# local.ch Scraper - Swiss Business Contacts & B2B Leads (`benthepythondev/business-contact-scraper`) Actor local.ch Scraper to extract business contacts from local.ch, Switzerland's leading business directory. Get company name, phone, email, website, address, postcode, city, category and rating by business type and city. For B2B lead generation, sales prospecting and CRM enrichment in Switzerland. - **URL**: https://apify.com/benthepythondev/business-contact-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [ben](https://apify.com/benthepythondev) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## local.ch Scraper — Swiss Business Contacts & B2B Leads **Extract business contact data from [local.ch](https://www.local.ch) — Switzerland's leading business directory and digital phone book.** Built for **B2B lead generation, sales prospecting, market research, and local-business data platforms** targeting the Swiss market. ### What you get For every business listing this Actor returns a clean, structured record: - **name** — business name - **phone** — primary phone number - **email** — contact email (from the detail page) - **website** — official website - **address**, **city**, **postal_code**, **country** - **category** + subcategories - **rating** — average review score - **source_url** — original local.ch listing - **scraped_at** — ISO timestamp Search by any business type (`restaurant`, `Zahnarzt`, `Treuhand`, `Coiffeur`, `Garage`, `Hotel`, …) across one or many Swiss cities. ### Why this Actor | | local.ch Scraper | Manual copy-paste | Generic crawler | |---|---|---|---| | Structured contact fields | Yes | No | Partial | | Phone + email + website | Yes | Slow | Often missing | | Multi-city in one run | Yes | No | Custom code | | Residential proxy handling | Built-in | — | DIY | | Pay only per result | Yes | — | Platform usage | ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `searchQuery` | string | Business type / keyword (e.g. `restaurant`) | | `cities` | array | Swiss cities to search (e.g. `["zurich","geneva"]`) | | `maxResults` | integer | Max contacts to return (across all cities) | | `maxPages` | integer | Result pages per city | | `includeContactDetails` | boolean | Visit detail pages for phone/email/website | | `useApifyProxy` | boolean | Use Apify residential proxy (required) | #### Example input ```json { "searchQuery": "restaurant", "cities": ["zurich", "geneva"], "maxResults": 100, "maxPages": 3, "includeContactDetails": true, "useApifyProxy": true } ```` ### Sample output ```json { "name": "Hotel Helmhaus", "phone": "+41442669595", "email": "info@helmhaus.ch", "website": "https://www.helmhaus.ch/", "city": "Zurich", "postal_code": "8001", "country": "CH", "category": "Hotel", "rating": "4.8", "source": "localch", "source_url": "https://www.local.ch/en/d/zurich/8001/hotel/hotel-helmhaus-...", "scraped_at": "2026-05-28T21:08:21Z" } ``` ### Use cases - **B2B lead lists** — build targeted prospect lists by industry and city - **Sales prospecting** — phone + email + website for cold outreach - **Market research** — map competitor density across Swiss cities - **CRM enrichment** — append verified contact details to existing records ### Pricing Pay-per-result. You are charged only for the business records returned — no charge for empty runs. Run a small `maxResults` test first to validate fit before scaling. ### Notes & legal - local.ch blocks datacenter IPs; keep **Use Apify Proxy** enabled (residential). - Scrape responsibly: respect local.ch terms and applicable data-protection law (incl. Swiss FADP / GDPR). Use collected contact data only for lawful purposes. ### Related actors More scrapers from the same author: - [willhaben Scraper](https://apify.com/benthepythondev/willhaben-scraper) — Austria's largest classifieds marketplace - [Vinted Scraper](https://apify.com/benthepythondev/vinted-scraper) — second-hand fashion listings & prices - [eBay Scraper](https://apify.com/benthepythondev/ebay-scraper) — listings, prices & seller data via the official API - [Amazon Product Scraper](https://apify.com/benthepythondev/amazon-product-scraper) — product search, prices, ratings & reviews # Actor input Schema ## `source` (type: `string`): Business directory to scrape. ## `searchQuery` (type: `string`): Business type or keyword (e.g. 'restaurant', 'Zahnarzt', 'hotel', 'Treuhand', 'Coiffeur', 'Garage'). ## `cities` (type: `array`): One or more Swiss cities to search (e.g. 'zurich', 'geneva', 'basel', 'bern', 'lausanne'). Add multiple to scrape across locations. