Advanced4 steps

How to Scrape Google Search Results

Google Search result pages render dynamically, vary by location and device, and frequently update their HTML structure. Extracting organic rankings, featured snippets, and related questions reliably requires a rendering-capable pipeline that handles these variables.

Step-by-Step Guide

1

Construct the Google Search URL

Google Search accepts query parameters: `q` for the query, `num` for results per page, `hl` for language, and `gl` for country. Build your URL with the appropriate parameters.

2

Fetch with JavaScript rendering enabled

Send the search URL to AlterLab with render_js enabled. This ensures JavaScript-dependent elements like People Also Ask boxes are included in the response.

3

Parse organic results

Extract the organic result elements from the HTML. Google's HTML structure uses consistent data attributes (though class names change) — look for h3 elements within anchor tags in the main results container.

4

Extract additional SERP features

Parse featured snippets, People Also Ask questions, and knowledge panel data from their respective containers in the HTML.

Code Example

PythonGet free API key →
import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup

def scrape_serp(query: str, api_key: str, num_results: int = 10):
    search_url = f"https://www.google.com/search?q={query}&num={num_results}&hl=en"

    response = requests.post(
        "https://alterlab.io/api/v1/scrape",
        headers={"X-API-Key": api_key, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
        json={"url": search_url, "render_js": True},
    )

    html = response.json().get("html", "")
    soup = BeautifulSoup(html, "html.parser")

    results = []
    for h3 in soup.select("h3"):
        parent_a = h3.find_parent("a")
        if parent_a and parent_a.get("href", "").startswith("http"):
            results.append({
                "title": h3.get_text(strip=True),
                "url": parent_a["href"],
            })
    return results

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key from the dashboard. No credit card required.

Ready to try it?

Run this tutorial on live websites with AlterLab's API. Start free — no credit card required.

Get free API keyView API docs

Frequently Asked Questions

Responsible Use

AlterLab is designed for extracting publicly available data. Always review the terms of service for any website you access, respect robots.txt directives, and ensure your use case complies with applicable laws in your jurisdiction.

More tutorials

Browse all how-to guides for web scraping — from beginner extractions to advanced multi-page pipelines.

Your first scrape.
Sixty seconds.

$1 free balance. No credit card. No SDK.Just a POST request.

terminal
curl -X POST https://api.alterlab.io/v1/scrape \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"url": "https://example.com", "formats": ["markdown"]}'

No credit card required · Up to 5,000 free scrapes · Balance never expire

    How to Scrape Google Search Results (SERP) | AlterLab | AlterLab