📈 Google Trends Scraper

An Apify Actor that retrieves data from Google Trends: realtime trending searches, interest over time, interest by region, and related queries/topics.

🚀 Quickstart (no input required)

Want to get started in a flash? ⚡️ The actor has smart defaults, so you can run it immediately and get the latest realtime trending searches for the US.

• In the Apify UI: Just click Run.

---

🔍 What you can fetch

• Trending now (realtime): ⏰ Find out what's rapidly rising in searches in the last few hours.
• Interest over time: 📊 Get a timeline of search interest for one or more keywords.
• Interest by region: 🗺️ Discover where your keywords are searched the most.
• Related queries/topics: 💡 Explore new queries and topics related to your main keyword.

---

💰 Pricing (rental)

• $12/month
• Recommended for ongoing tracking and monitoring workflows.
• You can configure inputs freely; heavy configurations (very long timeframes, CITY/DMA resolution, inc_low_vol) may take longer.

⚙️ Input (overview)

The actor's UI is dynamically generated from the .actor/INPUT_SCHEMA.json file. Here are the key fields you'll interact with:

• scrape_type (select, default: trending_now)
• keywords (array, optional for trending_now; required for other types)
• gprop (select: web/images/news/shopping/youtube)
• timeframe_type (select: predefined or custom, default: predefined)
• predefined_timeframe (select, default: today 12-m)
• custom_timeframe (string, e.g. "2023-01-01 2023-06-30")
• geo_selection_type (select, default: Common Countries)
• common_geo (string country code, default: US)
• custom_geo_code (string for regions like US-CA)
• geo_resolution (COUNTRY/REGION/DMA/CITY; for interest_by_region)
• inc_low_vol (boolean; include low-volume regions; Pro recommended)
• trending_language (string, default: en)
• trending_hours (integer 1-191, default: 24)

---

📋 Example Inputs

Here are some common use cases to get you started!

1. Realtime trending (US, 24 hours)

   {
     "scrape_type": "trending_now",
     "common_geo": "US",
     "trending_hours": 24,
     "trending_language": "en"
   }
   

2. Interest over time for multiple keywords (US)

   {
     "scrape_type": "interest_over_time",
     "keywords": ["data science", "machine learning"],
     "timeframe_type": "predefined",
     "predefined_timeframe": "today 12-m",
     "geo_selection_type": "Common Countries",
     "common_geo": "US"
   }
   

3. Related queries for a single keyword (global)

   {
     "scrape_type": "related_queries",
     "keywords": ["python"],
     "timeframe_type": "predefined",
     "predefined_timeframe": "today 12-m"
   }
   

---

💾 Output & Output tab UI

The actor writes exactly one item to the dataset per run, with fields:

• scrape_type
• data (the full results for the chosen type)
• error (boolean)
• error_message (string or null)
• input_summary (geo, timeframe, resolution, gprop, etc.)

Output tab UI

• The default view is All results and shows the full data JSON right away (no need to switch tabs).
• Extra views:
  • Trending now (table): A flattened table when scrape_type is trending_now
  • Summary: A quick summary of inputs and error status

Notes on data structures

• interest_over_time / interest_by_region: data is an array of objects (rows), similar to a table
• related_queries / related_topics: data is an array containing keyed lists like { "top": [...], "rising": [...] }
• trending_now: data is a list of trending keyword objects (keyword, geo, volume, topic_names, timestamps)

---

⚠️ Reliability & Troubleshooting

Encounter common issues? Check this guide:

Error Type	Symptom	Solution
User Confusion	"My results don't match my keywords!"	Check Scrape Type. If it's set to Trending now, it ignores keywords. Switch to Interest over time.
Proxy Error	ProxyError, Connection refused	Google blocked the IP. Enable Apify Proxy (Residential recommended) or rotate custom proxies.
Rate Limit	429 Too Many Requests	You are scraping too fast. Slow down, use more proxies, or verify your proxy configuration.
Timeout	TimeoutError, Actor hangs	The request took too long. Try a shorter Timeframe, lower Geo Resolution, or faster proxies.
No Data	AttributeError, Empty results	Keyword might be too niche for the selected region/timeframe. Try broadening the search (e.g., "Past 5 years").
Invalid URL	ValueError: Invalid Input	You entered a non-Google Trends URL in keywords. Please enter search terms only.

---

🧰 Runtime defaults & limits

• Memory: 1024 MB (default)
• Timeout: 30 minutes (default)
• CPU: 1 (default)
• Dataset writes: The actor always writes at least one item per run. If no data is found, it pushes an informative item with input summary.

---

❓ FAQ & Common Mistakes

Why is my result showing general trending topics instead of my keywords?

You likely left the Scrape Type set to default (Trending now).

• Trending now: Shows what is popular in the world right now (ignores your keywords).
• Interest over time: Shows data specific to your keywords.

Fix: Change the Scrape Type dropdown at the top of the input to Interest over time or Related queries.

Why am I getting "No data returned"?

1. Check your Timeframe: Very short timeframes (e.g., "Past hour") often have no data for niche keywords. Try Past 12 months.
2. Check your Spelling: Google Trends is sensitive to spelling.
3. Geo Mismatch: Searching for a local keyword (e.g., a specific German store) while Geo is set to "US" will return zero results.

📄 Notes

• Smart Logic: The actor now detects if you provide keywords but select the wrong scrape type and will warn you in the logs.
• Alias support: You can use "trending_searches" as a supported alias for "trending_now".

---

Changelog

Version 0.2 (Major Update)

• Enhanced UI/UX: Grouped input fields for better clarity and added "Smart Logic" to warn about mismatched configurations (e.g., providing keywords for "Trending Now").
• Smart Logic & Error Handling:
  • Automatically validates URLs in keywords.
  • Fixes 400 Bad Request issues by auto-switching to REGION resolution when a specific country is selected.
  • Implemented specific error messages for Proxy Errors, Timeouts, and Rate Limits.
  • The actor now exits with a proper error code on fatal failures to prevent hanging.
• Documentation: Added comprehensive troubleshooting guide and updated FAQ.