Question 1

How do you get and use an Outscraper API Key?

Accepted Answer

What is Outscraper API?

The Outscraper API extracts places data from Google Maps and companies' web sites.

How do I get the Outscraper API Key?

Getting your Outscraper API key is fast and easy. To do it, you have to follow these simple Outscraper API guidelines.

Step 1 – Create an account

Click Here to open the signup form and create an account at the Outscraper Service with your email and password of choice as seen in the example image below.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/SWfAciRlzU/signup.png (signup)

You’ll get a confirmation email from Outscraper Team (no-reply@outscraper.com) – don’t forget to follow the link in it to verify your account.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/JkcM9yK52b/Outscraper%20-%20Verify.png (Outscraper - Verify.png)

Step 2 – Setup Billing

Outscraper defaults to the FREE level and only charges when you go over the free monthly quota. There is no inherent cost to use this service up to certain levels like Google API. The Free Tier is the amount of usage you can use for free each month. This means any usage of the product below 500 requests during a month will be for free. So basically, every API account gets 500 businesses, 500 domains for Email & Contact info, 500 reviews, and 500 photos free each month. So you can continue to come back and use these 500 items each month and never have any out-of-pocket costs. Or you can do more at scale in one month and pay a bulk per item fee above the free limits. See FAQ on pricing for complete details

There are two options for billing, Prepaid and Postpaid.

Option 1: Pre-Paid

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/SoXMAJw5P2/Prepaid.png (Prepaid.png)

To setup prepaid amount, click on "Billing Information" and add desired amount and payment method to add credit.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/dHbYravoyf/Outscraper%20-%20Prepaid.png (Outscraper - Prepaid.png)

Option 2: Post-Paid

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/oXyjbVzIVZ/Postpaid.png (Postpaid.png)

When you run a task without any prepaid credits, a new billing period will be created. Once you have any amount due (IE above the free limits), you can stop it manually by clicking "Generate Invoice". Otherwise upon completion of your billing period, you will only receive an invoice for the use above the free tier.

If you choose post-paid you will need to add a card on file, just like you had to for the Google Maps API. Select "Billing Information" and then Add button.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/rsCqSrSZVY/Outscraper%20-%20Post%20Paid.png (Outscraper - Post Paid.png)

Step 3 – Copy API

Go back to your main account tab. Yours may not say "support" with this logo. It may be your site or username with your icon or first initial. But click this button above the billing and your main account info will load.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/mAoZbj9ngE/Outscraper%20-%20Main%20Account.png (Outscraper - Main Account.png)

Your Outscraper API should now be filled in. Click the copy icon to copy the API code.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/qovbTOt3g7/Outscraper%20-%20token.png (Outscraper - token.png)

Paste it into the configurations tab of your DirectoryImport Plugin. Be sure to hit "Save Changes"

Question 2

Why do my Yelp reviews not have authors?

Accepted Answer

The DirectoryImport tool uses Outscraper to import its data. Their data feed does not have the author for Yelp reviews included like it does for Google reviews. While we have a Yelp API connection, this API key is used to acquire the Yelp business ID only to use with Outscraper to pinpoint and import the reviews in bulk. So while the author is available from the Yelp API directly, the import tool uses an extreme amount of requests in short bursts to allow bulk loading of data. Having the Yelp API involved with this pull would trigger an issue with the Yelp API so we can’t use the Yelp APIs on the import tool to grab the author during that bulk upload process. If the author is still desired/required for the Yelp Reviews, we have made a tweak so that the reviews are loaded from Yelp instead of Outscraper on the front end DirectoryPhotos portion. So if you also have DirectoryPhotos plugin portion and a new member loads the reviews from the front end on their Photos tab, the Yelp reviews will now come with an author. We are basically using a slow pull allowed by the manual front end process to avoid Yelp issues, and to overcome an Outscraper limitation for Yelp that we cannot do in bulk on the Import backend tool. You can also fix existing reviews, but the member itself must be opened and the "Reload data" button must be clicked on each profile.

Question 3

What are the steps for setting up the Google API for DirectoryImport?

Accepted Answer

Step 1a. Initial setup of your Google Maps API Key

This integration uses the Google Key setup at the website settings. If the Google Maps API key has not been setup, please follow these steps:

Brilliant Directories Guide 10. How to Enable Maps with Google Maps API

If you are setting up for the first time, Google has a new option to setup the HTTP referrers right way. If you see this popup, select "maybe later" to not setup the restrictions as you will remove it later anyway.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/XlG3QHapj8/initial%20setup.png (initial setup)

You will also need to skip item 7 if the BD checklist as the API dynamic loading requires the key to be unrestricted.

If your key has already been setup you will need to make some adjustments to ensure this plugin works properly. If you see this popup warning in the Import tool, that is probably the issue:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/BOfalnyVe7/google-setup.jpg (google-setup)

Continue to step 1b below, otherwise continue to Step 2.

