Google Search Results Scraper

What this Actor does

Extract the organic result list from public search-engine results page (SERP) URLs as clean, structured JSON.

It processes user-provided public SERP URLs, optionally checks for JSON-LD / schema.org structured data, and primarily uses a conservative fallback that reads the visible public HTML: for each organic result it captures the title, result URL, displayed URL, snippet, and position. Google redirect links (/url?q=...) are resolved to the real destination, internal search-engine chrome links are skipped, and results are deduplicated by URL before being saved to the Apify dataset.

Why this Actor is useful

Marketers, SEO analysts, and researchers use SERP extraction to turn scattered result pages into a clean, API-ready dataset. It replaces manual copy-paste, supports repeatable rank and visibility monitoring, and feeds spreadsheets, dashboards, and reporting pipelines.

Who this is for

• SEO analysts and consultants
• Content and marketing teams
• Brand and competitor monitoring
• Market and academic researchers
• Data teams building search-intelligence datasets

Common use cases

• Capture the organic result list for a query
• Track which pages rank for a term over time
• Feed SERP data into reporting or BI tools
• Monitor brand or competitor visibility

Input

Field	Type	Description
startUrls	array (required)	Public SERP URLs to extract from. Use only pages you may access without login or bypassing access controls.
maxItems	integer	Maximum rows to save. Default 50, min 1, max 10000.
maxConcurrency	integer	Pages processed in parallel. Default 3, min 1, max 20.
extractionMode	string	structuredDataOnly or structuredDataWithFallback (default). The fallback safely reads the visible public SERP HTML.
requestTimeoutSecs	integer	Maximum time per page. Default 30, min 5, max 180.
proxyConfiguration	object	Optional Apify proxy configuration where permitted by your source review.

Output

Field	Description
resultTitle	Title of the organic result.
resultUrl	Destination URL of the result (Google redirects are resolved).
displayedUrl	Hostname shown for the result.
snippet	Result snippet / description text when present.
position	1-based position of the result in DOM order.
resultType	Result type, organic.
searchQuery	The query parsed from the q= parameter of the SERP URL.
sourceUrl	URL where the data was extracted.
detectedAt	Timestamp when this Actor extracted the row.
extractionMethod	structured_data for schema data, or fallback_public_serp for visible public HTML.
confidenceScore	Heuristic confidence based on structured data availability and completeness.
missingFields	Required fields that were not available from the source page.

Sample input

{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.google.com/search?q=web+scraping+tools"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 25,
  "maxConcurrency": 3,
  "extractionMode": "structuredDataWithFallback",
  "requestTimeoutSecs": 30
}

Sample output

{
  "resultTitle": "Best Web Scraping Tools in 2026",
  "resultUrl": "https://example.com/blog/web-scraping-tools",
  "displayedUrl": "example.com",
  "snippet": "A practical comparison of popular web scraping tools, libraries, and platforms.",
  "position": 1,
  "resultType": "organic",
  "searchQuery": "web scraping tools",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=web+scraping+tools",
  "detectedAt": "2026-07-09T00:00:00.000Z",
  "extractionMethod": "fallback_public_serp",
  "confidenceScore": 0.8,
  "missingFields": []
}

Pricing

This Actor uses a pay-per-event model: $0.005 per result saved to the dataset. You pay only for the organic result rows you receive.

How to use

Run this Actor on Apify with public SERP URLs, export the dataset as JSON, CSV, or Excel, or pull it through the Apify API. Connect the output to Google Sheets, Make, Zapier, a webhook, or an internal dashboard. Save the input as an Apify task and schedule recurring runs for ongoing monitoring.

Best practices

• Provide fully-formed SERP URLs that include the query string (e.g. ?q=...).
• Use structuredDataOnly for highest precision; use structuredDataWithFallback for typical SERP HTML.
• Keep maxConcurrency low to stay well within polite request rates.
• Review the target search engine's terms before scheduling recurring runs.

Compliance and responsible use

This Actor is for public data only. It must not be used to bypass logins, paywalls, CAPTCHAs, or security systems, to collect private or sensitive personal data, or to support spam or abuse. You must comply with the target search engine's terms of service and only scrape where permitted. Search engines place restrictions on automated access to their results; it is your responsibility to confirm that your use is allowed and to follow applicable laws and each source website's rules.

Limitations

• Output quality depends on the public HTML structure of the source page, which search engines change frequently.
• Fallback extraction is intentionally conservative and focuses on organic result links; it does not claim to parse ads, knowledge panels, or every SERP feature.
• Search engines rarely expose JSON-LD result lists, so the visible-HTML fallback is the primary extraction path.
• Some fields may be empty when the source does not publish them; these appear in missingFields.
• The Actor does not bypass anti-bot protections; blocked or CAPTCHA-gated responses will yield no results.

Troubleshooting

• Empty output usually means the page returned a consent, CAPTCHA, or block page instead of results, or the HTML layout changed.
• Invalid URL errors mean one or more input URLs are malformed.
• Slow runs can usually be improved by lowering maxConcurrency.
• Missing fields are source-data limitations, not inferred values.

Changelog

• v0.1.0: Initial release with structured-data check, conservative public SERP HTML fallback, Google redirect resolution, position tracking, and confidence scoring.