SERP guide · buyer questionnaire
SERP API SLA: What to Ask a Provider
A questionnaire you can send to any SERP provider, with our own answers in the last column. Where we have no commitment to offer, the answer says so.
Baidu and Ecosia endpoints opening soon.
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Buyer questionnaire, with our answers
Five questions an SLA conversation should cover.
How is availability defined and measured?
Why ask: A number means little without its definition
SpideyData answer: No published SLA and no success-rate figures
Are failed searches billed?
Why ask: Failures cost you twice if they are billed
SpideyData answer: Charged per successful search; failed searches are not charged
Who retries, and how often?
Why ask: Retries decide how much code you write
SpideyData answer: Google tasks retry on the platform up to max_attempts (default 3); sync calls are retried by you with the same Idempotency-Key
How are rate limits communicated?
Why ask: You need to slow down before requests fail
SpideyData answer: 429 RateLimited with a Retry-After header
How long is data kept?
Why ask: Results may be personal or regulated data
SpideyData answer: Ask us for the retention that applies to your account
Engines that have not opened yet
Each engine opens on its own schedule. Until an engine opens, its requests return 503 service_unavailable and are not charged; the launch status below lists which engines are open now.
Compliance belongs in the conversation
Compliant use of search data is a topic buyer guides cover alongside uptime. Ask each provider how they think about it, and review the terms that apply to your own use.
Launch status for this page
Check engine availability before choosing an endpoint. Google also supports News, Images and asynchronous tasks.
- GoogleGoogle is callable today with a Bearer API key.
- BingBing is callable today with a Bearer API key.
- YahooYahoo is callable today with a Bearer API key.
- DuckDuckGoDuckDuckGo is callable today with a Bearer API key.
- BaiduBaidu endpoints opening soon: until they open, requests return 503 service_unavailable and are not charged.
- EcosiaEcosia endpoints opening soon: until they open, requests return 503 service_unavailable and are not charged.
SERP searches are charged per successful search at a display rate of 2 Credits per search; failed searches are not charged. Polling task status is free. The current rate is on Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Does SpideyData publish an SLA?
No. We do not publish an SLA or success-rate figures.
Are failed searches billed?
No. Searches are charged per successful search; failed searches are not charged.
How many attempts does a task get?
max_attempts defaults to 3, and attempt_count on the job shows how many were used.
Which engines are open now?
Google, Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo are callable today with a Bearer API key. Baidu and Ecosia endpoints opening soon: until they open, requests return 503 service_unavailable and are not charged. The SERP API as a whole is not GA.
Ask the hard questions
Send the questionnaire to every provider on your list; our answers are already in the table.
Baidu and Ecosia endpoints opening soon.