Step 1b. Google API Adjusted Setup - Remove HTTP Referrers

The API dynamic loading for Google requires the key to be unrestricted. If you have already installed your Maps API key, you will need to make the following adjustments:

Login to your Google cloud Maps API here: https://console.cloud.google.com/google/maps-apis/credentials

Ensure you have the credentials for the appropriate website. Use the dropdown to select the appropriate property.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/l0BIv6ZYPv/DirectoryImport%20-%20MAps%20API.png (DirectoryImport - MAps API.png)

In the main screen either click the API key used for your Brilliant Directories site or click Edit KEy" from the three dot drop down menu. Keep in mind the API key will not be called the same as you see on screen. The API Key could be named anything depending on what you originally added in for the title. If you have multiple and are unsure of which on is the correct one. View the key and compare it to the one in your Brilliant Directories site under Settings > General Settings> Integrations tab.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/tdjEIDbyl8/Edit%20API%20Key.png (Edit API Key)

The Edit API screen will now appear.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/b4MGXiYnbG/Edit%20API.png (Edit API)

In the application restrictions section, change the API restrictions to none then scroll down and hit save.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/8anCjJDzX0/application%20restrictions.png (application restrictions)

Step 2. Ensure Billing is Setup for Google

If you already have the Google Key setup, follow these steps to ensure billing is setup in your project:

When you create a new project, you're prompted to choose which of your Cloud Billing accounts you want to link to the project. If you have only one Cloud Billing account, that account is automatically linked to your project.

If you don't have a Cloud Billing account, you must create one and enable billing for your project before you can use many Google Cloud features. To create a new Cloud Billing account and enable billing for your project, follow the instructions in Create a new Cloud Billing account.

Even if you have an account already setup be sure to check your billing information to ensure the credit card is not expired or about to expire.

Browse to your billing section with the following link. https://console.cloud.google.com/billing

In the Billing Account Overview Section that should appear, make sure you billing health is all green of fix any potential issues Google is flagging.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/33jzb0nPuR/billing%20health.png (billing health)

Next, in the left hand billing menu, select "Payment Method" to open the billing screen.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/JJzZzWfXCn/payment%20methos.png (payment methos)

Ensure that you have a billing card in place and is not showing any errors, is current, and is not ready to expire.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/mUeN0MzHLX/payment%20cards.png (payment cards)

Your Google account should now be ready!

Question 4

I'm having an issue editing sub categories or sub-sub categories for individual listings after I search.

Accepted Answer

Category pre-selection in yellow below allows you to add a top, sub, and sub-sub level category prior to import to automatically fill that pre-selection into each search result to prevent the need to re-add to each listing before import. However if the sub or sub-sub category is not initially filled out completely as seen below again in yellow, the items will be empty as expected in each search result to mirror the preset selection.

If you want to add a sub-category later for each listing as highlighted in red, the system will show no results and not allow picking up the query at that point to add sub-categories. To retrigger the category query to add sub or sub-sub categories below, you must "start over" by reselecting the top level category again for that particular listing as seen in green.

To restart the query you must pick a different top level category to restart the selection engine. So if it is set as Category B for example, select Category A to trigger the engine then switch back to Category B again to the original selection and the sub-categories will now be triggered and allow adding the follow-on subcategories in red. So in short, either fill in the complete desired categories at the beginning or re-add the entire category structure individually as required using the process detailed.

Question 5

How do you get and use a Yelp API Key?

Accepted Answer

What is Yelp API?

The Yelp Fusion API allows its users to get local content and user reviews from millions of businesses of hospitality and service industries across 32 countries. The Yelp API is used by DirectoryImport to load listing data, images, and reviews.

How do I get the Yelp API Key?

Getting your Fusion API key is fast and easy. To do it, you have to follow these simple Yelp API guidelines.

Step 1 – Create an account

First you have log into the developers portal with your existing Yelp account or create a new one

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/762YQ4CSE1/Yelp%20Signup.png (Yelp Signup.png)

You can continue working with Yelp service through Facebook, Google, or Apple account. The other option is to sign up with your email address. In this case you’ll get a confirmation email – don’t forget to follow the link in it to verify your account.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/0WCpUWmNJg/yelp2.jpg (yelp2.jpg)

You’re going to have to verify you’re not a robot by completing a reCaptcha.

