Proff.no Business Search Scraper: Extract Norwegian Company Data for Market Intelligence

Understanding Proff.no and Its Business Intelligence Value

Proff.no stands as Norway's most comprehensive business information database, providing detailed data on Norwegian companies across all industries and sizes. As part of the Bisnode group (now Dun & Bradstreet), Proff.no aggregates official registry data, financial statements, and business intelligence into a single searchable platform that's essential for anyone doing business in Norway.

The platform's significance lies in its authoritative data sourcing. Norwegian companies are required by law to file annual financial statements and maintain accurate registry information, making Proff.no's dataset exceptionally reliable and up-to-date. This includes everything from basic contact details to detailed revenue figures, employee counts, and organizational structures that would take months to compile manually from official sources.

For businesses targeting the Norwegian market, this data represents critical intelligence. Whether you're building B2B prospect lists, conducting market entry research, evaluating potential partners, or analyzing competitive landscapes, Proff.no provides the foundational business data you need. However, extracting this information manually across hundreds or thousands of companies is prohibitively time-consuming. The Proff.no Business Search Scraper solves this challenge by automating the extraction process and delivering structured, analysis-ready data.

What This Scraper Delivers and Who It Serves

The Proff.no Business Search Scraper is designed to extract complete business profiles from Proff.no's search results pages. Unlike basic contact scrapers, this tool captures the full spectrum of business intelligence that Proff.no provides, including financial metrics, organizational details, contact information, and industry classifications.

The scraper excels at processing search result pages, automatically extracting data from multiple companies in a single run. It handles Proff.no's pagination structure, respects the platform's data organization, and delivers clean, structured output that's immediately usable for CRM imports, database population, or analytical processing. The tool maintains data integrity while normalizing fields like phone numbers, addresses, and financial figures into consistent formats.

This scraper serves diverse professional needs effectively. Sales and business development teams use it to build targeted prospect lists with verified contact information and company size indicators. Market researchers gain insights into industry composition, geographic business distribution, and competitive landscapes. Financial analysts access revenue and profitability data for sector analysis and benchmarking. Companies conducting due diligence can efficiently gather preliminary information on potential partners, suppliers, or acquisition targets across the Norwegian market.

Input Configuration: Search URLs and Parameters

The scraper accepts Proff.no business search result page URLs as input. These are the pages you reach after performing a search on Proff.no, not individual company profile pages. Search URLs typically follow the pattern https://www.proff.no/bransjesøk?q=[search-term]&page=[number].

Key Input Parameters Explained:

urls array: Contains the Proff.no search result page URLs you want to scrape. You can include multiple search URLs to cover different queries, industries, or geographic regions. Each URL will be processed to extract all visible company listings.

max_items_per_url: Controls how many company records to extract from each search URL. Setting this to 20 (as shown) means the scraper will collect up to 20 company profiles per URL. This is useful for sampling data or when you need a representative subset rather than exhaustive results.

ignore_url_failures: When set to true, the scraper continues processing remaining URLs even if one fails. This ensures that temporary issues with specific searches don't halt your entire data collection run.

proxy configuration: Critical for reliable scraping. Residential proxies make your requests appear as regular user traffic, significantly reducing the likelihood of blocks. While you can choose different countries, Nordic countries or European proxies often provide optimal performance when accessing Norwegian sites.

Here's a practical input example:

{
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  },
  "max_items_per_url": 20,
  "ignore_url_failures": true,
  "urls": [
    "https://www.proff.no/bransjesøk?q=a&page=2"
  ]
}

Example Screenshot:

You can customize your searches by modifying the query parameters in the URLs. Search by company name, industry, location, or combine multiple criteria to target specific business segments. Including URLs from different page numbers allows you to scrape deeper into search results beyond the first page.

Comprehensive Output Fields and Their Business Applications

The scraper returns rich, structured data for each company, organized into logical categories that reflect how businesses actually use this information.

Core Business Identifiers:

Name provides the company's trading name as it appears in searches, essential for recognition and communication. Legal Name gives the official registered name, crucial for contracts and legal documentation. These fields often differ, particularly for companies using brand names.

Org Number (organization number) is Norway's unique nine-digit business identifier, equivalent to a tax ID. This field is invaluable for data integration, deduplication, and official record matching. Business Unit ID, Business Unit Type, Company ID, Listing ID, and Customer ID provide additional system identifiers used within Proff.no's database structure, useful when building relational databases or tracking entities across multiple data sources.

Contact Information:

Phone, Phone 2, Mobile, Mobile 2, and Fax Number deliver multiple contact channels. Norwegian businesses often maintain separate landline and mobile numbers for different departments or purposes. Email provides direct contact capability, while Home Page links to the company's website.

Marketing Protection indicates whether the company has opted out of marketing communications, critical for GDPR compliance when building outreach lists. Respecting this flag helps ensure your contact efforts remain legally compliant under Norwegian and European privacy regulations.

