Keyword Research API: Search Volume, CPC & SEO Keywords

Keyword Research API Capabilities & Real-Time Search Intelligence

The Keyword Research API is an ultra-fast keyword intelligence engine and scraper designed for SEO professionals, growth marketers, e-commerce managers, and software engineers. Given any seed keyword or topic phrase, the API extracts hundreds to thousands of related search queries, exact monthly search volume metrics, Cost-Per-Click (CPC) estimates, and paid competition scores.

Whether you are performing programmatic SEO page creation, auditing competitor pay-per-click strategies, building automated ad campaigns, or finding low-competition content ideas, this actor provides instant access to raw search intelligence with zero browser overhead and zero account requirements.

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Competitor Comparison Table

Feature	Keyword Research API	SEMrush API	Ahrefs API	Keywords Everywhere
Response Latency	~450ms (Edge Accelerated)	1.8s – 3.2s	2.0s – 4.0s	800ms – 1.5s
Proxy Management	Automated Residential Edge	Datacenter	Datacenter	Client API
Pricing Model	$0.001 / query (PPE)	$129.95/mo Min Plan	$99/mo Min Plan	Credit-based prepaid
Rate Limit	50 req/sec	10 req/sec	5 req/sec	Tiered throttles
Data Freshness	100% Real-Time	Cached (7–30 days)	Cached (14–60 days)	Real-Time
Account / Login	None Required	Mandatory Corporate Login	Mandatory API Auth	Browser Extension Key
Batch Processing	Native Async & Sync	Enterprise only	Enterprise only	Manual CSV upload

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Common Use Cases

• Programmatic SEO & Content Silos: Automatically generate lists of long-tail search terms with verifiable volume to populate hundreds of targeted landing pages.
• Google Ads & PPC Campaign Budgeting: Screen keywords by CPC (Cost-Per-Click) and competition scores to uncover high-intent, low-cost search terms for bidding.
• E-Commerce Product Listing Optimization: Discover how shoppers search for specific products on Google and marketplaces to optimize Amazon, Shopify, or Etsy titles and descriptions.
• Competitor Niche Gap Analysis: Query brand names and competitor terms to extract high-traffic keyword clusters where your competitors hold search authority.
• Domain & SaaS App Keyword Intelligence: Power your own in-house SaaS dashboards, SEO auditing bots, or keyword monitoring workflows with live search data.

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Execution Modes

This actor supports multiple invocation patterns depending on your technical infrastructure:

1. Synchronous Direct Run (/run-sync-get-dataset-items): Block until results are parsed and receive the structured dataset items directly in your HTTP response stream. Ideal for real-time applications and microservices.
2. Asynchronous Task Execution: Trigger an actor execution via REST API, receive a run ID, and poll or await webhook notification upon completion.
3. Webhook Ingestion: Configure Apify webhooks to dispatch finished dataset payloads to your backend endpoints, Zapier, or Make.com workflows.
4. Batch Scheduled Automation: Schedule recurring daily or weekly keyword audits using Apify Cron schedules without manual intervention.

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API Endpoints & Code Examples

1. cURL (Direct Apify Run)

curl --request POST \
  --url "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/dev00~keyword-research-api/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "keyword": "seo tools",
    "limit": 100,
    "sort": "volume_desc"
  }'

2. Python (requests)

import requests

APIFY_TOKEN = "YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
actor_url = f"https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/dev00~keyword-research-api/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token={APIFY_TOKEN}"

payload = {
    "keyword": "cloud hosting",
    "min_volume": 1000,
    "limit": 50,
    "sort": "volume_desc"
}

response = requests.post(actor_url, json=payload)
if response.status_code == 201 or response.status_code == 200:
    keywords = response.json()
    print(f"Retrieved {len(keywords)} keyword records:")
    for kw in keywords[:5]:
        print(f" - {kw['keyword']}: Volume {kw['search_volume']}, CPC: {kw['cpc']}")
else:
    print(f"Error {response.status_code}: {response.text}")

3. Node.js (fetch)

import fetch from 'node-fetch';

const APIFY_TOKEN = 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN';
const endpoint = `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/dev00~keyword-research-api/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=${APIFY_TOKEN}`;

const runKeywordAudit = async () => {
  const response = await fetch(endpoint, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      keyword: 'ecommerce shoes',
      limit: 25,
      sort: 'volume_desc'
    })
  });

  const dataset = await response.json();
  console.log(`Discovered ${dataset.length} keywords.`);
  console.table(dataset.slice(0, 5));
};

runKeywordAudit();