Step 2 – Get started with Fusion API

Once you’ve logged into the Yelp developers service, go to https://fusion.yelp.com to get to the Fusion API section of the portal. Press the Get Started button.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/9k0xBKs9hv/yelp4.jpg (yelp4.jpg)

Step 3 – Create an App

Create your first Yelp App to receive your personal Fusion API key. Fill in the required fields in the form, agree to Yelp API Terms of Use and Display Requirements. Then prove you’re a human, and press Create New App.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/cMv4ucPtGo/yelp5.jpg (yelp5.jpg)

After that you’ll get your API Key.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/CWDWcszDmQ/Yelp%20Key.png (Yelp Key.png)

Copy the API key and paste it into the configurations tab of your DirctoryImport Plugin

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/RTdsLFxEt8/API%20Configure.png (API Configure.png)

Remember to keep your personal Yelp API key to yourself! It is the credential for your call to Yelp’s API and must be used only by you.

If you need to get back to the API at a later point the best way is to browse to this link and sign-in. You should see your API at the top of the page. If you try to use the normal page to login it goes to your personal account and makes it very hard to find this page again so use this link: https://www.yelp.com/developers/v3/manage_app

What are the limits of the API?

By default, any client is limited to 5,000 API calls per 24 hours. This count is reset every midnight UTC.

Can I choose which reviews to display in an API query?

DirectoryImport only displays the data presented by Yelp. The sort and order of reviews are determined by recency, user voting, and other review quality factors to help consumers make informed decisions. The Yelp API cannot be configured to draw any alternative or hand-picked review excerpts.

Why is the Yelp API not delivering content for businesses I know are on Yelp?

Yelp API only returns the info for businesses that have some Yelp user-generated content added. Specifically, they must have at least one customer review.

Question 6

What are the configurations for DirectoryImport?

Accepted Answer

Configuration Overview

DirectoryImport has many configurations to preset items for import so you do not have to enter them for each listing and allows settings to reduce API calls if desired based on your specific needs. Read more to find out about each one.

As a quick reminder always be sure to click the save changes button after you make changes so you do not lose your settings updates. https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/wiXXVgSPsk/Save%20Changes.png (Save Changes)

Google API

The Google API will be pulled from the normal API setup within your BD account if previously configured. You can add an new alternate API code here to separate the two and this will not affect your default map API if a new item is saved here.https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/YAp6P17cDP/Config%20-%20Google%20API.png (Config - Google API (1).png)

Yelp API

The Yelp API is used for reviews only and is part of the DirectoryPhotos plugin if you have purchased that. If you do not own DirectoryPhotos or want to include Yelp Reviews you can leave this blank. You can find a guide about setting up a Yelp Fusion API key here.

Outscraper API

The Outscraper API key is used to download the listing data to your site. This is a required item to be able to use this tool. You can find a guide about setting up an Outscraper API key here.

Default Membership Level

This setting allows you to select the default membership level to use for the new listings created with the generator. A list of your membership levels will be in the drop down for you to select.

Enable Photo Listings / Reviews

These settings are used in conjunction with DirectoryPhotos which allows users to add Google Images and Reviews to their business listing. If you you have DirectoryPhotos installed these will appear as settings so you can also import the images and reviews during the initial import process instead of having to have the customer or yourself do it from the from end. If you do not have DirectoryPhotos these configurations will not be shown. The default phot and review count number is the amount of photos or reviews the API will download during import.

The "Current Listings Update" tab has several areas seen below that allow you to load Google/Yelp images and reviews for a given listing. These configurations allow you to turn on or off the images and reviews import when the "Load Pictures and Reviews" bulk action is chosen in the "Current Listings Update" tab.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/S3bQtIEUPf/Load%20Photos%201.png (Load Photos 1 (1).png)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/Q0WvSfsFKj/Load%20Photos%202.png (Load Photos 2 (1).png)

This data pull process normally pulls these items together. However some directory owners may not want to pull both of these items, so these configuration options allow you to remove either item from the download/update process. As a result if either item is turned off the images or reviews will not import when the "Load Pictures and Reviews"action is chosen in the top bulk action or side individual download option.

In addition, this also controls whether these items are preselected for download in the new listings import tab. If the configuration is unchecked then these will not be present as a download option preselect.

Default Gallery Name

This is another configuration for the DirectoryPhotos integration. When photos are imported for a location DirectoryPhotos makes a Photo Album under each business that includes the images. This setting sets the default gallery name for that album when created during import.

The name will be what is presented on the front end. The name can be changed by the user or admin in the photos tab of each listing or in the title name of the associated photo album. The names will be updated in both locations if edited.

Verify Listings

BD has a verified badge capability that you can add to listings. The purpose of this feature is for the members to receive a badge on their listing that lets users know that the member was verified by the website administrator.

A default badge will show on the profile (checkmark) that can be altered to whatever image you want in the image settings. It will show a message telling the public that the listing is verified if users hover over the icon.

Normally this is a manual process that is done one by one for each listing, but since we are importing data directly from Google My Business, users may want to mark the listing as verified right away. This setting allows you to do that. If this option is selected then all listings will be automatically verified during import.

You also will have the option to override the setting for each listing in the import tab even though the Yes or No is preset based on your config setting.