Location and Address Data:

Location provides the general geographic area, while Visitor Address gives the physical office location where you can meet representatives. Postal Address indicates where to send official correspondence, which may differ from the visitor address. This distinction is important in Norway where many companies use separate postal boxes for administrative mail.

Main Office flags whether this listing represents the company's headquarters or a branch location, essential when dealing with multi-location organizations to ensure you're contacting the right office.

Industry and Business Classification:

Industries array contains all industry classifications associated with the company. Current Industry highlights the primary business sector. These fields enable precise market segmentation and competitive set definition. Norway uses specific industry codes (NACE codes) that align with European standards, making this data valuable for international comparisons.

Financial Performance Metrics:

Revenue and Profit provide the company's latest reported financial figures. Currency confirms the monetary unit (typically NOK - Norwegian Krone). Last Updated Date shows when this financial data was last refreshed, crucial for understanding data recency. Norwegian companies file annual reports at different times, so this timestamp helps you assess whether you're working with current or outdated financials.

These metrics enable company sizing, financial health assessment, and market opportunity quantification. Revenue figures help prioritize prospects, while profit margins indicate business viability.

Organizational Insights:

Employees indicates workforce size, a key metric for market segmentation and resource assessment. Contact Person provides a specific individual's name when available, invaluable for personalized outreach. Status shows whether the company is active, under liquidation, or has other operational states. Status Remarks provides context about any special circumstances.

Certificates array lists any quality certifications, industry accreditations, or compliance standards the company holds. This information is particularly valuable when evaluating potential suppliers or partners who must meet specific regulatory or quality requirements.

Presentation and Marketing Elements:

Description contains the company's self-description, offering insight into their positioning and offerings. Advert Type indicates whether the listing includes enhanced marketing features. Logo and Search Result Image provide visual brand assets useful when displaying company information in applications or reports.

Rating aggregates customer reviews or quality assessments when available. Search Highlights contains keywords or snippets that Proff.no emphasizes for the company, useful for understanding their market positioning.

Example output structure:

[
  {
  "main_office": null,
  "name": "A Strøm-Larsen",
  "orgnr": "933112993",
  "business_unit_id": null,
  "business_unit_type": null,
  "company_id": "IFFJULD016D",
  "listing_id": "E84413566",
  "customer_id": null,
  "phone": "22093180",
  "phone2": null,
  "mobile": "22093180",
  "mobile2": null,
  "fax_number": null,
  "home_page": null,
  "email": null,
  "marketing_protection": false,
  "industries": [
    {
      "code": "1525",
      "name": "Produsenter",
      "description": null,
      "style": null,
      "company_id": "IFFJULD016D",
      "sales_rank": null
    },
    {
      "code": "4095",
      "name": "Kjøtt og vilt",
      "description": null,
      "style": null,
      "company_id": "IFFJULD035R",
      "sales_rank": null
    },
    {
      "code": "47372",
      "name": "Nærings- og nytelsesmidler - produksjon",
      "description": null,
      "style": null,
      "company_id": "IFFJULD10JW",
      "sales_rank": null
    },
    {
      "code": "48196",
      "name": "Nærings- og nytelsesmidler",
      "description": null,
      "style": null,
      "company_id": "IFFJULD116S",
      "sales_rank": null
    }
  ],
  "location": {
    "country_part": "Østlandet",
    "county": "Oslo",
    "municipality": "Oslo",
    "coordinates": [
      {
        "coordinate_system": "WGS84",
        "xcoordinate": 10.76550712393564,
        "ycoordinate": 59.93507164949706
      }
    ]
  },
  "current_industry": {
    "code": "1525",
    "name": "Produsenter",
    "description": null,
    "company_id": null
  },
  "visitor_address": {
    "address_line": "Vogts gate 53",
    "box_address_line": null,
    "zip_code": "0477",
    "post_place": "Oslo"
  },
  "postal_address": {
    "address_line": "Vogts gate 53",
    "box_address_line": null,
    "zip_code": "0477",
    "post_place": "Oslo"
  },
  "description": null,
  "advert_type": null,
  "logo": null,
  "search_result_image": null,
  "legal_name": "Alf Strøm-Larsen AS",
  "revenue": "324349",
  "currency": "NOK",
  "profit": "26485",
  "company_accounts_last_updated_date": "2024",
  "employees": "79",
  "contact_person": {
    "type": "Person",
    "name": "Erik Strøm-Larsen",
    "role": "Daglig leder",
    "id": "116088",
    "birth_date": "12041971",
    "business_person": true
  },
  "status": null,
  "status_remarks": [],
  "certificates": [],
  "rating": null,
  "search_highlights": null,
  "from_url": "https://www.proff.no/bransjes%C3%B8k?q=a&page=2"
}
]

Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

Start by identifying your target companies through Proff.no's search interface. Use their filters to narrow by industry, location, company size, or other criteria that match your business objectives. Once you've configured a search that returns relevant results, copy the URL from your browser's address bar.

