# Keyword Difficulty Checker (`groupoject/keyword-difficulty-checker`) Actor Estimate SEO keyword difficulty in bulk from live Google SERP signals. Find low-competition keywords, easy-win topics, and SERP risks before writing. - **URL**: https://apify.com/groupoject/keyword-difficulty-checker.md - **Developed by:** [Group Oject](https://apify.com/groupoject) (community) - **Categories:** SEO tools, E-commerce, Automation - **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 75.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $0.50 / 1,000 results 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Keyword Difficulty Checker **Estimate SEO keyword difficulty in bulk from live Google SERP signals — and surface your easiest ranking opportunities first.** Drop in a list of keywords and get back a 0–100 difficulty score for each, based on what's *actually* ranking on Google right now: how many high-authority sites hold the top 10, how optimized their titles are, how many ads and SERP features crowd the page, and how concentrated the domains are. > 🔑 **Setup in 60 seconds:** get a free [SerpApi key](https://serpapi.com/users/sign_up) (100 SERP lookups/month free), paste it into `serpApiKey`, add keywords, and run. --- ### What it does For each keyword, the Actor pulls the live Google SERP (via SerpApi) and computes a transparent difficulty estimate from observable signals: | Signal | What it measures | |---|---| | **Authority** | Share of the top 10 held by high-authority domains (Wikipedia, Amazon, Forbes, `.gov`/`.edu`, …) | | **Title optimization** | Share of top-10 titles containing your exact keyword | | **SERP features** | Featured snippet + People-Also-Ask boxes that push organic results down | | **Ads** | Number of paid results (commercial competition) | | **Domain concentration** | How few unique domains control the top 10 | These combine into a **0–100 difficulty score** and a plain-English rating (`very easy` → `very hard`) with a recommended action. --- ### Why it's honest This is a **SERP-based estimate**, not a backlink-based metric like Ahrefs/SEMrush KD. It answers *"how contested and well-optimized is this SERP?"* — which is exactly what you can observe without proprietary link data. Every weight is in plain code in [`src/difficulty.ts`](src/difficulty.ts): ```` difficulty = authority*0.35 + titleOptimization*0.25 + serpFeatures*0.15 \+ ads*0.15 + domainConcentration\*0.10 (clamped 0–100) ```` No black box. Tune the weights to your niche if you want. --- ### Who it's for - **Content & SEO teams** — prioritize the keywords you can actually rank for. - **Bloggers & affiliates** — find low-competition "easy win" topics. - **Agencies** — bulk-qualify a client's keyword list before committing hours. - **PPC marketers** — gauge commercial competition (ad density) per term. --- ### Popular SEO use cases - **Easy-win keyword finder** - sort large keyword lists by low difficulty and clear recommended action. - **Affiliate keyword qualification** - check buyer-intent keywords before writing reviews or comparison pages. - **SaaS content prioritization** - compare solution, alternative, and "best software" SERPs. - **Local SEO difficulty checks** - estimate competition for city + service keywords. - **eCommerce category planning** - score product, category, and modifier keywords before building pages. - **Agency keyword audits** - turn client keyword exports into a transparent opportunity report. --- ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `keywords` | string[] | — | Keywords to check | | `keywordsText` | string | — | Keywords as text (one per line / comma-separated) | | `serpApiKey` | string (secret) | — | **Required.