SerpApi
Use SerpApi via direct curl calls to scrape search engine results from Google, Bing, YouTube, and more.
Official docs: https://serpapi.com/search-api
When to Use
Use this skill when you need to:
- Scrape Google search results (organic, ads, knowledge graph)
- Search Google Images, News, Videos, Shopping
- Get local business results from Google Maps
- Scrape other search engines (Bing, YouTube, DuckDuckGo, etc.)
- Monitor SERP rankings for SEO analysis
Prerequisites
- Sign up at SerpApi
- Go to Dashboard and copy your API key
- Store it in the environment variable
SERPAPI_TOKEN
export SERPAPI_TOKEN="your-api-key"
Pricing
- Free tier: 100 searches/month
- API key is passed as a query parameter
api_key
How to Use
All examples below assume you have SERPAPI_TOKEN set.
Base URL: https://serpapi.com/search
1. Basic Google Search
Search Google and get structured JSON results:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=artificial+intelligence&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.organic_results[:3] | .[] | {title, link, snippet}'
2. Search with Location
Search from a specific location:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=best+coffee+shops&location=San+Francisco,+California&gl=us&hl=en&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.organic_results[:3]'
Parameters:
location: City, state, or addressgl: Country code (us, uk, de, etc.)hl: Language code (en, de, fr, etc.)
3. Google Image Search
Search for images:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_images&q=sunset+beach&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.images_results[:3] | .[] | {title, original, thumbnail}'
4. Google News Search
Search news articles:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_news&q=technology&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.news_results[:3] | .[] | {title, link, source, date}'
5. Google Shopping Search
Search products:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_shopping&q=wireless+headphones&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.shopping_results[:3] | .[] | {title, price, source}'
6. YouTube Search
Search YouTube videos:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=youtube&search_query=python+tutorial&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.video_results[:3] | .[] | {title, link, channel, views}'
7. Google Maps / Local Results
Search local businesses:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_maps&q=restaurants&[email protected],-74.0060,15z&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.local_results[:3] | .[] | {title, rating, address}'
If using location with Google Maps, include z or m:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_maps&q=3PL&location=Dallas-Fort+Worth,+Texas&z=14&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN"
Defensive local-results extraction:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google_maps&q=3PL&[email protected],-96.7970,14z&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" \
| jq 'if has("error") then .error else (.local_results[:5] | map({title,address,phone,website,link,type})) end'
Parameters:
ll: Latitude, longitude, and zoom level (e.g., @40.7128,-74.0060,15z)
8. Pagination
Get more results using the start parameter:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=machine+learning&start=0&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.organic_results | length'
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/search?engine=google&q=machine+learning&start=10&api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '.organic_results | length'
9. Check Account Info
Check your API usage and credits:
curl -s "https://serpapi.com/account?api_key=$SERPAPI_TOKEN" | jq '{plan_name, searches_per_month, this_month_usage}'
Supported Engines
| Engine |
Parameter |
Description |
| Google Search |
engine=google |
Web search results |
| Google Images |
engine=google_images |
Image search |
| Google News |
engine=google_news |
News articles |
| Google Shopping |
engine=google_shopping |
Product search |
| Google Maps |
engine=google_maps |
Local businesses |
| YouTube |
engine=youtube |
Video search |
| Bing |
engine=bing |
Bing web search |
| DuckDuckGo |
engine=duckduckgo |
Privacy-focused search |
Common Parameters
| Parameter |
Description |
q |
Search query (required) |
engine |
Search engine to use |
location |
Geographic location for search |
gl |
Country code (e.g., us, uk) |
hl |
Language code (e.g., en, de) |
start |
Pagination offset (0, 10, 20...) |
num |
Number of results (max 100) |
safe |
Safe search (active or off) |
device |
Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet) |
Guidelines
- Use specific engines: Use
google_images, google_news etc. instead of tbm parameter for cleaner results
- Add location for local searches: Use
location and gl for geo-targeted results
- Cache results: SerpApi caches results by default; use
no_cache=true for fresh data
- Monitor usage: Check
/account endpoint to track API credits
- Use jq filters: Filter large JSON responses to extract only needed data
