And it’s all the same with other search engines as well. Most of the things that work right now will soon become a thing of the past. In that case, if you’ll keep on relying on an outdated method of scraping SERP data, you’ll be lost in the trenches. To avoid that from happening, you need to jump on the solution that works now and in the future. Before we get started, let’s get the basics right.
What is SERP?
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Pages. Take this for an example: Whenever you search for something on Google (or other search engines), you get a page full of helpful information related to your query. If you’re searching for cat photos, you’ll get cat photos are shown and relevant articles. Google SERP has evolved recently. You get the results on the Google search page. This means you don’t need to visit another site to find out what you are looking for. Ex: if you search for “open source vulnerability scanner,” you get the list of a scanner on the page as shown below. This is called featured snippet, one of the SERP features. There are many other SERP features available like knowledge panels, site links, image packs, a tweet box, etc.
How to check SERP manually?
Manually checking SERP data used to be easy and reliable in the past. However, these days, it’s not the same anymore. You don’t often get accurate results from it because a lot of elements like your search history, device, and location affect the process. And no, you can’t even rely on the glorious incognito mode. However, following the below actions might possibly land you with accurate data:
Sign out of your Gmail account Clear cookies and history Change your location to the one you’re searching in Open a new tab or window for every new search
Even if it does throw up accurate results, it’s still a lot of manual work. I am a huge fan of saving time, so here’s what you need to know about using SERP API.
Saves time
Imagine spending half of your day’s time trying to do things manually and ending up not focusing on aspects that are more important for your business. That’d be terrible. Fortunately, using SERP API can ridiculously save you a ton of time and cut down on the labor work.
Accurate results
As I mentioned earlier, checking SERP manually can be a hit or miss sometimes. There are a lot of factors that you need to take care of to make sure you’re getting the right results. However, such is not the case with SERP API. You’re guaranteed only to receive the most accurate data, every time.
No rocket science
Using a SERP API does not require you to have any hardcore coding knowledge. Most of the technical stuff is already done by the source from which you’re getting the API. This makes sure you don’t have to touch those “complicated” areas. Enough of theory. Let’s explore the API solutions.
Smartproxy
Smartproxy provides real-time and 100% successful search engine results for Google and other engines. It allows you to get structured and complete data from the search engines just by sending a single API request. You will get a combined capability, including a web scraper, data parser, and proxy network to have a full-stack solution, resulting in JSON or HTML and a 100% success rate. A custom tool won’t work well if used alone; you need a set of quality proxies that Smartproxy offers. Smartproxy saves your penny by collecting data from SERPs, without requiring you to pay twice for a scraping tool and another for proxies. With Smartproxy’s Search Engine Proxies, you get both: top-quality proxies and a full-stack tool for your scraping. The secret is it filters the best proxies for you from more than 40 million proxy pools and lets you select the one that brings you maximum success. Furthermore, it is easy-to-use and scalable in extracting data to bring more traffic to your website. What type of data would you get? The data which are essential to growing, such as insights into the keyword rankings, monitor prices, SEO metrics. Real-time results, and more. Smartproxy eases all the heavy work like building lists of prices, discounts, descriptions, availability, and names. It automates the process of market research, gathering data, and analyzing competitors’ strategies by sitting at the back. It will take some milliseconds to give you the data you want. The price starts at $100/month, where you will get 35000 API requests, proxy network, web scraper, and data parser. Not satisfied? Apply for a full refund within 3-days of registration.
Serpstack
With real-time and super accurate Google search results, Serpstack is hands down one of my favorites in this list. It is completed based on JSON REST API and goes well with every programming language out there. Moreover, it covers all of the critical search engine elements like:
Web Images Videos News Shopping
Some of the features that are worth talking about are:
No-waiting processing of high-volume API requests Various customization options Robust proxy network enabled Super tight security with 256-bit SSL encryption Straightforward integration Lightning-fast speed of API requests
You can use this API free for the first 100 requests/month after that pricing plans start from just $29.99 per month.
Bright Data
Bright Data’s SERP API stands tall at a 99.99% success rate, with global SERP data extraction at its fingertips. This SERP API is compatible with multiple search engines and offers real-time search data in HTML and JSON. Besides, the 99.99% uptime means an unstoppable data collecting beast at your disposal. That’s not all, every API request you make will serve a response in under 5 seconds, and you’ll pay only for successful ones. Another great thing about Bright Data SERP API is it can be customized to target city-specific data. Finally, this works for all types of structured SERP data and comes with a seven-day free trial and a three-day money-back guarantee.
