# Yell UK Business Directory Scraper (`jungle_synthesizer/yell-uk-business-directory-scraper`) Actor

Scrape UK business listings from Yell.com — the UK's largest business directory. Extract business names, contact details, categories, hours, ratings, and more.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer/yell-uk-business-directory-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [BowTiedRaccoon](https://apify.com/jungle_synthesizer) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation
- **Stats:** 33 total users, 8 monthly users, 58.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.60 / 1,000 record scrapeds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Yell UK Business Directory Scraper

Scrape UK business listings from **Yell.com** — the UK's largest business directory, successor to Yellow Pages. Search by keyword and location to collect comprehensive business data including contact details, opening hours, ratings, reviews, and more.

### What it does

- Searches Yell.com for businesses matching your keyword in any UK city, town, or postcode
- Extracts full business profiles: name, address, phone, email, website, category, opening hours, ratings, reviews, description, services, social media links, and photos
- Handles bot protection automatically

### Use cases

- Building UK B2B lead lists by trade or sector
- Market research on UK local businesses
- Competitive analysis by location and category
- Enriching CRM databases with UK business contact data

### Input

| Field    | Type    | Required | Description                                                            |
|----------|---------|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| keywords | String  | Yes      | Business type or keyword (e.g. `plumber`, `restaurant`, `electrician`) |
| location | String  | Yes      | UK city, town, or postcode (e.g. `London`, `Manchester`, `SW1A 1AA`)   |
| maxItems | Integer | Yes      | Maximum number of businesses to return (0 = unlimited)                 |

### Output

Each record contains:

```json
{
  "business_name": "ABC Plumbing Services",
  "category": "Plumbers",
  "subcategories": ["Emergency Plumber", "Boiler Repair"],
  "phone": "020 7123 4567",
  "mobile_phone": "07700 900123",
  "email": "info@abcplumbing.co.uk",
  "website": "https://www.abcplumbing.co.uk",
  "address": "123 High Street",
  "city": "London",
  "postcode": "SW1A 1AA",
  "opening_hours": "Monday 08:00-18:00\nTuesday 08:00-18:00",
  "years_in_business": 12,
  "description": "Professional plumbing services across London...",
  "services": ["Boiler installation", "Leak repair", "Emergency callout"],
  "social_links": ["https://www.facebook.com/abcplumbing"],
  "rating": 4.8,
  "reviews_count": 127,
  "photos_urls": ["https://c.yell.com/..."],
  "profile_url": "https://www.yell.com/biz/abc-plumbing-services-london-12345678/",
  "business_id": "12345678",
  "search_keywords": "plumber",
  "search_location": "London",
  "scraped_at": "2026-09-18T14:39:02.067Z"
}
```

### Notes

- Yell.com is bot-protected. This actor clears the challenge automatically — no additional configuration needed.
- Phone numbers are only available on business detail pages (not listing pages).
- Some fields may be empty if a business has not filled in their complete profile.

# Actor input Schema

## `sp_intended_usage` (type: `string`):

What will this data feed? E.g. lead lists, KYB checks, price tracking.

## `sp_improvement_suggestions` (type: `string`):

Provide any feedback or suggestions for improvements.

## `sp_contact` (type: `string`):

We'll personally help with your use case. No spam.

## `keywords` (type: `string`):

Business type or keyword to search for (e.g. "plumber", "restaurant")

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

UK city, town, or postcode to search in (e.g. "London", "Manchester", "SW1A 1AA")

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

Maximum number of business records to scrape (0 = unlimited)

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "keywords": "plumber",
  "location": "London",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# 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 = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "keywords": "plumber",
    "location": "London",
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/yell-uk-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 = {
    "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
    "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
    "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
    "keywords": "plumber",
    "location": "London",
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("jungle_synthesizer/yell-uk-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 '{
  "sp_intended_usage": "Describe your intended use...",
  "sp_improvement_suggestions": "Share your suggestions here...",
  "sp_contact": "Share your email here...",
  "keywords": "plumber",
  "location": "London",
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call jungle_synthesizer/yell-uk-business-directory-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,jungle_synthesizer/yell-uk-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/2l0kN65mx1AZuTd8J/builds/oOHOYyfqLDZUWvW6t/openapi.json