Google Search SERP Scraper

Ultra-fast, lightweight Google Search scraper with automated UULE geo-targeting and Dual Export Mode.

Pure HTTP-first extraction · 128–256 MB RAM · AI Overview, PAA, Local 3-Pack & Organic rankings

In one line: Extract complete Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)—including Organic Ranks (1–100), AI Overviews (SGE), People Also Ask (PAA), Local 3-Pack, Knowledge Graph, and Related Searches—without heavy browser overhead.

Input	Keywords or queries list, country (gl), language (hl), city name for auto-UULE (location), device
Output	Dual Export Mode: Flat CSV (1 row per rank) or Comprehensive JSON (1 record per query)
Cost	~$0.0025 per query (runs on only 128–256 MB memory)
Speed	~400ms – 800ms per search page (5x–10x faster than Playwright/Puppeteer)
Runs on	Apify Console · Apify CLI · REST API · Python / JS Clients

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🎯 Who It's For

• SEO Agencies & Rank Trackers: Monitor daily/weekly SERP positions, tracking snippets, sitelinks, and competitor movements with one-click exports to Google Sheets and Excel.
• Local SEO Specialists: Track city-level rankings effortlessly using the Built-in Canonical UULE Generator—simply type "Austin, TX, USA" or "London, UK" without needing third-party encoding tools.
• Content Marketers & Strategists: Discover search intent and content gaps by mining People Also Ask (PAA) question-and-answer pairs and Related Searches.
• AI & RAG Engineers: Extract ground-truth web search context and Google AI Overviews to ground LLM inference pipelines with cited source domains.

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📦 What You Get

Each run captures complete SERP blocks:

1. Organic Search Results: Position (1–100), page number, title, link URL, display URL, domain, snippet text, publication date, and sitelinks.
2. AI Overviews (SGE): Full synthesized AI summary prose and cited reference links with domains (when served by Google).
3. People Also Ask (PAA): Accordion questions, snippet answers, and origin source URLs.
4. Local 3-Pack (Places): Business title, star rating, total review count, street address, category, phone number, and Google CID identifier.
5. Knowledge Graph Cards: Entity title, subtitle, biography/description, key factual attributes, and official website URL.
6. Related Searches: Related keyword queries suggested at the bottom of the SERP.

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⚡ Why This Actor Beats Alternatives

Feature / Metric	Legacy Competitors (e.g. apify/google-search-scraper)	This Actor	The Advantage
Memory Footprint	1024 MB – 2048 MB (Browser-dependent)	128 MB – 256 MB (Pure HTTP)	75%–85% cheaper compute unit consumption
Execution Latency	3.5s – 7.0s per page	400ms – 800ms per page	5x–10x faster bulk scraping
City-Level Geo-Targeting	Requires manual external tool (padavvan.github.io)	Built-in Canonical UULE Generator	Just type "Miami, FL, USA"—Actor handles Protobuf base64 encoding
Spreadsheet Compatibility	Deeply nested JSON only (fails clean CSV export)	Dual Export Mode (ORGANIC_ITEMS vs SERP_QUERY_SUMMARY)	Clean 1-row-per-ranking tabular view ready for Google Sheets & Excel
Pricing Transparency	Complex micro-charges ($0.0045 base + add-ons)	Flat Pay-Per-Event ($0.0025/query)	Clear, predictable monthly billing

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🏗️ Architecture & Data Flow

┌─────────────────┐       ┌──────────────────────┐       ┌──────────────────────┐
│  User Input     │  ───> │  Input Validator &   │  ───> │  Apify Residential   │
│  Keywords, Geo  │       │  UULE Protobuf Math  │       │  Proxy Group         │
└─────────────────┘       └──────────────────────┘       └──────────┬───────────┘
                                                                    │ HTTP GET
                                                                    ▼
┌─────────────────┐       ┌──────────────────────┐       ┌──────────────────────┐
│  Apify Dataset  │  <─── │  Cheerio Extraction  │  <─── │  Google Web Search   │
│  CSV / JSON     │       │  Organic + Rich SERP │       │  Desktop / Mobile    │
└─────────────────┘       └──────────────────────┘       └──────────────────────┘

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⚙️ Input Parameters

All parameters are configured in Apify Console or passed via JSON:

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
queries *	string[]	["best coffee shops in new york"]	List of search keywords to scrape (one per line).
maxPagesPerQuery	integer	1	Maximum pagination pages to crawl per query (1 page = ~10 results). Max 10.
resultsPerPage	integer	10	Results requested per page (num parameter: 10, 20, 50, 100).
countryCode	string	"us"	Two-letter country code (gl parameter: 'us', 'uk', 'de', 'id', etc.).
languageCode	string	"en"	Language code for Google interface and results (hl parameter: 'en', 'es', etc.).
location	string	""	City or region name (e.g. "New York, NY, USA"). Automatically generates canonical UULE.
locationUule	string	""	Optional manual Google UULE parameter. If omitted and location is set, auto-generated.
outputMode	string	"ORGANIC_ITEMS"	ORGANIC_ITEMS (flat 1 row per rank) or SERP_QUERY_SUMMARY (full document per query).
device	string	"desktop"	Emulate "desktop" or "mobile" browser headers and user agents.
timeFilter	string	""	Time window ("", "qdr:h" 1h, "qdr:d" 24h, "qdr:w" 7d, "qdr:m" 30d, "qdr:y" 1y).
safeSearch	boolean	true	Toggle Google SafeSearch filter.
extractAiOverview	boolean	true	Capture Google AI Overview summaries and source links.
extractPeopleAlsoAsk	boolean	true	Capture People Also Ask questions and answers.
extractLocalPack	boolean	true	Capture Google Maps Local 3-Pack places and ratings.
extractKnowledgeGraph	boolean	true	Capture Knowledge Graph cards and company info.
extractRelatedSearches	boolean	true	Capture related keyword suggestions.
proxyConfiguration	object	{ "useApifyProxy": true }	Proxy configuration (Apify Residential proxy recommended).

