> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.brightdata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction to SERP API

> Collect search results without managing proxies, CAPTCHAs, or parsing. Start in minutes with a single endpoint.

Collect search engine results at scale without managing proxies, CAPTCHAs, or parsing. Get structured data from Google, Bing, and other search engines in under 1 second.

**Perfect for:**

* SEO rank tracking and keyword monitoring
* AI agents performing web search and data enrichment
* Brand protection and ad intelligence
* Competitive market research and price comparison

<Tip>
  Pay only for successful delivery.
</Tip>

## Before you start

1. Sign in: [https://brightdata.com/cp/start](https://brightdata.com/cp/start)
2. Create a SERP API: [https://brightdata.com/cp/learn\_more/serp-api](https://brightdata.com/cp/learn_more/serp-api)
3. Get your API key: [/api-reference/authentication](/api-reference/authentication#how-do-i-authenticate-with-api-key%3F)

<Tip>
  New to Bright Data? See the step-by-step guide: [/scraping-automation/serp-api/quickstart](/scraping-automation/serp-api/quickstart)
</Tip>

## Quickstart

A minimal request with cURL. Replace `<BRIGHT_DATA_API_KEY>` and `zone` with your values:

<CodeGroup>
  ```shell cURL theme={null}
  curl -X POST https://api.brightdata.com/request \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer <BRIGHT_DATA_API_KEY>" \
    -d '{
      "zone": "YOUR_SERP_API_ZONE",
      "url": "https://www.google.com/search?q=pizza&hl=en&gl=us",
      "format": "raw"
    }'
  ```

  ```javascript Node.js theme={null}
  // Node 18+ (global fetch)
  const resp = await fetch('https://api.brightdata.com/request', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'Authorization': 'Bearer <BRIGHT_DATA_API_KEY>',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      zone: 'YOUR_SERP_API_ZONE',
      url: 'https://www.google.com/search?q=pizza&hl=en&gl=us',
      format: 'raw' // set to "json" for parsed output
    }),
  });

  console.log(await resp.text());
  ```

  ```python Python theme={null}
  import requests

  headers = {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'Authorization': 'Bearer <BRIGHT_DATA_API_KEY>',
  }

  payload = {
      'zone': 'YOUR_SERP_API_ZONE',
      'url': 'https://www.google.com/search?q=pizza&hl=en&gl=us',
      'format': 'raw'  # set to "json" for parsed output
  }

  r = requests.post('https://api.brightdata.com/request',
                    headers=headers, json=payload)

  print(r.text)
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Tip>
  Prefer Markdown output? Set <code>"data\_format": "markdown"</code> to receive Markdown SERP structure.
</Tip>

<Tip>
  Prefer JSON output? Set query parameter <code>"brd\_json=1"</code> to receive JSON SERP structure.
</Tip>

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Run in Postman" icon="rocket" href="https://www.postman.com/bright-data-api/bright-data-api/request/kpq952m/google-search" cta="Open Postman" />

  <Card title="Node.js example" icon="code" href="https://github.com/luminati-io/bright-data-serp-api-nodejs-project" cta="Open repo" />

  <Card title="Python example" icon="code" href="https://github.com/brightdata/bright-data-serp-api-python-project" cta="Open repo" />
</CardGroup>

## What you'll get (parsed JSON preview)

A compact look at the parsed structure you can expect:

