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Get live Google Search data and more from SerpApi's official node

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Overview

This node performs live search queries using the DuckDuckGo search engine via SerpApi's official API. It allows users to send a search query and retrieve structured search results directly within n8n workflows. This is useful for automating data gathering, monitoring search trends, or integrating search results into other processes without manual browsing.

Practical examples include:

  • Automatically fetching search results for specific keywords to monitor brand mentions.
  • Gathering information on competitors by searching relevant terms regularly.
  • Integrating search results into reports or dashboards dynamically.

Properties

Name Meaning
Search Query (q) The main search term or phrase you want to look up on DuckDuckGo. Example: "Coffee".
Additional Fields Optional parameters to customize the search behavior:
- Region (kl) Defines the regional setting/language for the search results. Options include many country-language pairs such as "United States - English (us-en)", "France - French (fr-fr)", "Japan - Japanese (jp-jp)", etc.
- Adult Content Filtering (safe) Sets the level of filtering for adult content in results. Options: Strict, Moderate, Off.
- Filter By Date (df) Filters results by date. Accepts a string defining the date filter criteria.
- Result Offset (start) Skips a number of results for pagination purposes. Useful to get results starting from a certain offset.
- Disable Caching (no_cache) Boolean flag to force fetching fresh results instead of cached ones. Cached results expire after 1 hour. Default is false (allow cache).
- Async (async) Boolean flag to perform the search asynchronously. If true, the search is submitted and results must be retrieved later via another API call. Cannot be used with no_cache. Default is false.
- ZeroTrace Mode (zero_trace) Enterprise-only option to disable storing search parameters and metadata on SerpApi servers for privacy. Default is false.
- Output (output) Defines the format of the output. Can be "json" (default) for structured JSON results or "html" for raw HTML response.
- JSON Restrictor (json_restrictor) Allows restricting the fields returned in the JSON response. For example, limiting to only titles and snippets of the first 3 organic results.

Output

The node outputs a JSON object containing the search results returned by the DuckDuckGo engine through SerpApi. The structure includes various fields representing organic results, ads, related searches, and other metadata depending on the query and parameters.

If the output format is set to "html", the node returns the raw HTML content of the search results page.

No binary data output is produced by this node.

Dependencies

  • Requires an active SerpApi account with a valid API key credential configured in n8n.
  • Internet access to reach SerpApi's endpoint at https://serpapi.com/search.json.
  • No additional external dependencies are needed.

Troubleshooting

  • Common issues:

    • Missing or invalid API key credential will cause authentication errors.
    • Using incompatible combinations of parameters, e.g., setting both async and no_cache to true, may result in errors.
    • Exceeding SerpApi usage limits can lead to quota errors.
    • Incorrect region codes or unsupported values in options may cause unexpected results or errors.

  • Error messages:

    • Authentication failures: Check that the API key credential is correctly set up and valid.
    • Parameter validation errors: Review input properties for correct types and allowed values.
    • Rate limit exceeded: Wait or upgrade your SerpApi plan.
    • Network errors: Ensure stable internet connection and that SerpApi service is reachable.

Links and References

Discussion