# Bbb Business Directory Scraper (`smorgi_apps/bbb-business-directory-scraper`) Actor

Scrape public BBB.org search listings: business name, rating, accreditation, address, phone, categories. Empty searches free. HTTP-first. ~$1–2/1k.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/smorgi\_apps/bbb-business-directory-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Smorgi Apps](https://apify.com/smorgi_apps) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Business, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 bbb businesses

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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#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 — Pay Per Result

Scrape **public** [BBB.org](https://www.bbb.org) search listings into structured business rows: name, BBB rating, accreditation, address, phone, categories, and profile URL.

**Store search keywords:** BBB scraper · Better Business Bureau · business directory · BBB rating · accredited business

***

### Why this Actor

| Need | What you get |
|------|----------------|
| Trust / lead research | Rating + accreditation status from public search |
| Clean schema | Stable fields for CRM / enrichment pipelines |
| Failures that shouldn’t bill | Empty / blocked / parse failures → **not charged** |
| Low cost | **HTTP-first** (no Playwright); PPE from measured unit economics |

Public directory pages only. No BBB login. No complaint filing.

***

### Example input

```json
{
  "searchQueries": ["plumber"],
  "location": "Austin, TX",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "includeDetails": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  }
}
```

***

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `id` | BBB business id (from profile URL) |
| `businessName` | Listing name |
| `bbbRating` | Letter rating when present (e.g. A+) |
| `accreditationStatus` | Accredited / Not Accredited when exposed |
| `address` / `city` / `state` / `zip` | From search JSON-LD |
| `phone` | Public phone |
| `website` | When present on search/profile payload |
| `categories` | Category slug from profile path |
| `url` | Public BBB profile URL |
| `scrapedAt` | ISO timestamp |

***

### Pricing

Pay-per-event for each **delivered** business row.

- Empty searches / challenge pages / zero parses → **not charged**
- Target **~$1–2 / 1,000** rows (set exact Console PPE after a cost smoke)

***

### How it works (honest)

- Parses BBB search HTML: schema.org JSON-LD + embedded `webDigitalData` analytics (ratings / accreditation).
- **HTTP-only** Actor (`got-scraping`). Search pages often work without a browser.
- `includeDetails` tries profile URLs for website enrichment; **profile pages are frequently Cloudflare-challenged** even when search works. Enrichment is best-effort; search fields still deliver.
- If search itself returns a challenge page, enable **Apify RESIDENTIAL** proxy and retry. This build does **not** ship a Playwright bypass — document / escalate if residential HTTP still fails.

***

### Limitations

- Public search listings only; not a full complaint/review dump
- Pagination ~15 results/page; large locations need many pages
- Ratings/accreditation come from analytics payload — may be missing on some rows
- Website often absent from search cards

Issues / feature requests: use the Actor **Issues** tab.

### Related Actors

- [Uk Companies House](https://apify.com/smorgi_apps/uk-companies-house-scraper)
- [Osha Inspections](https://apify.com/smorgi_apps/osha-inspections-scraper)
- [Irs 990 Nonprofit](https://apify.com/smorgi_apps/irs-990-nonprofit-scraper)
- [Shopify App Store](https://apify.com/smorgi_apps/shopify-app-store-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Business name, category, or keyword terms (e.g. plumber, roofing).

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

City/state or ZIP, e.g. Austin, TX or 78701.

## `country` (type: `string`):

BBB find\_country code: USA or CAN.

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

Maximum businesses to deliver across all queries.

## `includeDetails` (type: `boolean`):

Attempt profile-page enrichment (website, etc.). Profile pages are often Cloudflare-blocked; search-card fields still return.

## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`):

Throttle between HTTP requests.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Recommended: Apify residential proxies if you see challenge/block pages.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQueries": [
    "plumber"
  ],
  "location": "Austin, TX",
  "country": "USA",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "includeDetails": false,
  "requestDelayMs": 500,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ]
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `businesses` (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 = {
    "searchQueries": [
        "plumber"
    ],
    "location": "Austin, TX",
    "maxItems": 50
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("smorgi_apps/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 = {
    "searchQueries": ["plumber"],
    "location": "Austin, TX",
    "maxItems": 50,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("smorgi_apps/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 '{
  "searchQueries": [
    "plumber"
  ],
  "location": "Austin, TX",
  "maxItems": 50
}' |
apify call smorgi_apps/bbb-business-directory-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,smorgi_apps/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/bHkCAsmu2yoNKnbGV/builds/nbseXYToxOmqFPUii/openapi.json