# The Best BBB Advanced Scraper (`intelecta/bbb`) Actor Scrape business listings from BBB.org (Better Business Bureau) including company details, ratings, contact information, and accreditation status. Perfect for market research and lead generation. - **URL**: https://apify.com/intelecta/bbb.md - **Developed by:** [Intelecta.ai](https://apify.com/intelecta) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Real estate, Jobs - **Stats:** 132 total users, 4 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 7 bookmarks - **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars ## Pricing $15.00/month + usage To use this Actor, you pay a monthly rental fee to the developer. The rent is subtracted from your prepaid usage every month. You also pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher Apify subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#rental-actors ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. - **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use). - **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`. - **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`. - **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`. - **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## The Best BBB Scraper for contact emails 📧 ### Key Features - Collects detailed business profiles from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) - Extracts over 50 fields, including contact emails (found in ~75% of cases) - Supports keyword, location, search URL, or direct profile input - Uses rotating proxies and automatic CAPTCHA solving - Exports data in JSON, CSV, Parquet, and via Dataset API - Maintained monthly for selector and anti-bot updates - Retrieves up to 330–340 results per query (native BBB limit is ~220) ### Typical Use Cases - Discover BBB-accredited businesses for targeted B2B outreach - Enrich CRM systems with trust metrics (ratings, complaints, accreditation) - Vet suppliers by reviewing complaints and direct email contacts - Build dashboards for sectoral or regional BBB data analysis ### How It Works 1. **Input Processing:** Accepts keywords, locations, or URLs to build a queue of BBB pages to visit 2. **Crawling:** Visits each page using managed residential proxies, handling CAPTCHAs and retries 3. **Data Extraction:** Parses selectors, normalizes emails, and enriches with geocoordinates 4. **Result Storage:** Saves structured results to an Apify Dataset for download or API access 5. **Result Limits:** BBB restricts to 15 results per 15 pages; use multiple locations to maximize output ### Input Reference | Parameter | Type | Required | Description | |-------------------------|----------|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | `countries` | string | yes | Country in English | | `keywords` | string | yes | Search terms (business type, service, category, etc.) | | `locations` | string | optional | City/State/zipcode | | `maxRecordsGlobal` | integer | optional | Maximum number of results to fetch (default = 10) | | `maxRecordsPerLocation` | integer | optional | Maximum number of records per location. Use "0" for unlimited (default = 0) | ### Output Example ```json { "id": "1234_5678901_234567", "businessId": "5678901", "tobId": "20234-001", "bbbId": "1234", "businessName": "Bright Future Auto Repair, Inc.", "tobText": "Auto Repair & Service", "bbbName": "BBB serving Metro City", "rating": "A", "ratingScore": 89, "accreditationStatus": "Not Accredited", "bbbMember": false, "charitySeal": false, "isCharity": 0, "accreditedCharity": false, "logoUri": "https://brightfutureauto.com/logo.png", "Type of Entity": "Corporation", "Business Started": "2/15/2015", "Business Started Locally": "4/20/2016", "Business Incorporated": "2/15/2015", "phone": "(555) 987-6543, (555) 123-4567", "Email Business": "contact@brightfutureauto.com", "Additional Email Addresses": "support@brightfutureauto.com, info@brightfutureauto.com", "Principal Contacts": [ { "name": "Ms. Laura Smith", "role": "Owner" } ], "Customer Contacts": [ { "name": "Mr. Alan Brown", "role": "Customer Service Manager" } ], "Social Media": "https://facebook.com/brightfutureauto,%20https://twitter.com/brightfutureauto", "Web Site": "https://www.brightfutureauto.com/", "Additional Websites": "https://www.brightfutureautorepair.com/", "address": "456 Innovation Drive", "city": "Metro City", "state": "CA", "postalcode": "90210", "location": "34.090009,-118.406512", "categories": "Auto Repair & Service", "serviceAreaDescription": "Serving all of Metro City and surrounding areas", "hasServiceArea": true, "serviceArea": "Metro City Area", "serviceAreasSummary": "Metro City, Westside, Eastside", "reportUrl": "/us/ca/metro-city/profile/auto-repair-service/bright-future-auto-repair-inc-1234-5678901", "localReportUrl": "/us/ca/metro-city/profile/auto-repair-service/bright-future-auto-repair-inc-1234-5678901/addressId/234567", "leaveReviewUrl": "/us/ca/metro-city/profile/auto-repair-service/bright-future-auto-repair-inc-1234-5678901/customer-reviews", "requestAQuoteUrl": "/quote-request", "businessLoginUrl": "/metro-city/login", "url_register": "https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/metro-city/profile/auto-repair-service/bright-future-auto-repair-inc-1234-5678901", "requestAQuoteUrlId": 2, "Local BBB Url": "https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-serving-metro-city", "BBB File Opened": "3/1/2015", "raqEnabled": true, "outOfBusinessStatus": "" } ``` # Actor input Schema ## `keywords` (type: `array`): Search terms to find businesses. Use specific keywords for better results. ## `locations` (type: `array`): Optional list of locations to search. Recommended for better results. Example: use keywords with zip codes for a state. ## `countries` (type: `string`): Select target country for data extraction. ## `max_records_per_location` (type: `integer`): Limit results extracted per location. Set to 0 for unlimited. ## `max_records_per_run` (type: `integer`): Maximum total records to extract for this search. ## Actor input object example ```json { "keywords": [ "Plumber" ], "locations": [ "New York, NY" ], "countries": "USA", "max_records_per_location": 1, "max_records_per_run": 1 } ``` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "keywords": [ "Plumber" ], "locations": [ "New York, NY" ], "countries": "USA", "max_records_per_location": 1, "max_records_per_run": 1 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("intelecta/bbb").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "keywords": ["Plumber"], "locations": ["New York, NY"], "countries": "USA", "max_records_per_location": 1, "max_records_per_run": 1, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("intelecta/bbb").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}") for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "keywords": [ "Plumber" ], "locations": [ "New York, NY" ], "countries": "USA", "max_records_per_location": 1, "max_records_per_run": 1 }' | apify call intelecta/bbb --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "type": "http", "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,intelecta/bbb" } } } ``` The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer ` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations). ## OpenAPI specification Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ixrIuNgGhGIaGdbdg/builds/L4mJX1jFH4Nen2pmM/openapi.json