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BBB Business Scraper

LEAD GENERATIONBUSINESS
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BBB Business Scraper

Extract business listings from the Better Business Bureau (BBB.org) directory. Search by business type and location across the US and Canadian directories to collect contact details, BBB ratings, accreditation status, addresses, and more.

What it does

This actor searches BBB.org for businesses matching your query and location, then extracts structured data from the search results. BBB.org has information on millions of businesses, including contact details that are often more complete and verified than other directories.

Example use cases:

  • Build prospect lists for a specific industry in a target city
  • Verify business legitimacy and BBB rating before engaging a vendor
  • Collect contact information for local service providers
  • Research which businesses in a category hold BBB Accreditation

Input

Field Type Description
searchQuery String Business name or category (e.g. "plumber", "auto repair", "John's Diner")
location String City, state or ZIP code (e.g. "Chicago, IL" or "90210")
country String USA (United States) or CAN (Canada)
maxItems Integer Maximum number of businesses to return
enrichWithDetails Boolean When true, visits each profile page for principal contacts and email. Slower but more complete. Default: false

Example input:

{
  "searchQuery": "restaurant",
  "location": "New York, NY",
  "country": "USA",
  "maxItems": 50,
  "enrichWithDetails": false
}

Output

Each record in the dataset represents one BBB business listing:

Field Description
business_id Unique BBB identifier extracted from the profile URL
name Business name as listed on BBB
bbb_rating BBB letter grade (A+, A, B, C, D, F, or NR for Not Rated)
is_accredited Whether the business holds BBB Accreditation
phone Primary phone number
street_address Street address
city City
state State or province code
zip ZIP or postal code
country Country code (US or CA)
website Business website URL
email Email address (when listed; more common with enrichWithDetails: true)
categories Business categories, comma-separated
years_in_business Years the business has been in operation
num_employees Employee count range
principal_name Primary contact name (populated with enrichWithDetails: true)
principal_title Primary contact title (populated with enrichWithDetails: true)
logo_url Business logo image URL
profile_url Full URL to the BBB business profile
scraped_at Timestamp when this record was scraped

Example output record:

{
  "business_id": "87156789",
  "name": "Acme Plumbing Co.",
  "bbb_rating": "A+",
  "is_accredited": true,
  "phone": "(212) 555-0123",
  "street_address": "123 Main St",
  "city": "New York",
  "state": "NY",
  "zip": "10001",
  "country": "US",
  "website": "https://acmeplumbing.example.com/",
  "email": "",
  "categories": "Plumbers",
  "years_in_business": "15",
  "num_employees": "11-50",
  "principal_name": "",
  "principal_title": "",
  "logo_url": "https://...",
  "profile_url": "https://www.bbb.org/us/ny/new-york/profile/plumbers/acme-plumbing-co-0121-87156789",
  "scraped_at": "2026-06-02T20:50:00.000Z"
}

Performance and cost

BBB.org uses Cloudflare protection, so this actor uses a real browser with residential proxy to bypass it. This makes it slower and more expensive than simple HTTP scrapers. Expect roughly 10-30 businesses per minute depending on network conditions.

Guidance:

  • Default mode (enrichWithDetails: false) — saves records from search result cards. Fast and reliable; covers name, rating, address, phone, and categories.
  • Detail enrichment mode (enrichWithDetails: true) — visits each business profile page. Slower due to additional page loads, but adds principal contacts and email when listed.

Notes

  • Results are limited to businesses that appear in BBB's search index. Not all businesses are registered with BBB.
  • Email addresses are not consistently listed on BBB profiles.
  • BBB accreditation is a paid service — "accredited" status means the business has applied and meets BBB standards, not that it is necessarily better or worse.
  • Canadian businesses are available by setting country: CAN.
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