Parse SearchCans SERP JSON in Go and Test the Response Shape

A Go SERP client must decode the data object before reading the organic-result array. In SearchCans, the result URL field is link. A struct that expects a top-level result list or a url field can compile while silently losing the data the application needs.

Make the nested JSON contract explicit

package main

import (
    "encoding/json"
    "fmt"
)

type Organic struct {
    Position int `json:"position"`
    Title string `json:"title"`
    Link string `json:"link"`
}
type Response struct {
    Code int `json:"code"`
    Data struct { Organic []Organic `json:"organic"` } `json:"data"`
}

func main() {
    raw := []byte(`{"code":0,"data":{"organic":[{"position":1,"title":"Fixture","link":"https://example.org/"}]}}`)
    var body Response
    if err := json.Unmarshal(raw, &body); err != nil { panic(err) }
    if body.Code != 0 { panic("business error") }
    for _, hit := range body.Data.Organic { fmt.Println(hit.Position, hit.Link) }
}

The envelope is an owned fixture. Check HTTP status before applying this parser to a real response, and keep a nonzero business code distinct from an empty organic list.

Test the client around the decoder

The accompanying Go client tests exercise the nested response with httptest. They verify a local contract, not search quality or provider throughput. Concurrency, cancellation and retry scheduling belong in the separate Go client guide.

• Serve a nested success envelope from a local test server.
• Assert the parsed link and position, not just the number of rows.
• Add malformed JSON, an empty list and a business error to the application acceptance set.
• Keep credentials in configuration rather than source code or logs.

Reference documentation: pkg.go.dev — /encoding/json; www.searchcans.com — /google-search-api.

Related implementation and validation guides

• Build a Go SERP API Client: Implementation Guide