How can I programmatically get my SERP position?

Is there an API or should I scrap Google?

[mertero]

Hi guys.

I want to write me a small script that needs to know a SERP position for a certain keyword.

I know that the Google Search API is no longer working, and that the AJAX API is not helpful in this matter.

But I see so many sites and services doing this. Should I simply scrap the results? Or is there some better way?

Ron

[caribguy]

There are sites that offer this service, but you will have to provide your own Google SOAP key. G stopped giving those keys out a long time ago, but they still work.

[mertero]

Thanks.

So it still works but I need a key. Damn ;-)

What if I 'scrap' the results? is this legal?

Ron

[trillianjedi]

G stopped giving those keys out a long time ago, but they still work.

Interesting - maybe I should put mine on eBay!

What if I 'scrap' the results? is this legal?

It's not breaking the law but it's breaking Googles TOS as far as I recall (have a read of them).

I usually pretend to be a well-known browser and don't do it too often (and time multiple crawls to a decent length of time in between each).

[mertero]

So what can happen if I break their TOS? I guess they can block my IP, which is bad enough ;-)

So maybe the solution is to do it, but carefully, like Trillian Says ;-)

R

[trillianjedi]

So what can happen if I break their TOS?

Yes, they'll ban you.

If you're just looking for a top 100 SERP only, say, once a week, it's pretty unlikely you'll get caught. But there's always a risk.