Yelp Business Scraper by URL via Scrape.do API with Google Sheets Storage

Overview

This n8n workflow automates the process of scraping comprehensive business information from Yelp using individual business URLs. It integrates with Scrape.do for professional web scraping with anti-bot bypass capabilities and Google Sheets for centralized data storage, providing detailed business intelligence for market research, competitor analysis, and lead generation.

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Workflow Components

1. 📥 Form Trigger

Property	Value
Type	Form Trigger
Purpose	Initiates the workflow with user-submitted Yelp business URL
Input Fields	Yelp Business URL
Function	Captures target business URL to start the scraping process

2. 🔍 Create Scrape.do Job

Property	Value
Type	HTTP Request (POST)
Purpose	Creates an async scraping job via Scrape.do API
Endpoint	https://q.scrape.do/api/v1/jobs
Authentication	X-Token header

Request Parameters:

• Targets: Array containing the Yelp business URL
• Super: true (uses residential/mobile proxies for better success rate)
• GeoCode: us (targets US-based content)
• Device: desktop
• Render: JavaScript rendering enabled with networkidle2 wait condition

Function: Initiates comprehensive business data extraction from Yelp with headless browser rendering to handle dynamic content.

3. 🔧 Parse Yelp HTML

Property	Value
Type	Code Node (JavaScript)
Purpose	Extracts structured business data from raw HTML
Mode	Run once for each item

Function: Parses the scraped HTML content using regex patterns and JSON-LD extraction to retrieve:

• Business name
• Overall rating
• Review count
• Phone number
• Full address
• Price range
• Categories
• Website URL
• Business hours
• Image URLs

4. 📊 Store to Google Sheet

Property	Value
Type	Google Sheets Node
Purpose	Stores scraped business data for analysis and storage
Operation	Append rows
Target	"Yelp Scraper Data - Scrape.do" sheet

Data Mapping:

• Business Name, Overall Rating, Reviews Count
• Business URL, Phone, Address
• Price Range, Categories, Website
• Hours, Images/Videos URLs, Scraped Timestamp

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Workflow Flow

Form Input → Create Scrape.do Job → Parse Yelp HTML → Store to Google Sheet
     │              │                      │                    │
     ▼              ▼                      ▼                    ▼
 User submits   API creates job      JavaScript code      Data appended
 Yelp URL       with JS rendering    extracts fields      to spreadsheet

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Configuration Requirements

API Keys & Credentials

Credential	Purpose
Scrape.do API Token	Required for Yelp business scraping with anti-bot bypass
Google Sheets OAuth2	For data storage and export access
n8n Form Webhook	For user input collection

Setup Parameters

Parameter	Description
YOUR_SCRAPEDO_TOKEN	Your Scrape.do API token (appears in 3 places)
YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEET_ID	Target spreadsheet identifier
YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEETS_CREDENTIAL_ID	OAuth2 authentication reference

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Key Features

🛡️ Anti-Bot Bypass Technology

• Residential Proxy Rotation: 110M+ proxies across 150 countries
• WAF Bypass: Handles Cloudflare, Akamai, DataDome, and PerimeterX
• Dynamic TLS Fingerprinting: Authentic browser signatures
• CAPTCHA Handling: Automatic bypass for uninterrupted scraping

🌐 JavaScript Rendering

• Full headless browser support for dynamic Yelp content
• networkidle2 wait condition ensures complete page load
• Custom wait times for complex page elements
• Real device fingerprints for detection avoidance

📊 Comprehensive Data Extraction

Field	Description	Example
name	Business name	"Joe's Pizza Restaurant"
overall_rating	Average customer rating	"4.5"
reviews_count	Total number of reviews	"247"
url	Original Yelp business URL	"https://www.yelp.com/biz/..."
phone	Business phone number	"(555) 123-4567"
address	Full street address	"123 Main St, New York, NY 10001"
price_range	Price indicator	"$$"
categories	Business categories	"Pizza, Italian, Delivery"
website	Business website URL	"https://joespizza.com"
hours	Operating hours	"Mon-Fri 11:00-22:00"
images_videos_urls	Media content links	"https://s3-media1.fl.yelpcdn.com/..."
scraped_at	Extraction timestamp	"2025-01-15T10:30:00Z"

🗂️ Centralized Data Storage

• Automatic Google Sheets export
• Organized business data format with 12 data fields
• Historical scraping records with timestamps
• Easy sharing and collaboration

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Use Cases

📈 Market Research

• Competitor business analysis
• Local market intelligence gathering
• Industry benchmark establishment
• Service offering comparison

🎯 Lead Generation

• Business contact information extraction
• Potential client identification
• Market opportunity assessment
• Sales prospect development

📊 Business Intelligence

• Customer sentiment analysis through ratings
• Competitor performance monitoring
• Market positioning research
• Brand reputation tracking

📍 Location Analysis

• Geographic business distribution
• Local competition assessment
• Market saturation evaluation
• Expansion opportunity identification

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Technical Notes

Specification	Value
Processing Time	15-45 seconds per business URL
Data Accuracy	95%+ for publicly available business information
Success Rate	99.98% (Scrape.do guarantee)
Proxy Pool	110M+ residential, mobile, and datacenter IPs
JS Rendering	Full headless browser with networkidle2 wait
Data Format	JSON with structured field mapping
Storage Format	Structured Google Sheets with 12 predefined columns

