# Simple BBB (`canadesk/simple-bbb`) Actor

Collect BBB customer reviews, business responses and complaints from multiple US and Canadian business profiles.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/canadesk/simple-bbb.md
- **Developed by:** [Canadesk Support](https://apify.com/canadesk) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Lead generation
- **Features:** Full permissions
- **Stats:** 74 total users, 3 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 6 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.35 / 1,000 review or complaints

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

Collect customer reviews and complaints from **Better Business Bureau** profiles in the United States and Canada. Submit one business URL or a list and choose a date range.

### Features

| **Feature** | **What you get** |
| :--- | :--- |
| Customer reviews | Available reviewer names, star ratings, dates and review text |
| Business replies | Available reply text and dates |
| Complaints | Categories, status, dates, complaint text and response history |

Use customer-review or complaint URLs to select the record type. A business URL without either suffix collects reviews.

### Get started

1. Copy a business's BBB **customer-reviews** or **complaints** URL.
2. Add it to **BBB URLs**. You can mix review and complaint URLs.
3. Choose the number of days to look back and your maximum results.
4. Run the actor and export your dataset.

A business profile URL without a review or complaint suffix collects reviews. Existing integrations can continue sending a single URL string in `url`. For multiple URLs, use `urls`.

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/customer-reviews",
    "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/complaints"
  ],
  "days": 180,
  "maxResults": 1000
}
```

### Output

Each collected review or complaint includes `category`, `user`, `status`, `type`, `date`, `source_url`, `details` and `responses`. Reviews also include `stars`. Dates use month-day-year format. Business replies and complaint response history stay attached to their original record.

### Tips

- Increase **Look back (days)** to include older feedback.
- Use **Maximum results** to limit collection across all businesses.
- Add a proxy if BBB blocks your connection.
- Schedule recurring runs to monitor new feedback.

For help, open an issue with your run URL and the input you used.

#### Unsuccessful lookups

Where listed in the Pricing tab, a handled lookup problem that prevents a run from returning any real results produces one clear error record and a single $0.02 unsuccessful-lookup fee, in addition to any listed start fee.

### Pricing

Each valid pay-per-event run with at least one input includes a minimum charge of 100 result units, shared across all inputs in that run. Any placeholder rows are clearly marked and contain no scraped data; filter them out when exporting. Each separate run has its own minimum, including scheduled or API runs. Platform usage is included.

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

Add BBB business profile, customer-reviews or complaints URLs. Profile URLs collect reviews.

## `url` (type: `string`):

Optional single URL to use when the BBB URLs list is empty.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum reviews and complaints to collect across all URLs.

## `days` (type: `integer`):

Include reviews and complaints posted within this many days.

## `maxPages` (type: `integer`):

Maximum source pages to visit across all URLs.

## `pause` (type: `integer`):

Seconds between source requests.

## `proxy` (type: `object`):

Optional proxy for connecting to BBB.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/customer-reviews",
    "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/complaints"
  ],
  "maxResults": 1000,
  "days": 180,
  "maxPages": 1000,
  "pause": 1,
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "urls": [
        "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/customer-reviews",
        "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/complaints"
    ],
    "proxy": {
        "useApifyProxy": false
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("canadesk/simple-bbb").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "urls": [
        "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/customer-reviews",
        "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/complaints",
    ],
    "proxy": { "useApifyProxy": False },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("canadesk/simple-bbb").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "urls": [
    "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/customer-reviews",
    "https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/new-albany/profile/hotels/red-roof-inns-inc-0302-2673/complaints"
  ],
  "proxy": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}' |
apify call canadesk/simple-bbb --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,canadesk/simple-bbb"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/To7PSX2OBJK0DKgk9/builds/LqonaZq2hdLMZQLW9/openapi.json