Square Merchant Finder - Discover Businesses Using Square

Find businesses using Square payments, appointments, online stores, and gift cards. This actor scans websites for Square integration signatures, searches Google for Square-powered sites, or checks specific URLs you provide.

Key Features

• Website Scanner - Crawl search results and detect Square JavaScript/CDN signatures
• Google Dork Search - Use specialized queries to find Square-hosted sites
• URL List Checker - Scan specific URLs for Square integration
• Square.site Crawler - Find businesses hosted on Square Online
• Contact Extraction - Get emails, phone numbers, addresses
• Social Media Links - Extract Facebook, Instagram, Twitter profiles
• Confidence Scoring - High/Medium/Low based on signature count and type
• Pay-Per-Result - Only pay for verified Square merchants found

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Quick Start - REAL Scraping

IMPORTANT: To perform actual scraping, you MUST set demoMode: false. Demo mode is disabled by default, but always verify this setting.

{
  "method": "scanner",
  "searchQuery": "coffee shop new york",
  "maxResults": 50,
  "demoMode": false
}

Demo Mode - Testing Only

Set demoMode: true to test with sample data (no charges, no real scraping):

{
  "demoMode": true
}

Demo mode returns 5 sample Square merchants instantly. Use this to:

• Test your integration
• Preview output format
• Verify webhook connections

When you're ready for real results, set demoMode: false or remove it entirely.

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Detection Methods

Method 1: Website Scanner (Default - Recommended)

Searches Google for your query, then scans each result page's HTML source code for Square signatures. This is the most thorough method.

{
  "method": "scanner",
  "searchQuery": "hair salon chicago",
  "industry": "beauty",
  "location": "chicago",
  "maxResults": 100,
  "includeContactInfo": true,
  "includeSocialLinks": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Best for: Finding businesses that have integrated Square payments into their existing website.

Method 2: Google Dork Search

Uses advanced search operators to find Square-powered sites directly through Google:

Dork Type	Search Query	Finds
square_site	site:square.site	Businesses hosted on Square Online
powered_by	"Powered by Square"	Sites with Square branding
appointments	inurl:appointments "square"	Square Appointments booking pages
all	All of the above	Comprehensive search (default)

{
  "method": "google_dork",
  "googleDorkType": "all",
  "searchQuery": "yoga studio",
  "location": "los angeles",
  "maxResults": 100,
  "demoMode": false
}

Best for: Finding businesses that prominently use Square or are hosted on Square Online.

Method 3: URL List Check

Provide specific URLs to scan for Square integration. Useful if you already have a list of business websites to verify.

{
  "method": "url_list",
  "urls": [
    "https://example-coffee.com",
    "https://mybarbershop.com",
    "https://localbakery.square.site",
    "https://downtowndeli.com"
  ],
  "includeContactInfo": true,
  "includeSocialLinks": true,
  "demoMode": false
}

Best for: Verifying Square usage on a known list of business websites.

Method 4: Square.site Crawler

Specifically target businesses hosted on Square Online (square.site domain):

{
  "method": "square_site",
  "searchQuery": "restaurant",
  "location": "san francisco",
  "maxResults": 50,
  "demoMode": false
}

Best for: Finding businesses that use Square Online as their primary website platform.

---

Square Signatures Detected

The actor looks for these technical fingerprints in website source code:

Signature Type	Pattern	Indicates
Script	js.squareup.com	Square Payment SDK
Script	cdn.squareup.com	Square CDN resources
Script	squareup.com/v2/paymentform	Square Payment Form
Script	web.squarecdn.com	Square Web SDK
URL	squareup.com/appointments	Square Appointments
URL	*.square.site	Square Online Store
URL	squareup.com/gift	Square Gift Cards
URL	squareup.com/pay	Square Payment Links
Text	Powered by Square	Square branding
Text	Book with Square	Square Appointments
Meta	square-site-verification	Square verification tag

---

Output Format

Each discovered merchant includes:

{
  "businessName": "Urban Cuts Barbershop",
  "url": "https://urbancutsbarbershop.square.site",
  "domain": "urbancutsbarbershop.square.site",
  "squareProducts": [
    "Square Online Store",
    "Square Appointments"
  ],
  "signatures": [
    {
      "type": "url",
      "pattern": "square.site",
      "context": "Website hosted on Square Online"
    },
    {
      "type": "url",
      "pattern": "squareup.com/appointments",
      "context": "Found squareup.com/appointments link in page"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "contactInfo": {
    "email": "book@urbancutsnyc.com",
    "phone": "2125551234",
    "address": "123 Main St, New York, NY 10001"
  },
  "socialLinks": {
    "instagram": "https://instagram.com/urbancutsnyc",
    "facebook": "https://facebook.com/urbancutsnyc"
  },
  "businessDetails": {
    "description": "Premium barbershop services in Manhattan",
    "category": "Barbershop",
    "hours": "Mon-Sat 9am-8pm"
  },
  "method": "scanner",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-01-22T15:00:00.000Z"
}

---

Confidence Levels Explained

Level	Criteria	Reliability
High	2+ script signatures OR (1 script + 1 URL signature)	Very reliable - definitely uses Square
Medium	1 script OR 2+ URL signatures OR 3+ total signatures	Likely uses Square
Low	Fewer signatures	May be indirect mention, verify manually

---

Square Products Detected

Based on the signatures found, the actor identifies which Square products the business uses:

• Square Payments - Payment processing via Square SDK
• Square Online Store - E-commerce website on square.site
• Square Appointments - Online booking/scheduling system
• Square Gift Cards - Digital gift card functionality
• Square Integration - General Square SDK/API usage

---

Input Parameters Reference

Core Settings

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
method	string	"scanner"	Detection method: scanner, google_dork, url_list, square_site
searchQuery	string	-	Search query (e.g., "coffee shop new york")
industry	string	-	Target industry (appended to search)
location	string	-	Geographic location (appended to search)
demoMode	boolean	false	Set to FALSE for real scraping

Google Dork Settings

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
googleDorkType	string	"all"	Dork type: square_site, powered_by, appointments, all

URL List Settings

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
urls	array	-	List of URLs to check for Square

Limits & Performance

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
maxResults	integer	50	Maximum merchants to find (10-500)
maxPagesPerSearch	integer	5	Search result pages to scan
requestDelay	integer	2000	Delay between requests in ms

Data Enrichment

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
includeContactInfo	boolean	true	Extract email, phone, address
includeSocialLinks	boolean	true	Extract social media links
includeBusinessDetails	boolean	true	Extract description, hours, category

Proxy Settings

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
proxyConfiguration	object	Apify Residential	Proxy settings for avoiding blocks

Webhook Integration (Zapier, Make, n8n)

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
webhookUrl	string	-	URL to POST results (Zapier, Make, n8n, custom)
webhookPlatform	string	"custom"	Platform: zapier, make, n8n, custom
webhookHeaders	object	{}	Custom HTTP headers (e.g., auth tokens)

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Webhook Integration Guide

Zapier

1. Create a Zap with "Webhooks by Zapier" as trigger
2. Select "Catch Hook"
3. Copy the webhook URL
4. Configure the actor:

{
  "webhookUrl": "https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/123456/abcdef/",
  "webhookPlatform": "zapier",
  "searchQuery": "coffee shop new york",
  "demoMode": false
}

Zapier receives a flat structure optimized for mapping:

{
  "status": "completed",
  "merchantsFound": 50,
  "merchants": [
    {
      "businessName": "Blue Bottle Coffee",
      "url": "https://bluebottlecoffee.com",
      "squareProducts": "Square Payments, Square Online Store",
      "email": "hello@bluebottle.com",
      "phone": "5105533394",
      "instagram": "https://instagram.com/bluebottle"
    }
  ]
}

Make (Integromat)

1. Create a scenario with "Webhooks" module
2. Add "Custom webhook" trigger
3. Copy the webhook URL
4. Configure the actor:

{
  "webhookUrl": "https://hook.us1.make.com/abcdef123456",
  "webhookPlatform": "make",
  "searchQuery": "hair salon chicago",
  "demoMode": false
}

Make receives data wrapped for easy iteration:

