How to Build a Local Business Finder Automation in Make.com for Lead Generation
Struggling to find reliable local service providers or generate qualified leads? This Make.com automation combines SERP API searches with OpenAI enrichment to deliver complete business profiles - with contact details - directly to your Google Sheets. Perfect for service businesses, agencies, and local marketers.
How the Local Business Finder Automation Works
Finding reliable local service providers or generating qualified leads manually is time-consuming and inconsistent. You might spend hours searching Google, visiting websites, and compiling spreadsheets - only to end up with incomplete or outdated information.
This automation solves that by combining three powerful tools:
250 free searches per month: The SERP API integration provides enough capacity for most small businesses without additional costs. For agencies or heavy users, paid plans scale affordably.
- SERP API performs the initial business search based on your criteria (business type + location)
- OpenAI Assistant visits each company's website to enrich the data with contact details
- Make.com orchestrates the workflow and exports structured data to Google Sheets
The result? A complete spreadsheet of local businesses with enriched profiles - including website URLs, email addresses when available, and other relevant details - all compiled automatically.
Setting Up SERP API for Business Searches
SERP API (serapi.com) provides the search capability that powers this automation. It's essentially a programmatic way to access Google search results without building your own scraper.
To get started:
- Create a free account at serapi.com
- Navigate to your API keys section
- Copy your unique API key
Pro Tip: The free tier includes 250 searches per month - enough for testing and light use. For agencies or frequent searches, consider their affordable paid plans.
In Make.com, you'll add SERP API as a connection using this API key. The automation sends search parameters (like "bakery in New York City") to SERP API, which returns structured results including:
- Business names and descriptions
- Ratings and reviews
- Addresses and GPS coordinates
- Website URLs when available
Configuring the OpenAI Assistant
The OpenAI Assistant acts as your intelligent data processor, visiting company websites to gather additional information that wasn't in the initial search results.
Key configuration points:
- System Instructions: Tell the assistant its role is to "make sense from a collection of company data" and enrich it
- Tools: Configure two functions - one for HTTP requests (to visit websites) and one to return structured company details
- Output Format: Define exactly what data to collect and how to format it (matching your Google Sheets columns)
Structured Output Matters: The assistant's ability to return data in precise JSON format is what makes the Google Sheets integration seamless. Each field maps directly to your spreadsheet columns.
While OpenAI has announced plans to discontinue Assistants, the core functionality can be replicated using their chat completions API. The key feature - structured JSON output - remains available regardless of the specific implementation method.
Building the Make.com Scenarios
The automation uses two connected Make.com scenarios:
- Trigger Scenario: Initiates the search based on your parameters (business type + location) and manages the OpenAI interaction
- Toolbox Scenario: Handles the web requests and Google Sheets integration via webhooks
Key components to configure:
- SERP API connection with your API key
- OpenAI connection with your API key and organization ID
- Webhook for communication between scenarios
- Google Sheets connection
The magic happens in how these components communicate. When the OpenAI Assistant needs to visit a website, it triggers the toolbox scenario via webhook. The toolbox scenario makes the HTTP request, returns the page content to OpenAI, then waits for the enriched data to arrive via another webhook call.
Preparing Your Google Sheets Template
Your Google Sheet serves as both the output destination and template for each new search result set. Here's how to set it up:
- Create a sheet with columns matching the data you want to collect (name, address, website, email, etc.)
- Format the sheet as a table (Format > Convert to Table)
- Create a "result template" tab that will be copied for each new search
- Note the spreadsheet ID (from the URL) and template sheet ID
Customization Tip: You can add or remove columns based on what information matters most for your use case. Just ensure the OpenAI Assistant's output format matches your sheet structure.
When the automation runs, it will:
- Create a copy of your template sheet
- Name it based on your search parameters (e.g., "Bakeries in NYC - Oct 24")
- Populate it with the enriched business data
Using URL Parameters for Smart Routing
The automation uses URL parameters to intelligently route requests between the OpenAI Assistant and your toolbox scenario. This elegant solution avoids creating multiple webhooks.