Question 7

Is it legal to use Google & Yelp photos?

Accepted Answer

In general there are no federal laws against web scraping in the United States as long as the scraped data is publicly available and the scraping activity does not harm the website being scraped.

We do not use Yelp photos in our solution only for reviews. And we do not store any data from the Google API as it is against their Terms of Service for that provided data. We use he Google API for search and map display only to use for initial lookup and display of info only. The storing of the data comes from a third party API from Outscraper which is used to get the images.

We have configuration settings that can turn off the image download option for listing creation if that is a concern. If you are in a location or jurisdiction that only permits text and data mining you can turn off the photo download capability of DirectoryImport and DirectoryPhotos and simply have them upload their own images to display with DirectorySlider so all images are self added. So we allow you to turn on or off as your specific needs or requirements change.

Scraping publicly available information on the web in an automated way is legal as long as the scraped data is not used for any harmful purpose or directly attacking the scraped website’s business or operations. But you should avoid scraping personal data or intellectual property, or confidential data. Outscraper answers the legality issue for public data on their website here: https://outscraper.com/faq/ The regulations or limitations of course may vary by location, as this is a US only example and legal precedence may change over time, or vary based on your location. We are not in position to provide legal advice for you or your company and advise. For professional legal advice, please talk to a certified lawyer in your country.

Question 8

What are the DirectoryImport Terms of Service?

Accepted Answer

The DirectoryImport plugin is a tool which allows you to create listings on your directory by loading data from Google, Yelp and Outscraper.

Use of this plugin software requires third party API tokens to work. You acknowledge and agree that we provide access to such tools ”as is” and “as available” without any warranties, representations or conditions of any kind and without any endorsement. We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your use of third-party tools or APIs. Any use by you of tools or API connections offered through the plugin is entirely at your own risk and discretion and you should ensure that you are familiar with and approve of the terms on which tools are provided by the relevant third-party provider(s), to include but not limited to usage requirements and any additional fee requirements. We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods, services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-party websites. Please review carefully the third-party’s policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.

The import process uses scraping, harvesting, or extracting process to get all the information for listings from public sites. It automates manual exporting of the data. Use of this process may involve location specific laws to your specific regional area or country. DirectoryImport always suggests you seek the counsel of an attorney in your specific area to ensure compliance with the laws in your jurisdiction.

Once you pay for this tool, our team will provide you with an account which you can use to login and use it.

The tool can be used in one directory at a time by default, but if you need to use it on more directories please contact our team to raise your directory limit.

The cost of the renewal and lifetime licenses may vary at any given time, but the payment plan you join with will be respected and left the same.

Access to this tool may be limited if you fail to renew your monthly payment (if on a monthly subscription status). Monthly plans require a one year subscription commitment as a minimum install, setup, and maintenance cost. Cancellation prior to one year will result in the remaining expected annual balance to be invoiced upon cancellation and is due upon receipt. Cancellation is allowed if upgrading to a lifetime purchase at any time.

It is possible to change from a monthly subscription to a yearly or a lifetime plan at any given time. Just reach out to our team in order to make the upgrade request.

Each individual who accesses a directory and uses the Listing Generator must have his own license. Sharing a license with other members from your team is only valid if you have written consent from us to do it.

If a directory uses this software to engage in illegal activities, our team may limit access to the software and share any necessary information with the corresponding legal authorities in the case of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Our team will never write to you requesting for personal information, your password, or your user login. Please report to us any case in which this happens so that we can investigate it.

Our team and Brilliant Directories have no ongoing partnership and are not related to one another by any direct means. Our team may help you with problems on your directory if they are related with the plugin software. Our team is also responsible for fixing any issues the software has as a result of Brilliant Directories updates, so if your software stops working don't hesitate to reach out to us on Facebook or our Contact Page.

Our team does not sell your personal data, telemetry data, usage statistics nor any of the data it processes.

Our team may use your activity data in machine learning models for generating an artificial intelligence capable of generating complete directory listings based on category structures.

Question 9

My site is highly customized will the DirectoryPhotos and DirectoryImport still work?

Accepted Answer

Our code uses dynamic queries which means that no matter how customized the system is the correct columns get filled, so you should be fine. It may require adding the images to a new location or if need be building a custom layout to show in your site, but both are possible and of course if there does end up being an issue where it will not work, we would offer a full refund if that were ever the case. So don't worry, purchase without and reservations on this issue.

Question 10

What is the difference in the two DirectoryImport search types?

Accepted Answer

Nearby search:

Can sort listings by distance and reviews.
Uses a point in the map as a center which gets defined with the location inputs.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/RftB9KeMum/resources/Duur9YsyhS/Nearby%20Search.png (Nearby Search.png)

Text search:

No sorting functionality.
The location is not a latitude/longitude value which lets you search broader address types.
Yields more results with less specific terms compared to nearby search.