SERPMaster
SERPMaster prides itself as being the lowest cost Google SERP scraper with guaranteed data delivery for each request sent. Getting started with their API is easy, as code examples are provided for cURL, Python, PHP, and Node.js integrations, as well as making requests from one’s web browser. Features
Data from all SERP features (organic, ads, featured snippet, etc) Global location support SERPs from any device or browser Real-time data scraping JavaScript rendering Batch requests 24/7 support
SERPMaster plans provide the best value for money on the market. You can start using their API for just $20 per month.
Zenserp
Built with the intention of “speed” in mind, Zenserp is another popular choice that makes scraping Google search results a breeze. You can easily integrate this solution via browser, CURL, Python, Node.js, or PHP. It lets you scrape through the latest SERP elements like:
Organic results Paid results Answer box Featured snippet Maps
Zenserp comes with some really impressive features like:
Real-time results Ability to view location-based results Super accurate data Ability to handle high volume requests
This API also costs $29.99 for the starting plan and comes with a free version as well with limitations.
Oxylabs
With a Trustpilot score of 4.5/5 stars, Oxylabs’s SERP Scraper API does an excellent job of giving you public data from the main search engines out there. Whether you want to use it for brand monitoring, ads data tracking, keyword data mining, or other reason, it lets you collect data effortlessly. Here are some main features of it:
Receive data from both, organic and paid results 100% data delivery Structured data in CSV and as well as JSON format Highly scalable and easy to integrate Hassle-free data extraction on their part so you don’t have to do much
On top of that, you get your own dedicated account manager, 24/7 support, and any other necessary help to ensure a smooth flow of the process.
SerpWow
With over 620 satisfied customers, SerpWow can be a great choice for reliable SERP data. It lets you scrape various search engines like:
Google Yahoo Bing Baidu Yandex Naver
It allows scraping desktop, mobile, and as well as tablet results. Other features include:
Worldwide locations Structured data via JSON, CSV or HTML Easy integration via Python, PHP, Node.js, CURL or Galang Works seamlessly without proxies Can handle high volume API requests with ease
You can make use of their free trial first and then pick one of their premium plans starting from just $9 per month.
SerpAPI
Trusted by companies like IBM, Harvard University, and The Hoth, SerpAPI is packed with advanced features that can make scraping SERP super smooth. Here are some of them:
No waiting, real-time results Solves CAPTCHAs automatically Ability to get results from any location JSON Results like maps, shopping and knowledge graph Super security with Legal US Shield
Premium plans start from just $50/month, and you can test it out with the free trial available.
DataForSeo
Another brilliant option for SERP API, DataForSEO supports most of the major search results like:
Maps Featured snippets Rich snippets Answer boxes Top stories Knowledge graph
This API has one of the most support teams that’ll help you throughout the process of testing and integrating. Some features that are worth mentioning are:
Accurate data Fast processing of results All worldwide locations results Postback/Pingback options Organized view of top 100 organic and paid results Very easy to integrate Informational stats that indicate the usage of your API
DataForSEO uses the “Pay Per Use” pricing structure, which means you only pay for what you’ve used. Nothing more, nothing less. The entry-level payment amount starts at $50-$100 and has a free trial as well. I recommend checking out their pricing page for a better understanding.
Apify
Apify’s Google search scraper crawls the SERPs and returns back various data in the groups of:
Ads Organic Product ads Related queries
It has some pretty useful features like the ability to search within a specific location and extract custom attributes. In addition, you can keep a watch on what your competitors are ranking and also analyze ads for your chosen keywords. There is a lot more to it, and you can find everything out by taking their free trial. Premium pricing plans start from just $49/month.
GeoRanker
With the ability to scrape through maps, organic, or ad results, GeoRanker is definitely a great contender that can simplify the task of checking the SERP. Some of the main features include:
Real-time results Simple integration method Works for any search engines Supports all locations Accurate data Ability to handle high volume requests And much more!
They have a free trial that you can get into and then book one of their paid plans by talking to their representatives.
SERPhouse
Last but not least, SERPhouse API works for Google and Bing and is very easy to use since it displays results in the REST JSON format. You can scrape results like:
Organic Answer box Knowledge graph Maps Carousel People also ask
They also recently rolled out the ability to fetch images, which is pretty cool. With this API, you get access to features like:
Multiple device selection Postback/Pingback option Location and language-specific option Automatically solves CAPTCHAs No waiting request processing
It comes with a free plan with limitations, as well as paid plans starting at just $9.99/month.
Conclusion
There you have it. I hope the above API will help you save time by automating the process of checking SERP and that, too, accurately. If you are interested in building your own scraper then check out these popular frameworks.
