Google Earth Pro can be a useful starting point for land surveying and site analysis, particularly when you need to understand a location before carrying out detailed fieldwork. It allows you to inspect satellite imagery, locate coordinates, measure distances and areas, examine elevation, view historical imagery and mark boundaries.
However, there is an important distinction: Google Earth Pro should not be treated as a replacement for professional surveying equipment or a legally authoritative survey. Its measurements and imagery are useful for preliminary investigation and planning, but accuracy depends on the available imagery, terrain and the way the measurement is made. Google itself warns that measurements may not be 100% accurate, particularly in areas with 3D terrain and buildings.
The workflow below focuses on practical site investigation and preliminary surveying tasks.
If you need a more detailed explanation of area measurements, see our guide on how to measure land area in Google Earth Pro.
1. Locate the Survey or Project Site
Start by searching for the project location in Google Earth Pro. You can search using a place name, address or geographic coordinates.
Once you find the area, zoom in and inspect the surrounding features. Look for roads, buildings, rivers, drainage channels, vegetation, settlements and other features that may affect the proposed project.
For construction or infrastructure planning, this first visual inspection can help you understand the general site before visiting it.
2. Check and Record Coordinates
Coordinates are important when identifying a site precisely.
Google Earth Pro can display latitude and longitude and allows you to work with different coordinate formats. You can place a placemark at a location and record its coordinates for later reference.
For example, a preliminary site investigation might record:
- Proposed construction site
- Existing road access
- Water source
- Storage tank location
- Survey control or reference location
- Nearby settlement
If you already have many coordinates in a spreadsheet, Google Earth Pro can also import suitable CSV data and convert the locations into placemarks.
3. Measure Distance Between Locations
Distance measurements can be useful during preliminary site planning.
For example, you might want to estimate:
- Distance from a proposed site to the nearest road
- Distance between two project locations
- Approximate pipeline route length
- Distance from a water source to a treatment facility
In Google Earth Pro, open Tools → Ruler, choose the appropriate measurement type, and select points on the map. The measurement can also be saved under Places for later reference.
For better results, use an appropriate map view and avoid assuming that the measurement represents a precise surveyed distance.
4. Estimate Land Area
Google Earth Pro can also be used to estimate the area of a site.
Create a polygon around the area you want to investigate and use the measurement tools to obtain its approximate area.
This can be useful for an initial assessment of:
- Building sites
- Reservoir areas
- Project compounds
- Agricultural areas
- Catchments
- Development sites
For example, if you are comparing several potential sites, measuring each polygon can provide a quick estimate of their relative size.
Remember that an imagery-based measurement is not automatically a cadastral or legal land-area measurement. For property boundaries or engineering work requiring high accuracy, use appropriate survey data.
5. Examine Elevation and Terrain
Terrain is an important part of site analysis, particularly for roads, drainage systems, pipelines and water-supply projects.
Google Earth Pro provides a 3D environment that allows you to tilt and rotate the view to examine hills, valleys and other terrain features.
You can also draw a path and view an elevation profile, which shows elevation and distance along the selected path. Google documents this function as a way to explore slope, elevation and distance along a path.
For a preliminary water-supply investigation, for example, an elevation profile can help you visually understand whether a proposed route generally rises or falls between two locations.
6. Digitise Approximate Site Boundaries
Google Earth Pro allows you to create paths and polygons over the imagery. These can be useful for marking approximate boundaries, routes and areas of interest. Google provides tools specifically for creating paths and polygons and subsequently measuring them.
A practical approach is to create separate folders for different features:
Project Site
→ Site Boundary
→ Access Road
→ Existing Facilities
→ Proposed Facilities
→ Drainage
→ Reference Points
This keeps the project organised and makes it easier to review later.
7. Use Historical Imagery
Historical imagery can be valuable when analysing how a site has changed.
You might compare older and newer imagery to investigate:
- Expansion of buildings
- Changes in roads
- Vegetation changes
- Development of settlements
- Changes around a project area
Google notes that imagery is collected at different times and is not real-time imagery. Available dates also vary by location.
Therefore, always check the imagery date before using an image as evidence of a particular historical condition.
8. Save and Exchange Your Survey Information
Once you have created placemarks, paths and polygons, you can organise them in folders and save the information for later use.
KML and KMZ are particularly useful when exchanging Google Earth geographic information. Google Earth Pro also supports importing various geographic datasets, including spreadsheet coordinates and vector data.
A simple workflow is:
Field information → Google Earth Pro → Visual checking → Digitising → KML/KMZ → GIS or engineering workflow
This can make Google Earth Pro a useful preliminary stage before detailed GIS analysis or surveying.
Important Accuracy Limitations
This is the most important point when using Google Earth Pro for surveying.
Do not use Google Earth Pro measurements as a substitute for a professional land survey when precise or legally authoritative information is required.
Several factors can affect results:
- Satellite or aerial imagery resolution
- Image acquisition date
- Terrain
- 3D buildings
- Viewing angle
- Coordinate accuracy
- Digitising technique
- Available elevation data
Google specifically advises that measurements may not be completely accurate, particularly in areas containing 3D terrain and buildings.
Therefore, use Google Earth Pro for preliminary site assessment, planning, visualisation and reconnaissance, and use professional surveying methods when accurate boundaries, elevations or construction measurements are required.
A Practical Site-Analysis Workflow
For a simple preliminary investigation, use this sequence:
- Locate the project site.
- Record important coordinates.
- Inspect satellite imagery.
- Measure approximate distances.
- Measure important areas.
- Examine terrain and elevation.
- Digitise approximate boundaries and routes.
- Compare historical imagery where relevant.
- Organise features into folders.
- Export useful information as KML/KMZ.
- Verify important information using field surveying or authoritative data.
This approach makes Google Earth Pro useful without overstating what the software can achieve.
For additional information and the latest guidance, see the official Google Earth Help documentation on Measure distance and elevation
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