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of business contacts to return (across all cities). ## `maxPages` (type: `integer`): How many result pages to scrape per city (each page ~ 20-50 results). ## `includeContactDetails` (type: `boolean`): Visit each business detail page to extract phone, email and website. Slower but provides complete contact data for lead generation. ## `useApifyProxy` (type: `boolean`): Route traffic through Apify residential proxy. Required - local.ch blocks datacenter IPs. ## `minDelay` (type: `number`): Minimum delay between requests. ## `maxDelay` (type: `number`): Maximum delay between requests. ## Actor input object example ```json { "source": "localch", "searchQuery": "restaurant", "cities": [ "zurich" ], "maxResults": 50, "maxPages": 3, "includeContactDetails": true, "useApifyProxy": true, "minDelay": 1.5, "maxDelay": 3.5 } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "searchQuery": "restaurant", "cities": [ "zurich" ], "maxResults": 50, "maxPages": 3 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("benthepythondev/business-contact-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "searchQuery": "restaurant", "cities": ["zurich"], "maxResults": 50, "maxPages": 3, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("benthepythondev/business-contact-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "searchQuery": "restaurant", "cities": [ "zurich" ], "maxResults": 50, "maxPages": 3 }' | apify call benthepythondev/business-contact-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=benthepythondev/business-contact-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "local.ch Scraper - Swiss Business Contacts & B2B Leads", "description": "local.ch Scraper to extract business contacts from local.ch, Switzerland's leading business directory. Get company name, phone, email, website, address, postcode, city, category and rating by business type and city. For B2B lead generation, sales prospecting and CRM enrichment in Switzerland.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "cseF9pDJaNsDdidC4" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/benthepythondev~business-contact-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-benthepythondev-business-contact-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/benthepythondev~business-contact-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-benthepythondev-business-contact-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/benthepythondev~business-contact-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-benthepythondev-business-contact-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "source", "searchQuery" ], "properties": { "source": { "title": "Directory", "enum": [ "localch" ], "type": "string", "description": "Business directory to scrape.", "default": "localch" }, "searchQuery": { "title": "Search Query (business type)", "type": "string", "description": "Business type or keyword (e.g. 'restaurant', 'Zahnarzt', 'hotel', 'Treuhand', 'Coiffeur', 'Garage').", "default": "restaurant" }, "cities": { "title": "Cities / Locations", "type": "array", "description": "One or more Swiss cities to search (e.g. 'zurich', 'geneva', 'basel', 'bern', 'lausanne'). Add multiple to scrape across locations.", "default": [ "zurich" ], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "maxResults": { "title": "Max Results", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 50000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of business contacts to return (across all cities).", "default": 100 }, "maxPages": { "title": "Max Pages per City", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 200, "type": "integer", "description": "How many result pages to scrape per city (each page ~ 20-50 results).", "default": 5 }, "includeContactDetails": { "title": "Include Phone, Email & Website", "type": "boolean", "description": "Visit each business detail page to extract phone, email and website. Slower but provides complete contact data for lead generation.", "default": true }, "useApifyProxy": { "title": "Use Apify Proxy (Residential)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Route traffic through Apify residential proxy. Required - local.ch blocks datacenter IPs.", "default": true }, "minDelay": { "title": "Min Delay (seconds)", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 30, "type": "number", "description": "Minimum delay between requests.", "default": 1.5 }, "maxDelay": { "title": "Max Delay (seconds)", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 60, "type": "number", "description": "Maximum delay between requests.", "default": 3.5 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```