Google Short Videos API - YouTube Shorts, Reels & TikTok

Scrape Google Short Videos search results as a clean API. Run a query and get back short-form videos from across the web (YouTube Shorts, Facebook and Instagram Reels, TikTok, and more), plus the related "people also search for" suggestions Google shows on mobile.

Unlike channel scrapers that target a single platform, this Actor returns the cross-platform short-video results Google itself surfaces for a search term, so you see what is ranking right now across sources.

What this Actor returns

Each result is a flat row tagged with a result_type, so the output drops straight into a table, CSV, or an AI agent:

• short_video rows: position, title, link, clip (preview image URL when available), source (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, etc.), channel, and duration.
• people_also_search_for rows: related search title and link (returned on mobile and tablet devices).
• error rows: a clear error_message and error_type if something goes wrong, so a run never fails silently.

Every row also carries the query and page_number it came from.

Use cases

• Track which short videos rank for a topic across YouTube, TikTok, and Reels in one call.
• Monitor trends and discover viral formats by source and duration.
• Build keyword research from the "people also search for" suggestions.
• Feed fresh short-video results into an AI agent or content pipeline.
• Compare results by country, language, or location.

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
q	string	Yes	The search query (e.g. workout tips).
device	string	No	mobile (default), tablet, or desktop. Mobile and tablet also return related searches.
location	string	No	Localize results to a place (e.g. Austin, TX, Texas, United States).
uule	string	No	Encoded location string. Takes precedence over location.
google_domain	string	No	Google domain to use (e.g. google.com).
gl	string	No	Two-letter country code.
hl	string	No	Two-letter interface language code.
lr	string	No	Language restriction (e.g. lang_en).
tbs	string	No	Advanced filter string for power users.
safe	string	No	active or off to filter explicit content.
nfpr	0 or 1	No	Set 1 to exclude auto-corrected query results.
filter	0 or 1	No	Set 1 to filter duplicate results.
max_pages	integer	No	Pages to fetch. 0 means all available. Default 1.

Example output

[
  {
    "result_type": "short_video",
    "position": 1,
    "title": "10 Minute Full Body Workout",
    "link": "https://www.youtube.com/shorts/abc123",
    "clip": "https://encrypted-vtbn0.gstatic.com/video?q=tbn:...",
    "source": "YouTube",
    "channel": "FitChannel",
    "duration": "0:47",
    "query": "workout tips",
    "page_number": 1
  },
  {
    "result_type": "people_also_search_for",
    "title": "home workout no equipment",
    "link": "https://www.google.com/search?q=home+workout+no+equipment",
    "query": "workout tips",
    "page_number": 1
  }
]

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing:

• Setup fee: $0.02 once per run.
• Page processed: $0.01 per page of results. Each page returns about 10 short videos plus any related searches.

A typical single-page run costs about $0.03. Related searches do not add a separate charge.

How to get started

1. Open the Actor on the Apify Store: View on Apify Store
2. Enter a search query in q and click Start.
3. Read results from the dataset (table, JSON, CSV, or Excel), or pull them via the Apify API.
4. Prefer code? Clone the Python + MCP example repo on GitHub for a copy-paste quick start.

🔌 Use this API from Claude (MCP)

Add this Actor as a tool in Claude and other MCP clients through the hosted Apify MCP server. Use this Actor-specific URL:

https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=actors,docs,johnvc/google-short-videos-api

New to Claude Code or Claude Cowork? Start a free trial with this link: https://claude.ai/referral/uIlpa7nPLg

Setup walkthrough:

Apify MCP integration docs: https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp

FAQ

Why are there no "people also search for" rows? Those only appear on mobile and tablet. Set device to mobile (the default) or tablet.

The search returned no videos. Try a broader query, remove restrictive filters, or change gl and hl. The Actor still completes and reports zero results rather than failing.

Can I get more results? Increase max_pages. Set it to 0 to fetch all available pages.

Last Updated: 2026.06.01