SerpApi Official icon

SerpApi Official

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

Actions72

Overview

This node integrates with SerpApi's Google Maps API to perform location-based searches and retrieve live Google Maps data. It allows users to search for places, businesses, or points of interest based on a query string and optional geographic parameters.

Common scenarios where this node is beneficial include:

  • Finding nearby coffee shops, restaurants, or other businesses.
  • Retrieving detailed information about a specific place using its unique Place ID.
  • Performing localized searches by specifying GPS coordinates or country/language preferences.
  • Gathering structured data from Google Maps for use in marketing, analytics, or customer engagement workflows.

Practical examples:

  • A marketing team automates the collection of competitor locations within a city.
  • A travel app fetches popular tourist spots around a user's current GPS location.
  • A business verifies details of their own listings on Google Maps by querying with Place IDs.

Properties

Name Meaning
Search Query (q) The text query defining what you want to search for on Google Maps (e.g., "coffee").
Type of search (type) Defines the type of search: either "Search" for general queries or "Place" for looking up a specific place.
GPS Coordinates (ll) The latitude and longitude coordinates indicating the origin point of the search. Useful for localized results.
Additional Fields Collection of optional parameters to customize the search:
- Domain (google_domain) Specifies the Google domain to use for the search (e.g., google.com, google.co.uk).
- Language (hl) Sets the language for the search results (e.g., English, French, Spanish).
- Country (gl) Defines the country code to tailor the search geographically (e.g., us, gb, fr).
- Data (data) Advanced filter parameter to refine search results according to SerpApi documentation.
- Place ID (place_id) Unique identifier for a specific place on Google Maps, used to retrieve detailed information about that place.
- Result Offset (start) Number of results to skip; useful for pagination.
- Disable Caching (no_cache) Boolean flag to force fetching fresh results instead of cached ones. Cached results are free and expire after 1 hour. Cannot be used together with async.
- Async (async) Boolean flag to perform the search asynchronously. When true, the search is submitted and results must be retrieved later via another API. Cannot be used with no_cache or on accounts with Ludicrous Speed enabled.
- ZeroTrace Mode (zero_trace) Enterprise-only option to disable storing search parameters and metadata on SerpApi servers for privacy.
- Output (output) Defines the output format: "json" for structured JSON data (default) or "html" for raw HTML content.
- JSON Restrictor (json_restrictor) Allows restricting the fields returned in the JSON response to only those specified (e.g., limiting to certain result fields).

Output

The node outputs a JSON object containing the search results from the Google Maps API via SerpApi. The structure includes various fields depending on the query and parameters, such as:

  • Lists of places matching the search query.
  • Detailed place information when searching by Place ID.
  • Metadata about the search itself.

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

The node does not output binary data.

Dependencies

  • Requires an active SerpApi account and an API key credential configured in n8n.
  • The node sends HTTP requests to https://serpapi.com/search.json with appropriate query parameters.
  • No additional external dependencies beyond the SerpApi service.

Troubleshooting

  • Common issues:

    • Invalid or missing API key credential will cause authentication errors.
    • Using incompatible combinations of parameters, e.g., setting both no_cache and async to true, will result in errors.
    • Incorrect Place ID or malformed GPS coordinates may return empty or error responses.
    • Exceeding SerpApi usage limits can lead to rate limiting or quota errors.

  • Error messages:

    • Authentication failures: Check that the API key credential is correctly set and valid.
    • Parameter validation errors: Review input properties for correct types and allowed values.
    • Network or timeout errors: Ensure network connectivity and that SerpApi service is reachable.
    • Cache-related conflicts: Avoid using no_cache and async simultaneously.

Links and References

Discussion