Google Search API in Java: Complete Tutorial (2026)

Query Google from Java with nothing but the standard library, using serp.cheap — or drop in the official Java SDK (Spring Boot integration included). Either way it’s a plain HTTP+JSON endpoint.

Quick sanity check with curl first:

curl -X POST https://api.serp.cheap/v1/search \
  -H "X-API-Key: $SERP_CHEAP_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q":"best electric cars 2026","gl":"us"}'

The complete example

One file, runnable on Java 17+ with java.net.http for the request and Jackson for JSON (com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-databind). Set SERP_CHEAP_API_KEY first.

import com.fasterxml.jackson.databind.ObjectMapper;
import com.fasterxml.jackson.annotation.JsonIgnoreProperties;
import java.net.URI;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.util.List;

public class SerpSearch {
    static final ObjectMapper M = new ObjectMapper();

    @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
    record Organic(int position, String title, String link, String snippet) {}

    @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true)
    record SearchResponse(List<Organic> organic) {}

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        String key = System.getenv("SERP_CHEAP_API_KEY");
        String body = M.writeValueAsString(new java.util.HashMap<>() {{
            put("q", "best electric cars 2026");
            put("gl", "us");
        }});

        HttpRequest req = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create("https://api.serp.cheap/v1/search"))
            .header("X-API-Key", key)
            .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
            .POST(HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.ofString(body))
            .build();

        HttpResponse<String> res = HttpClient.newHttpClient()
            .send(req, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofString());

        SearchResponse data = M.readValue(res.body(), SearchResponse.class);
        for (Organic r : data.organic()) {
            System.out.printf("%2d. %s%n    %s%n", r.position(), r.title(), r.link());
        }
    }
}

records map the JSON cleanly, and @JsonIgnoreProperties(ignoreUnknown = true) means new response fields never break your build.

Spring Boot

In a Spring app, wrap the same call in a @Service using RestClient (Spring 6.1+):

@Service
public class SerpClient {
    private final RestClient http = RestClient.builder()
        .baseUrl("https://api.serp.cheap")
        .defaultHeader("X-API-Key", System.getenv("SERP_CHEAP_API_KEY"))
        .build();

    public SearchResponse search(String q, String gl) {
        return http.post().uri("/v1/search")
            .body(java.util.Map.of("q", q, "gl", gl))
            .retrieve()
            .body(SearchResponse.class);
    }
}

The official Java SDK ships this wiring — plus retries, pagination and typed parameters — as a Spring Boot starter, so you inject SerpClient and go.

Parameters worth knowing

• gl — country of results (us, de, br, …). See local SEO by country.
• hl — interface language.
• page — 1-indexed; each page is a separate request. See pagination.
• tbs — time filter (qdr:d = past day). See the full parameter reference.

Next

• Google Search API in Go
• Google Search API in Node.js
• How to use a Google Search API

Try serp.cheap

Copy the file above, add your key, and you have live Google results in Java. 100 free searches on signup — no card required; pay-as-you-go from $0.75/1k after that, and credits stay valid for 12 months.

• Get your free API key →
• Prefer paying by card? serp.cheap is also on RapidAPI ($0.90/1k) and Apify ($1.50/1k).