```json theme={null}
{
  "engine": "google",
  "query": "pizza",
  "results": [
    { 
      "type": "organic", 
      "position": 1, 
      "title": "Best Pizza Near Me", 
      "url": "https://example.com" 
    }
  ]
}
```

See the full schema and examples: [/scraping-automation/serp-api/parsed-json-results/parsing-search-results](/scraping-automation/serp-api/parsed-json-results/parsing-search-results#expected-parsed-output-when-using-brd-json%3D1)

## Supported engines and parameters

* Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Baidu, Yahoo, Naver
* Engine-specific query parameters:
  * Google: [/scraping-automation/serp-api/query-parameters/google](/scraping-automation/serp-api/query-parameters/google)
  * Bing: [/scraping-automation/serp-api/query-parameters/bing](/scraping-automation/serp-api/query-parameters/bing)

## Performance

### Get only top 10 results (faster response)

If you only need the top 10 organic results without ads or knowledge panels, add `"data_format": "parsed_light"` for faster response times:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL highlight={8} theme={null}
  curl -X POST 'https://api.brightdata.com/request' \
    -H 'Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>' \
    -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
    -d '{
      "zone": "<ZONE_NAME>",
      "url": "https://www.google.com/search?q=pizza&hl=en&gl=us",
      "format": "raw",
      "data_format": "parsed_light"
    }'
  ```

  ```javascript scrape.js highlight={11} theme={null}
  const response = await fetch('https://api.brightdata.com/request', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': 'Bearer <API_KEY>',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      zone: '<ZONE_NAME>',
      url: 'https://www.google.com/search?q=pizza&hl=en&gl=us',
      format: 'raw',
      data_format: 'parsed_light'
    })
  });

  const data = await response.json();
  console.log(data.organic);  // Array of top 10 results
  ```

  ```python scrape.py highlight={8} theme={null}
  response = requests.post(
      'https://api.brightdata.com/request',
      headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer <API_KEY>'},
      json={
          'zone': '<ZONE_NAME>',
          'url': 'https://www.google.com/search?q=pizza&hl=en&gl=us',
          'format': 'raw',
          'data_format': 'parsed_light'
      }
  )

  data = response.json()
  print(data['organic'])  # Array of top 10 results
  ```
</CodeGroup>

Response Example:

```json successful JSON response theme={null}
{
  "organic": [
    {
      "link": "https://example.com/pizza",
      "title": "Best Pizza in NYC - Joe's Pizza",
      "description": "Family-owned pizzeria serving authentic New York slices since 1975...",
      "global_rank": 1
    },
    {
      "link": "https://example.com/pizza-guide",
      "title": "Top 10 Pizza Places in NYC",
      "description": "Discover the highest-rated pizza restaurants across all five boroughs...",
      "global_rank": 2,
      "extensions": [
        {
          "type": "site_link",
          "link": "https://example.com/pizza-guide/brooklyn",
          "text": "Brooklyn"
        }
      ]
    }
    // ... 8 more results
  ]
}
```

### Sub-1-second response time

Get complete SERP results (organic, ads, knowledge panels, and all elements) in **under 1 second** with premium routing infrastructure designed for mission-critical AI applications.

**Ideal for:**

* AI agents performing real-time data enrichment
* Multi-step research workflows and fact verification
* Model evaluation and response grounding
* User-facing search applications requiring instant results

<Note>Contact your Account Manager or [sales@brightdata.com](mailto:sales@brightdata.com) to request access.</Note>

## When to use asynchronous requests

Use async for large volumes, slower pages, or long-running queries. This improves reliability and throughput.

* Guide: [/scraping-automation/serp-api/asynchronous-requests](/scraping-automation/serp-api/asynchronous-requests)

<Tip>
  Targeting non-SERP pages? Use the Unlocker API: [/scraping-automation/web-unlocker](/scraping-automation/web-unlocker)
</Tip>

## Troubleshooting quick hits

* **401/403**: Check your API key and zone permissions. See: [/api-reference/authentication](/api-reference/authentication)
* **429**: Reduce concurrency or switch to async. See: [/scraping-automation/serp-api/asynchronous-requests](/scraping-automation/serp-api/asynchronous-requests)
* **Empty/partial results**: Verify engine-specific parameters (e.g., `hl`, `gl`, `uule`, `location`). See: engine query parameters above.
* **Unexpected results:** This may occur when using non-latin letters. Google search query requests demands encoding the query request in that case.
* **Still stuck?** See FAQs: [/scraping-automation/serp-api/faqs](/scraping-automation/serp-api/faqs)

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Send your first request" icon="bolt" href="/scraping-automation/serp-api/send-your-first-request" cta="Open guide" />

  <Card title="SERP Pricing & Billing" icon="dollar-sign" href="/scraping-automation/serp-api/pricing-and-billing" cta="Open pricing" />

  <Card title="Query parameters (Google)" icon="sliders" href="/scraping-automation/serp-api/query-parameters/google" cta="Open docs" />

  <Card title="Parsed JSON results" icon="list" href="/scraping-automation/serp-api/parsed-json-results/parsing-search-results" cta="Open schema" />

  <Card title="Asynchronous requests" icon="clock" href="/scraping-automation/serp-api/asynchronous-requests" cta="Open guide" />

  <Card title="Quick Start" icon="road" href="/scraping-automation/serp-api/quickstart" cta="Open steps" />

  <Card title="FAQs" icon="circle-question" href="/scraping-automation/serp-api/faqs" cta="Open FAQs" />
</CardGroup>