A comprehensive guide to scraping restaurant data from Yelp directories and detail pages.

Introduction

Yelp is a trusted source for restaurant reviews, ratings, and business details. Scraping Yelp restaurant directories can provide valuable insights for market research, lead generation, or competitive analysis. This guide will walk you through the process of scraping Yelp restaurant directories and details efficiently and ethically.

Features of the Yelp Scraper

• Customizable Input: Accepts search result URLs, category-based filters, and individual business URLs.
• Detailed Data Extraction: Collect restaurant names, addresses, ratings, reviews, and more.
• Scheduling Flexibility: Execute tasks instantly or schedule scraping jobs for a specific time.
• Preview Mode: Visualize a sample of the extracted data.

Input Requirements

1. Yelp Search URLs

The scraper supports URLs from Yelp's search results or individual restaurant pages. Customize your search filters (e.g., cuisine type, location) before copying the URL.

Example Input:

https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=restaurants&find_loc=New%20York%2C%20NY
https://www.yelp.com/biz/restaurant-name-city

2. Maximum Results (Optional)

Specify the maximum number of restaurants to scrape. By default, the scraper extracts all available listings.

How to Create a Scraping Task

Step 1: Provide Input

• Navigate to the Create New Task tab.
• Enter the Yelp search or restaurant URLs in the input field.
• Optionally, upload a text file containing multiple URLs.

Step 2: Configure Filters (Optional)

• Define the maximum number of rows to extract.
• Include filters for ratings, cuisine type, or other preferences.

Step 3: Schedule or Run Immediately

• Select Run Now for instant execution.
• Use the cron scheduler to plan scraping tasks for a later time.

Output

1. Sample Data

The scraper generates a preview of the data in a tabular format. Here is an example:

| Restaurant Name | Rating | Reviews | Address | Phone Number | | --------------- | ------ | ------- | --------------- | -------------- | | Joe's Pizza | 4.5 | 2000 | 123 Main St, NY | (555) 123-4567 | | Sushi Palace | 4.0 | 1500 | 456 Elm St, CA | (555) 987-6543 |

2. Output Schema

The output schema defines the fields and their data types:

| Field | Type | | -------------- | ------- | | RestaurantName | String | | Rating | Float | | Reviews | Integer | | Address | String | | PhoneNumber | String | | WebsiteURL | String | | PriceRange | String |

Use Cases

The Yelp Restaurant Scraper can be used for:

• Market Research: Understand trends in customer preferences and top-rated cuisines.
• Lead Generation: Build a database of restaurants for sales or partnerships.
• Competitive Analysis: Monitor competitors' customer reviews and ratings.
• Event Planning: Find and compare restaurants for events or catering.

Additional Features

Recurring Tasks

Set up recurring scraping jobs to ensure your data is always up-to-date.

Related Scrapers

Combine this scraper with others for platforms like Google Maps or OpenTable for enriched datasets.

Tips for Ethical Scraping

1. Respect Robots.txt: Check Yelp's robots.txt file to understand its scraping policies.
2. Rate Limiting: Introduce delays between requests to prevent server overload.
3. Proxy Usage: Use proxies to distribute requests and avoid IP bans.

Getting Started

1. Log in to your account.
2. Navigate to the Scrapers Dashboard.
3. Select the Yelp Restaurant Directory Scraper.
4. Follow the steps to create and execute a new scraping task.

For more help, visit our documentation or contact support.