# Keyword Research Tool: Volume, CPC & Difficulty (`brightgro/keyword-research`) Actor

Give seed keywords and get the Google keywords that contain them or relate to them, with monthly search volume, CPC, competition, keyword difficulty, search intent and 12 months of volume. Data from DataForSEO Labs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/brightgro/keyword-research.md
- **Developed by:** [Brightgro LLC](https://apify.com/brightgro) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Marketing
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$4.00 / 1,000 keywords

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Keyword Research Tool: Volume, CPC & Difficulty

Give seed keywords and get Google keywords for each, with the numbers you need to choose what to target. The data comes from DataForSEO Labs.

### Input

- Seed keywords: up to 50, for example `running shoes`.
- Mode: `suggestions` returns keywords that contain the seed (`best running shoes for flat feet`); `ideas` returns related keywords from the same topic.
- Keywords per seed: 20 to 1,000, highest volume first. The default is 100.
- Minimum monthly volume: leave out small keywords.
- Country: one of 16 Google markets (US by default).

### Output

One row per keyword:

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| seed, mode, country | What you asked for |
| keyword | The keyword |
| search_volume | Average monthly Google searches |
| cpc_usd, low_top_of_page_bid_usd, high_top_of_page_bid_usd | Cost per click and top-of-page bids in Google Ads |
| competition, competition_level | Ads competition, 0 to 1 and LOW, MEDIUM or HIGH |
| keyword_difficulty | How hard it is to rank in the top 10, 0 to 100 |
| main_intent | informational, navigational, commercial or transactional |
| monthly_searches | The last 12 months of volume |
| word_count, volume_updated | Words in the keyword and when the volume was updated |

A seed with no keywords gets one row with `status` `no_keywords`. A provider error gets one `provider_error` row. A keyword that an earlier seed in the same run already returned is not repeated, and a seed whose keywords were all returned earlier gets one `no_new_keywords` row. None of these are charged.

### Price

One `keyword` event for each keyword row, at the price shown on this page. The run asks for no more keywords than its spending limit can pay for, and stops when the limit is reached.

### Limits

- Volumes are DataForSEO estimates based on Google Ads data.
- A very narrow seed may return only a few keywords.

### Related actors

Ranked Keywords and Bulk Domain Metrics, by the same developer, show which keywords a domain already ranks for and how strong it is.

# Actor input Schema

## `seeds` (type: `array`):

Seed keywords, up to 50, for example running shoes.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

Suggestions: keywords that contain the seed. Ideas: related keywords from the same topic.

## `maxKeywordsPerSeed` (type: `integer`):

The most keywords to return for each seed, highest volume first (20 to 1,000).

## `minSearchVolume` (type: `integer`):

Leave out keywords with fewer monthly searches than this.

## `country` (type: `string`):

The Google market.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "seeds": [
    "web scraping"
  ],
  "mode": "suggestions",
  "maxKeywordsPerSeed": 20,
  "country": "US"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Give seed keywords and get the Google keywords that contain them or relate to them, with monthly search volume, CPC, competition, keyword difficulty, search intent and 12 months of volume. Data from DataForSEO Labs.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "seeds": [
        "web scraping"
    ],
    "maxKeywordsPerSeed": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("brightgro/keyword-research").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "seeds": ["web scraping"],
    "maxKeywordsPerSeed": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("brightgro/keyword-research").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "seeds": [
    "web scraping"
  ],
  "maxKeywordsPerSeed": 20
}' |
apify call brightgro/keyword-research --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,brightgro/keyword-research"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/pYxeHTvQU7EYSbPOa/builds/DAmZ2C3kFKio8CzcT/openapi.json