Create your Apify account and locate the Proff.no Business Search Scraper. Configure your input JSON with the search URLs you've collected. Set max_items_per_url based on your needs: lower values (10-20) for sampling, higher values (50-100) for comprehensive data collection. Enable ignore_url_failures to ensure robust operation.

Configure proxy settings appropriately. Residential proxies provide the best reliability for accessing Norwegian sites. While US proxies work, consider Nordic or European proxy locations for optimal performance and reduced latency when scraping multiple pages.

Launch the scraper and monitor its progress through the Apify console. Typical execution times vary based on the number of URLs and items per URL, but expect roughly 1-2 minutes per 20 companies. The console displays real-time progress, allowing you to spot any issues early.

Once complete, preview your dataset to verify data quality. Check that key fields like organization numbers, phone numbers, and financial figures appear correctly formatted. Download in your preferred format: JSON for database imports and programmatic processing, CSV for spreadsheet analysis, or Excel for immediate business use.

For troubleshooting, verify that your URLs are actual search result pages, not individual company profiles. Ensure page numbers in URLs are valid and that searches return results. The activity log provides detailed information about any extraction issues or failed URLs.

Strategic Applications Across Business Functions

The comprehensive business data from Proff.no enables sophisticated applications across multiple organizational functions. Sales teams can build highly targeted prospect lists by filtering companies based on size, location, industry, and financial health. Revenue and employee data help prioritize accounts by potential deal size, while contact information enables direct outreach.

Market research teams gain quantitative insights into market structure. Analyzing revenue distributions shows market concentration and identifies dominant players versus fragmented competition. Geographic analysis reveals regional business clusters and underserved markets. Industry classification data enables precise market sizing and segment definition.

Business development professionals use this data for partnership and supplier discovery. Financial metrics help assess potential partners' stability, while certificate information verifies compliance with required standards. Multiple contact channels increase the likelihood of successful initial engagement.

Financial and investment analysts leverage revenue, profit, and employee data for sector analysis and company valuation. Tracking these metrics over time (through regular scraping) reveals growth trends and industry dynamics. Organization numbers enable precise matching with other data sources like credit reports or trade registries.

Competitive intelligence teams monitor competitors' expansions through location data, assess their scale through financial metrics, and track organizational changes through status fields. The description and search highlights reveal how competitors position themselves in the market.

Data Quality and Compliance Considerations

Maintaining data quality requires systematic validation. Cross-reference organization numbers against official registries to confirm company identities. Verify financial data recency by checking lastUpdatedDate fields, noting that Norwegian companies file annual reports at different times throughout the year.

Normalize contact information into consistent formats. Parse addresses into structured components for mapping and geographic analysis. Standardize phone numbers into international format for use in international calling systems.

GDPR compliance is critical when working with European business data. Respect marketingProtection flags to avoid contacting companies that have opted out. Maintain clear records of data collection dates and sources. Implement data retention policies that delete or refresh old records. Use collected data only for legitimate business purposes and implement appropriate security measures.

Norwegian business data is generally considered publicly available when sourced from official registries, but enriched datasets and contact information may have additional restrictions. Review Proff.no's terms of service and consult legal counsel when using scraped data for commercial purposes, particularly for marketing or resale.

Optimizing Your Data Collection Strategy

Establish a regular collection cadence to maintain data currency. Quarterly scraping captures most significant business changes while managing costs and respecting platform resources. Monthly updates suit dynamic industries or active sales operations.

Structure your searches strategically. Rather than scraping all companies at once, segment by industry or region to create manageable, focused datasets. This approach also makes it easier to distribute data to relevant teams and track which segments provide the best business opportunities.

Enrich Proff.no data with additional sources. Cross-reference with LinkedIn for personnel details, company websites for current offerings, and trade registries for ownership structures. Combined datasets provide more complete business intelligence than any single source.

Implement automated quality checks in your data pipeline. Flag records with missing critical fields like organization numbers or contact information. Identify outliers in financial data that might indicate extraction errors. Set up alerts for companies changing status to inactive or liquidation.

Archive historical data to enable longitudinal analysis. Track how companies grow, move locations, or change industries over time. This historical context enhances your understanding of market dynamics and helps identify emerging opportunities or risks.

Conclusion

The Proff.no Business Search Scraper transforms Norway's premier business information platform into structured, actionable intelligence. Whether you're building prospect lists, conducting market research, or analyzing competitive landscapes, this tool provides the comprehensive Norwegian business data you need to make informed decisions and drive business growth. Start extracting insights today and unlock the full potential of the Norwegian market.