, on a real item, before you map it.
Actions

MetaLocator actions

MetaLocator gives you 2 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create Record

Action

In Zapier“This action creates or updates a record in MetaLocator.”

Writes a record into MetaLocator from data that lives elsewhere; the official description says it creates or updates the record.

When to use it
to add a new location to your locator each time one appears in your sheet or form.
Watch out
Name is required, so map a column that is never empty.
2

Update Record

Action

In Zapier“This action updates a specific record in MetaLocator.”

Changes one specific MetaLocator record that you point to by its ID, so a change made elsewhere reaches the locator.

When to use it
after Find Record, when the change comes from another tool and the record already exists.
Watch out
both ID and Name are required; map the ID from an earlier step such as Find Record, and check it at test.
Searches

The MetaLocator search

1 search step looks for data that already exists in MetaLocator, so a later step can use it.

The search sits at the bottom of the action-event list, under SEARCH. Three settings decide what happens when the result is not a clean single match.

1

Find Record

SearchFind or create

In Zapier“Finds a record in MetaLocator. Search by MetaLocator-provided ID or a configured External Key”

Looks up an existing record by its MetaLocator ID or by an External Key you configured, and hands it to the following steps.

When to use it
before Update Record, to get the ID it requires.
Watch out
the editor also lists Find or Create Records; it is this same search with the creation box ticked, not a separate operation.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, a search that finds nothing stops the Zap there and the dependent steps are skipped. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    Ticking it turns the search into a find-or-create: the setting above disappears and Zapier asks for the fields needed to create the missing record.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out: keep the first match, which is the default, stop the Zap, or hand every match on at once.
When it breaks

When it breaks

Zapier lists no error specific to MetaLocator. The trouble comes from how Zapier works in general.

  • Older leads and edits never arrive

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after it is switched on. Existing leads, users and records are not picked up; moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • A Zap that keeps restarting itself

    A Zap that writes into the very place its own trigger watches can set itself off again and again and burn through tasks.

  • A big batch gets held back

    When a trigger suddenly returns a huge batch, after a migration for instance, Zapier's flood protection can hold those runs back.

  • The same item does not fire twice

    On a polling trigger, Zapier remembers what it has already seen, so one lead or user never starts the Zap twice.
Need help

Need help automating MetaLocator with Zapier?

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FAQ

MetaLocator and Zapier: frequent questions

01Is the MetaLocator Zapier integration free?
Yes, within the two-step limit. MetaLocator is not a premium app, so it runs on Zapier's free plan, which gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps of two steps: one trigger and one action. Sending each new lead to your CRM fits that. Anything with Find Record, a filter or a second action becomes a multi-step Zap and needs a paid plan, which matters here whenever an update needs Find Record to get its ID first.
02How many tasks does a MetaLocator Zap use?
One task per action that succeeds. Zapier checking MetaLocator for leads, users or edits costs nothing, however often it looks. A Zap that creates one record per spreadsheet row costs one task per row. A Zap that searches and then updates costs one task for each completed action step, so plan your volume per run. Failed actions are not counted. A few apps and actions take more than one task when they complete.
03Do MetaLocator leads reach Zapier in real time?
No. All three MetaLocator triggers are polling: Zapier asks MetaLocator for new items at a fixed interval. On the free plan that is every 15 minutes, on Professional every 2 minutes, on Team and Enterprise every minute. On the paid plans the interval can be changed, and a check can be run by hand from the editor. A lead created right after a check waits for the next one, so plan your follow-up around that delay.
04What do you need to connect MetaLocator to Zapier?
An account on MetaLocator, plus read or write access on anything you do not own yourself and want the Zap to touch. You connect it once from the Apps page of your Zapier account: click + Add connection, search for MetaLocator, click Add connection, sign in in the tab that opens and grant access. Every Zap that uses MetaLocator then reuses that same connection, so there is nothing to redo when you build the next one.
05Why does a bulk import not start Manually Updated Record?
Because that trigger is built to ignore it. Manually Updated Record only reacts to records edited or created by an admin or via crowdsourcing; changes caused by a bulk import are left out. That is the point: it isolates hand edits that need syncing with an outside data source, without flooding your Zap with every imported row. If imported data must flow elsewhere too, it needs another route than this trigger.
06What if the MetaLocator operation you need is missing?
Then Zapier cannot do it for MetaLocator today. The app currently offers three triggers, two actions (Create Record, Update Record) and one search, Find Record; there is no delete action, for instance. The MetaLocator page on Zapier shows the current list, so check it before planning a flow. Sometimes the gap can be covered by combining a search with an update, or by doing that one step by hand inside MetaLocator while the rest stays automated.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for MetaLocator?
Decide on criteria rather than a ranking. On Zapier, every MetaLocator trigger is polling, so your plan sets the delay, from every 15 minutes on the free plan down to every minute on Team and Enterprise. A flow that runs Find Record before Update Record is multi-step, which means a paid plan. Whether Make or n8n offer a MetaLocator connector is not covered here: check their catalogues, then compare delay and billing for the same flow.
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