* Required field.

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📊 Output Formats

Mode 1: ORGANIC_ITEMS (Default — Flat Tabular CSV / Excel Ready)

{
  "searchQuery": "best coffee shops in new york",
  "searchUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=best+coffee+shops+in+new+york&hl=en&gl=us&num=10",
  "searchLocation": "New York, NY, USA",
  "pageNumber": 1,
  "position": 1,
  "title": "The 25 Best Coffee Shops in NYC Right Now",
  "url": "https://www.eater.com/maps/best-coffee-shops-nyc",
  "displayUrl": "https://www.eater.com > maps > best-coffee-shops-nyc",
  "domain": "eater.com",
  "snippet": "From artisanal pour-overs in Williamsburg to historic espresso bars in Greenwich Village...",
  "date": "Oct 12, 2024",
  "sitelinks": [
    { "title": "Manhattan Cafes", "url": "https://www.eater.com/maps/best-coffee-manhattan" },
    { "title": "Brooklyn Roasters", "url": "https://www.eater.com/maps/best-coffee-brooklyn" }
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-21T05:00:00.000Z"
}

Mode 2: SERP_QUERY_SUMMARY (Comprehensive JSON Document)

{
  "searchQuery": "how does google ranking algorithm work",
  "searchUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=how+does+google+ranking+algorithm+work&hl=en&gl=us&num=10",
  "pageNumber": 1,
  "totalOrganicResults": 10,
  "organicResults": [ /* Array of organic result items */ ],
  "aiOverview": {
    "summary": "Google's ranking systems look at many factors including the words of your query, relevance and usability of pages, expertise of sources, and your location and settings.",
    "sources": [
      {
        "title": "How Google Search Works - Search Algorithms",
        "url": "https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/algorithms/",
        "domain": "google.com"
      }
    ]
  },
  "peopleAlsoAsk": [
    {
      "question": "What are the 3 main factors of Google ranking?",
      "answer": "The core factors are relevance to the user's intent, content quality and authority, and page usability.",
      "url": "https://searchengineland.com/google-ranking-factors-guide"
    }
  ],
  "localPack": [],
  "knowledgeGraph": null,
  "relatedSearches": [
    "google ranking factors 2026",
    "how to improve google search ranking",
    "seo ranking algorithm explained"
  ],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-21T05:00:00.000Z"
}

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💰 Cost & Pricing Breakdown

• Actor Memory: Configured at 256 MB RAM.
• Execution Cost: 1,000 queries require 0.25 Compute Units ($0.05).
• Residential Proxy Bandwidth: ~100 KB per search page (HTML payload only). 1,000 queries consume 0.1 GB ($0.80).
• Total Cost per 1,000 Queries: Under $1.00 total platform cost!

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🚀 Quick Start Recipes

Recipe 1: Local SEO Rank Audit for a Dental Clinic

{
  "queries": ["emergency dentist near me", "cosmetic dentistry austin"],
  "location": "Austin, Texas, United States",
  "countryCode": "us",
  "languageCode": "en",
  "outputMode": "ORGANIC_ITEMS",
  "extractLocalPack": true
}

Recipe 2: AI Overview & Content Gap Research

{
  "queries": ["best crm software for startups 2026", "what is retrieval augmented generation"],
  "outputMode": "SERP_QUERY_SUMMARY",
  "extractAiOverview": true,
  "extractPeopleAlsoAsk": true
}

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Does this Actor use Puppeteer or Playwright?

No. The Actor runs on Crawlee's HTTP-first engine with got-scraping TLS impersonation. This keeps memory usage down to 128–256 MB and execution latency under 1 second per page.

2. How does the automated UULE generator work?

Google encodes location names into Protobuf binary serialization starting with w+CAIQICI.... Our Actor implements this encoder natively, allowing you to type "Berlin, Germany" or "Chicago, IL" directly without visiting third-party converter sites.

3. Do I need to supply my own proxies?

By default, the Actor uses Apify Residential Proxies when running on the Apify Platform, which provides high success rates and prevents CAPTCHA blocks. You can also specify custom rotating HTTP/SOCKS5 proxies in the proxyConfiguration field.

4. How can I export my results to Excel or Google Sheets?

Set outputMode to "ORGANIC_ITEMS" (the default). In the Apify Console dataset tab, click Export, select CSV or Excel, and you will get a tabular sheet with 1 row per ranking position.

5. Are spreadsheet formula injection attacks prevented?

Yes. Any title, snippet, or text starting with dangerous spreadsheet formula characters (=, +, -, @, tab) is prepended with a single quote ('), ensuring safety when opened in Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets.

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🔒 Limitations & Compliance

• Public Data Only: This Actor scrapes publicly reachable search results. It does not access private Google accounts, search history, or password-protected content.
• Fair Use: Please comply with all applicable local laws, regulations, and terms of service when collecting search data.