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Full Concrete JSON Payloads

HTTP 200 (Success)

[
  {
    "query": "seo tools",
    "keyword": "seo tools",
    "search_volume": 110000,
    "cpc": "6,12 €",
    "cpc_value": 6.12,
    "competition": 2
  },
  {
    "query": "seo tools",
    "keyword": "ubersuggest",
    "search_volume": 14800,
    "cpc": "6,84 €",
    "cpc_value": 6.84,
    "competition": 32
  },
  {
    "query": "seo tools",
    "keyword": "free keyword research tool",
    "search_volume": 2900,
    "cpc": "2,92 €",
    "cpc_value": 2.92,
    "competition": 44
  }
]

HTTP 400 (Bad Request / Schema Violation)

{
  "error": {
    "type": "INVALID_INPUT",
    "message": "Parameter 'keyword' is required and cannot be empty."
  }
}

HTTP 429 (Rate Limit Exceeded)

{
  "error": {
    "type": "RATE_LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
    "message": "Too many concurrent requests. Rate limit is 50 requests per second. Please back off."
  }
}

HTTP 500 (Internal Gateway Error)

{
  "error": {
    "type": "GATEWAY_ERROR",
    "message": "The upstream query processor failed to respond. Retry attempt exhausted."
  }
}

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Input Parameters & Schema

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
keyword	String	Yes	"seo tools"	The root keyword or phrase to research.
min_volume	Integer	No	0	Excludes queries with monthly search volume below this amount.
max_cpc	Number	No	null	Filters out keywords whose Cost-Per-Click exceeds this value.
limit	Integer	No	100	Maximum number of keywords to return in the dataset.
sort	String	No	"volume_desc"	Metric order: volume_desc, volume_asc, cpc_desc, cpc_asc, competition_asc, competition_desc.

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How To Use (Step-by-Step)

1. Sign Up or Log In: Access your Apify Console and navigate to the Keyword Research API actor page.
2. Configure Seed Keywords: Enter your target root query (e.g., dacia, running shoes, or saas billing).
3. Set Filters (Optional): Define optional constraints like min_volume = 500 to focus strictly on commercial queries.
4. Click Start: Hit the Start button in the top right to execute the run.
5. Export Your Dataset: Download results instantly in your preferred format (JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or HTML table) or feed the output directly into downstream workflows.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Where does the search volume and CPC data originate?

The metrics reflect real-time Google search indices and advertising bidding engines, providing accurate monthly average volume estimates and commercial CPC bid ranges.

2. Do I need a Google Ads or SEMrush account to run this actor?

No. The actor operates completely autonomously with no user credentials, Google accounts, or external API keys required.

3. How many keywords can be discovered from a single seed term?

Depending on query popularity, seed keywords regularly yield between 500 and 3,500+ related search combinations, long-tail phrases, and semantic variations.

4. What does the "competition" score represent?

Competition is an integer metric between 0 and 100 reflecting advertising density and paid bidding competition. Scores between 0-20 represent low competition (easiest organic ranking opportunity), while 80-100 denote highly competitive commercial terms.

5. How are CPC values formatted?

The actor delivers both the raw localized currency string (e.g. "0,06 €") and a normalized numeric float cpc_value (e.g. 0.06) to facilitate programmatic filtering, calculations, and database ingestion.

6. Can I filter out zero-volume search terms?

Yes. Simply set the min_volume parameter to any positive integer (e.g., 100 or 1000). All terms below this monthly volume will be omitted.

7. What execution mode is recommended for high-volume batch queries?

For large keyword sets, use Apify's batch runs with asynchronous actor tasks or webhook notifications to run queries concurrently without blocking client threads.

8. Does this actor rotate proxies automatically?

Yes. All queries route through resilient residential proxy arrays and edge nodes with automated rotation and retry logic to guarantee 99.9% uptime.

9. What happens if the seed keyword has no search volume?

If an obscure or invalid keyword yields no search suggestions, the actor outputs a structured response with count: 0 without crashing or throwing unhandled errors.

10. Can I integrate this actor directly into my SaaS product?

Yes. You can invoke this actor via Apify's standard REST API using your personal API token or integrate the dataset into your application backend.

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Keywords & Search Tags

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