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Setup Instructions

Step 1: Import Workflow

1. Copy the JSON workflow configuration
2. Import into n8n: Workflows → Import from JSON
3. Paste configuration and save

Step 2: Configure Scrape.do

Get your API token:

1. Sign up at Scrape.do
2. Navigate to Dashboard → API Token
3. Copy your token

Update workflow references (3 places):

• 🔍 Create Scrape.do Job node → Headers → X-Token
• 📡 Check Job Status node → Headers → X-Token
• 📥 Fetch Task Results node → Headers → X-Token

Replace YOUR_SCRAPEDO_TOKEN with your actual API token.

Step 3: Configure Google Sheets

Create target spreadsheet:

1. Create new Google Sheet named "Yelp Business Data" or similar
2. Add header row with columns:

   name | overall_rating | reviews_count | url | phone | address | price_range | categories | website | hours | images_videos_urls | scraped_at
   

3. Copy the Sheet ID from URL (the long string between /d/ and /edit)

Set up OAuth2 credentials:

1. In n8n: Credentials → Add Credential → Google Sheets OAuth2
2. Complete the Google authentication process
3. Grant access to Google Sheets

Update workflow references:

• Replace YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEET_ID with your actual Sheet ID
• Update YOUR_GOOGLE_SHEETS_CREDENTIAL_ID with credential reference

Step 4: Test and Activate

Test with sample URL:

1. Use a known Yelp business URL (e.g., https://www.yelp.com/biz/example-business-city)
2. Submit through the form trigger
3. Monitor execution progress in n8n
4. Verify data appears in Google Sheet

Activate workflow:

1. Toggle workflow to "Active"
2. Share form URL with users

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Sample Business Data

The workflow captures comprehensive business information including:

Category	Data Points
Basic Information	Name, category, location
Performance Metrics	Ratings, review counts, popularity
Contact Details	Phone, website, address
Visual Content	Photos, videos, gallery URLs
Operational Data	Hours, services, price range

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Advanced Configuration

Batch Processing

Modify the input to accept multiple URLs by updating the job creation body:

{
  "Targets": [
    "https://www.yelp.com/biz/business-1",
    "https://www.yelp.com/biz/business-2",
    "https://www.yelp.com/biz/business-3"
  ],
  "Super": true,
  "GeoCode": "us",
  "Render": {
    "WaitUntil": "networkidle2",
    "CustomWait": 3000
  }
}

Enhanced Rendering Options

For complex Yelp pages, add browser interactions:

{
  "Render": {
    "BlockResources": false,
    "WaitUntil": "networkidle2",
    "CustomWait": 5000,
    "WaitSelector": ".biz-page-header",
    "PlayWithBrowser": [
      { "Action": "Scroll", "Direction": "down" },
      { "Action": "Wait", "Timeout": 2000 }
    ]
  }
}

Notification Integration

Add alert mechanisms:

• Email notifications for completed scrapes
• Slack messages for team updates
• Webhook triggers for external systems

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Error Handling

Common Issues

Issue	Cause	Solution
Invalid URL	URL is not a valid Yelp business page	Ensure URL format: https://www.yelp.com/biz/...
401 Unauthorized	Invalid or missing API token	Verify X-Token header value
Job Timeout	Page too complex or slow	Increase CustomWait value
Empty Data	HTML parsing failed	Check page structure, update regex patterns
Rate Limiting	Too many concurrent requests	Reduce request frequency or upgrade plan

Troubleshooting Steps

1. Verify URLs: Ensure Yelp business URLs are correctly formatted
2. Check Credentials: Validate Scrape.do token and Google OAuth
3. Monitor Logs: Review n8n execution logs for detailed errors
4. Test Connectivity: Verify network access to all external services
5. Check Job Status: Use Scrape.do dashboard to monitor job progress

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Performance Specifications

Metric	Value
Processing Time	15-45 seconds per business URL
Data Accuracy	95%+ for publicly available information
Success Rate	99.98% (with Scrape.do anti-bot bypass)
Concurrent Processing	Depends on Scrape.do plan limits
Storage Capacity	Unlimited (Google Sheets based)
Proxy Pool	110M+ IPs across 150 countries

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Scrape.do API Reference

Async API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Purpose
/api/v1/jobs	POST	Create new scraping job
/api/v1/jobs/{jobID}	GET	Check job status
/api/v1/jobs/{jobID}/{taskID}	GET	Retrieve task results
/api/v1/me	GET	Get account information

Job Status Values

Status	Description
queuing	Job is being prepared
queued	Job is in queue waiting to be processed
pending	Job is currently being processed
rotating	Job is retrying with different proxies
success	Job completed successfully
error	Job failed
canceled	Job was canceled by user

For complete API documentation, visit: Scrape.do Documentation

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Support & Resources

• Scrape.do Documentation: https://scrape.do/documentation/
• Scrape.do Dashboard: https://dashboard.scrape.do/
• n8n Documentation: https://docs.n8n.io/
• Google Sheets API: https://developers.google.com/sheets/api

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