Key parameters used:
-
?function=http_request- Tells the toolbox to make a website visit -
?function=return_company_details- Signals enriched data is ready for Sheets -
&spreadsheet=ID- Identifies which Google Sheet to use
The toolbox scenario uses a router module to examine these parameters and direct the workflow accordingly. This approach keeps your automation clean and maintainable while handling multiple functions through a single endpoint.
Technical Note: URL parameters are added after the webhook address, starting with ? for the first parameter and & for subsequent ones. Make.com's HTTP modules handle this automatically when configured.
Testing and Interpreting Results
When you run your automation (around 5:40 in the video), here's what to expect:
- The trigger scenario initiates the search with your parameters
- SERP API returns initial business listings
- OpenAI Assistant visits each website to find additional details
- Enriched data flows back to your Google Sheet
Sample results might include:
- 70-80% of businesses with valid website URLs
- Email addresses for about 50-60% of listings (when publicly available)
- Social media links when present on websites
- Complete business profiles even when specific contacts aren't found
Real-World Performance: In testing "bakeries in New York City," the automation successfully found websites for 22 of 30 businesses (73%) and emails for 15 (50%). Your results will vary based on industry and location.
Watch the Full Tutorial
See the complete build process from start to finish in this 14-minute tutorial. Around 7:15, you'll see how the OpenAI Assistant configuration ensures structured output matching your Google Sheets columns.
Key Takeaways
This automation demonstrates how combining Make.com with specialized APIs and AI can transform manual research tasks into scalable systems. Whether you're looking for service providers or generating leads, the approach can be adapted to various use cases.
In summary: You can build a system that automatically finds local businesses, enriches their profiles with contact details, and organizes everything in Google Sheets - saving hours of manual research while getting more consistent results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this topic
This automation integrates three main services: Make.com for workflow orchestration, SERP API for business search results, and OpenAI Assistant for data enrichment.
The SERP API provides free searches up to 250 per month, making it cost-effective for small businesses. The enriched data then gets exported to Google Sheets for easy access and organization.
- Make.com connects all components
- SERP API handles the initial searches
- OpenAI enriches the data
The OpenAI Assistant visits each company's website (found through SERP API results) to gather additional information.
It specifically looks for contact emails, social media links, and other relevant details. The assistant returns this enriched data in a structured JSON format that automatically maps to columns in your Google Sheet.
- Visits company websites via HTTP requests
- Extracts contact information when available
- Returns structured data matching your sheet format
You can search for any type of local business service - from bakeries to plumbers to marketing agencies.
The automation works with any business category that appears in Google's local search results. Simply change the business type parameter in your Make.com scenario to target different industries.
- Works with any Google-able local business
- Change search parameters to target different industries
- Equally effective for service providers and retailers
Accuracy depends on the information available on company websites.
Our testing shows about 70-80% success rate for finding valid email addresses when they're publicly listed. The automation excels at gathering comprehensive business profiles, even when specific contact details aren't available.
- Email accuracy: ~70-80% when listed
- Website accuracy: ~80-90%
- Always verify critical contacts before outreach
Yes, the automation works for international searches as long as SERP API returns results for your target location.
You'll need to specify both the business type and location in your search parameters. The system supports any location format that works with Google's local search.
- Works with any Google-able location
- Specify location in search parameters
- May need to adjust for non-English websites
Each search creates a new tab in your Google Sheet with the enriched business data.
The system copies a template sheet and populates it with the structured JSON data from OpenAI. You can customize the template columns to include only the information most valuable for your use case.
- New tab per search
- Based on your template design
- Columns map to OpenAI's JSON output
While OpenAI has announced plans to discontinue Assistants, the core functionality can be replicated using their chat completions API.
The key feature - structured JSON output - remains available. We'll provide updated blueprints if any changes are required due to API updates.
- Alternative implementations available
- Structured output remains possible
- Updated guides will be provided if needed
GrowwStacks can customize this automation for your specific lead generation or business research needs.
We'll configure the search parameters, data enrichment rules, and output format to match your ideal customer profile. Book a free consultation to discuss implementing a version tailored to your industry.
- Custom search parameters for your niche
- Tailored data enrichment rules
- Output format matching your CRM or workflow
Ready to Automate Your Local Business Research?
Stop wasting hours on manual searches and incomplete spreadsheets. Let GrowwStacks build you a customized local business finder automation that delivers qualified leads directly to your Google Sheets.