Integrate Google Search with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including Google Search, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Google Search results. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to Google Search, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Google Search and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with Google Search results using native data types.

Connect to Google Search in SnapLogic

To connect to Google Search results in SnapLogic, download and install the CData Google Search JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for Google Search/lib by default).

Upload the Google Search JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to Google Search.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.googlesearch.GoogleSearchDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the Google Search JDBC Driver, for example:

     jdbc:googlesearch:CustomSearchId=def456;ApiKey=abc123;RTK=XXXXXX;

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the Google Search JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.googlesearch.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     To search with a Google custom search engine, you need to set the CustomSearchId and ApiKey connection properties.

     To obtain the CustomSearchId property, sign into Google Custom Search Engine and create a new search engine.

     To obtain the ApiKey property, you must enable the Custom Search API in the Google API Console.

5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read Google Search Results

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "GoogleSearch"
• Set Table name to a table for Google Search using the schema name, for example: "GoogleSearch"."VideoSearch" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your Google Search results to another endpoint.

Piping Google Search Results to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your Google Search results to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from Google Search and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData JDBC Driver for Google Search you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating Google Search results with external services. For more information about connecting to Google Search, check at our CData JDBC Driver for Google Search page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for Google Search and get started today.