# BBB Business Directory Scraper — Ratings Phones & Profiles (`intelscrape/bbb-business-directory-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes BBB.org public business directory search and listings for business names, BBB ratings, phones, addresses, accreditation, categories, and profile URLs. Keyword + location filters and demo mode.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/intelscrape/bbb-business-directory-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [IntelScrape](https://apify.com/intelscrape) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Business
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 business listings

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## BBB Business Directory Scraper

![Actor Banner](https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/PyvJzfQg02FD3RYhd/records/bbb-business-directory-scraper-banner.png)

**BBB Business Directory Scraper** extracts public Better Business Bureau (BBB.org) business directory search and listing rows — names, BBB ratings, phones, addresses, accreditation flags, categories, and profile URLs — so lead-gen teams can build local business lists without weak Store titles like "BBB Advanced". Demo mode included.

### Why this Actor

Competitors bury the query behind fluff ("BBB Advanced Scraper", emoji spam). IntelScrape ships query-first:

- **BBB business directory scraper** for keyword + city/ZIP public search
- Structured dataset: name, rating, phone, address, accredited, categories, profile URL
- Caps via `maxItems` / `maxPages`
- **demoMode** fixtures when live pages are blocked

Synonyms: BBB scraper, BBB.org business search, Better Business Bureau directory extractor, BBB leads.

### Input

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `searchQuery` | Keyword / category (`plumber`, `hvac`, …) |
| `location` | City/state or ZIP (`Chicago, IL`, `60614`) |
| `maxItems` | Cap on businesses (default 50) |
| `demoMode` | Use bundled fixtures (≥5 items) |
| `maxPages` | Cap on result pages (default 3) |
| `startUrl` | Optional full public BBB `/search` URL |

### Output

Each dataset item includes `businessId`, `name`, `rating`, `ratingScore`, `accredited`, `phone`, `address`, `city`, `state`, `postalcode`, `category`, `categories`, `bbbId`, `bbbName`, `url`, `source`, plus per-row `softCta` mesh links.

### SoftCTA mesh

Each business row includes a `softCta` object with next-step links to IntelScrape money bots relevant to BBB leads — Skip Trace / TruePeopleSearch, Maps Email, Website Leads, Contact Info, Email Finder, Phone Validator, Trustpilot, Yelp, Business License, Building Permit, UCC, MCA, and Solar (links only; no extra PPE). Marker: `SOFTCTA_DEEPEN_BBB_1_0_7`.

### Pricing (PPE)

| Event | Price |
| --- | --- |
| `apify-actor-start` | $0.005 / run |
| `apify-default-dataset-item` | $0.002 / business (~$2.00 / 1K) |

Charging: dataset rows bill via `Actor.pushData` → `apify-default-dataset-item`.

### Quick start

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "plumber",
  "location": "Chicago, IL",
  "maxItems": 25,
  "demoMode": true
}
```

### Sources

Public BBB.org business search/listing pages only (e.g. `/search?find_text=…&find_loc=…`). No login bypass.

### Author

IntelScrape — lead-gen / business directory tooling on Apify.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Business keyword or category (e.g. plumber, hvac, roofing). Maps to BBB find\_text.

## `location` (type: `string`):

City, state, or ZIP for BBB find\_loc (e.g. Chicago, IL or 60614).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum BBB business directory rows to push.

## `demoMode` (type: `boolean`):

Load bundled fixture BBB listings (no live scrape). Still produces dataset items for PPE smoke tests.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum BBB search result pages to visit (15 results/page).

## `startUrl` (type: `string`):

Full public BBB.org /search URL. Overrides searchQuery/location when set.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "plumber",
  "location": "Chicago, IL",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "demoMode": false,
  "maxPages": 3
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `businesses` (type: `string`):

Business rows pushed to the default dataset.

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "searchQuery": "plumber",
    "location": "Chicago, IL"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("intelscrape/bbb-business-directory-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "searchQuery": "plumber",
    "location": "Chicago, IL",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("intelscrape/bbb-business-directory-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).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": "plumber",
  "location": "Chicago, IL"
}' |
apify call intelscrape/bbb-business-directory-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,intelscrape/bbb-business-directory-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/6eBMiWPkTiluZWV23/builds/G0RNlqkKPgpzARhSM/openapi.json