diff --git a/ddgs/base.py b/ddgs/base.py
index ec8bbc86..54e41411 100644
--- a/ddgs/base.py
+++ b/ddgs/base.py
@@ -67,7 +67,10 @@ def request(self, *args: Any, **kwargs: Any) -> str | None:  # noqa: ANN401
         resp = self.http_client.request(*args, **kwargs)
         if resp.status_code == 200:
             return resp.text
-        return None
+        elif resp.status_code in (403, 429, 202):
+            raise ValueError(f"Request blocked with status code {resp.status_code} by rate limiting or anti-bot measures")
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(f"Request failed with status code {resp.status_code}")
 
     @cached_property
     def parser(self) -> LHTMLParser:
@@ -119,6 +122,6 @@ def search(
         else:
             html_text = self.request(self.search_method, self.search_url, data=payload)
         if not html_text:
-            return None
+            raise ValueError("Empty response")
         results = self.extract_results(html_text)
         return self.post_extract_results(results)