{
  "data": {
    "status": "completed",
    "merchantsFound": 50,
    "merchants": [...]
  }
}

n8n

1. Add a "Webhook" node to your workflow
2. Set HTTP Method to POST
3. Copy the webhook URL
4. Configure the actor:

{
  "webhookUrl": "https://your-n8n.com/webhook/abc123",
  "webhookPlatform": "n8n",
  "searchQuery": "yoga studio los angeles",
  "demoMode": false
}

n8n receives standard JSON:

{
  "status": "completed",
  "totalMerchants": 50,
  "results": [...],
  "timestamp": "2026-01-22T15:00:00.000Z"
}

Custom Webhook

For any other platform, use "webhookPlatform": "custom" to receive raw data:

{
  "webhookUrl": "https://your-api.com/webhook",
  "webhookPlatform": "custom",
  "webhookHeaders": {
    "Authorization": "Bearer your-api-token",
    "X-Custom-Header": "value"
  },
  "demoMode": false
}

---

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-event billing. You only pay for actual Square merchants discovered.

Event	Description	Price
merchant_found	Per verified Square merchant	$0.02

Cost Examples

Scenario	Calculation	Total Cost
50 merchants	50 × $0.02	$1.00
100 merchants	100 × $0.02	$2.00
200 merchants	200 × $0.02	$4.00
500 merchants	500 × $0.02	$10.00

Note: Demo mode (demoMode: true) does not charge for results.

---

Use Cases

1. Sales Prospecting - Find businesses using Square to sell complementary services (POS hardware, loyalty programs, marketing)
2. Market Research - Analyze Square adoption rates in specific industries or locations
3. Competitive Analysis - Discover which competitors in your space use Square
4. Lead Generation - Build targeted lists of Square merchants with contact info for outreach
5. Partnership Outreach - Find potential Square ecosystem partners
6. Investment Research - Track Square merchant growth in specific markets

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Tips for Best Results

1. Use Residential Proxies

Square sites and Google may block datacenter IPs. The default Apify residential proxy is recommended.

2. Add Request Delays

Keep requestDelay at 2000-3000ms to avoid rate limiting. Increase to 5000ms if getting blocked.

3. Be Specific with Searches

Narrow searches by industry + location for better accuracy:

• Good: "coffee shop san francisco"
• Less effective: "business"

4. Try Multiple Methods

• Scanner finds businesses that embedded Square into existing websites
• Google Dork finds businesses hosted directly on Square
• Combine both for comprehensive coverage

5. Filter by Confidence

For the most reliable results, filter by confidence: "high" in your downstream processing.

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Troubleshooting

No results found

• Verify demoMode: false
• Try different/broader search queries
• Check if proxy is working
• Test with demo mode first to verify actor runs

Getting blocked or rate limited

• Increase requestDelay to 3000-5000ms
• Use residential proxy configuration
• Reduce maxResults per run
• Run during off-peak hours

Low confidence results

• These may be false positives (blog posts mentioning Square)
• Filter by confidence: "high" for verified integrations
• Use URL List method to verify specific sites

Missing contact info

• Not all websites have publicly visible contact info
• Some sites use contact forms instead of direct email
• Try includeBusinessDetails: true for additional data

---

Example Workflows

Lead Generation for Square Merchants

{
  "method": "scanner",
  "searchQuery": "restaurant",
  "location": "austin texas",
  "maxResults": 200,
  "includeContactInfo": true,
  "includeSocialLinks": true,
  "includeBusinessDetails": true,
  "requestDelay": 3000,
  "demoMode": false,
  "webhookUrl": "https://hooks.zapier.com/hooks/catch/123456/abcdef/"
}

Verify Square Usage on Known Websites

{
  "method": "url_list",
  "urls": [
    "https://competitor1.com",
    "https://competitor2.com",
    "https://localshop.com"
  ],
  "includeContactInfo": false,
  "demoMode": false
}

Find All Square Online Stores in a Niche

{
  "method": "google_dork",
  "googleDorkType": "square_site",
  "searchQuery": "boutique clothing",
  "maxResults": 100,
  "demoMode": false
}

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Built by John Rippy | johnrippy.link

Built with Actor Arsenal - Premium Apify Actors for Marketing & Sales Automation