** Free key from [serpapi.com](https://serpapi.com) | | `geo` | string | `"US"` | Google country code | | `language` | string | `"en"` | Language code | | `maxKeywords` | integer | `100` | Max keywords to process | | `requestDelayMs` | integer | `500` | Delay between lookups | | `maxConcurrency` | integer | `3` | Parallel lookups | One SERP lookup is consumed per keyword. #### Example input ```json { "keywords": ["best coffee maker", "ai seo tools", "how to start a blog"], "geo": "US", "language": "en", "serpApiKey": "@SERPAPI_KEY" } ```` More in [`examples/`](examples/). *** ### Output One dataset row per keyword: ```json { "keyword": "ai seo tools", "difficultyScore": 64, "difficultyLabel": "hard", "authorityScore": 70, "titleOptimizationScore": 80, "serpFeatureScore": 50, "adsScore": 100, "domainConcentrationScore": 10, "highAuthorityCount": 7, "exactTitleMatches": 8, "uniqueDomains": 9, "adsCount": 4, "hasFeaturedSnippet": true, "peopleAlsoAskCount": 4, "topDomains": ["hubspot.com", "semrush.com", "..."], "recommendedAction": "Hard — only with strong domain authority and link building.", "source": "serpapi-google", "error": null } ``` #### Key-value store outputs - `EASY_WINS` — your lowest-difficulty keywords (the money output) - `SUMMARY` — counts by rating, average difficulty, easiest + hardest - `ERRORS` — any failed lookups *** ### Limitations & honesty - This is a **SERP-signal estimate**, not a backlink-authority score. Treat it as directional. - Results vary by `geo` and `language` — a keyword can be easy in one market, hard in another. - The authority-domain list is curated + TLD heuristics (`.gov`/`.edu`); it won't recognize every strong niche site. - One SerpApi lookup per keyword — mind your monthly quota on big lists. *** ### Related tools - [Google Autocomplete Keyword Scraper](https://apify.com/groupoject/google-autocomplete-scraper) — discover the keywords to check here. - [Google Trends Keyword Monitor](https://apify.com/groupoject/trendpulse-keyword-monitor) — see which of them are rising. - [Google Trends Content Calendar Generator](https://apify.com/groupoject/trendpulse-content-calendar) — schedule the winners. A natural workflow: **discover (Autocomplete) → qualify (this) → prioritize (Trends) → schedule (Calendar).** *** ### Changelog See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md). # Actor input Schema ## `keywords` (type: `array`): Keywords to check difficulty for. You can also paste them as text below. ## `keywordsText` (type: `string`): Paste one keyword per line or comma-separated. ## `geo` (type: `string`): Google country code, e.g. US, GB, CA, FR, DE. ## `language` (type: `string`): Language code, e.g. en, fr, es, de. ## `serpApiKey` (type: `string`): Required. One SERP lookup per keyword. Get a free key (100/month) at https://serpapi.com. Never logged. ## `maxKeywords` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of keywords to process. ## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`): Delay between SERP lookups. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Parallel SERP lookups. Keep modest to respect your SerpApi rate limit. ## `fetchMode` (type: `string`): Data source for SERPs. SerpApi (BYO key) is the reliable path. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional. Not required in SerpApi mode. ## `debugMode` (type: `boolean`): Verbose logging. ## Actor input object example ```json { "keywords": [ "best coffee maker", "ai seo tools", "how to start a blog" ], "geo": "US", "language": "en", "maxKeywords": 100, "requestDelayMs": 500, "maxConcurrency": 3, "fetchMode": "serpapi", "debugMode": false } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): One row per keyword: difficulty score, rating, SERP signals, recommendation. ## `easyWins` (type: `string`): Lowest-difficulty keywords — best ranking opportunities. ## `summary` (type: `string`): Counts by rating, average difficulty, easiest + hardest keywords. ## `errors` (type: `string`): Keywords that failed to fetch. # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "keywords": [ "best coffee maker", "ai seo tools", "how to start a blog" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("groupoject/keyword-difficulty-checker").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "keywords": [ "best coffee maker", "ai seo tools", "how to start a blog", ] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("groupoject/keyword-difficulty-checker").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "keywords": [ "best coffee maker", "ai seo tools", "how to start a blog" ] }' | apify call groupoject/keyword-difficulty-checker --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=groupoject/keyword-difficulty-checker", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Keyword Difficulty Checker", "description": "Estimate SEO keyword difficulty in bulk from live Google SERP signals. Find low-competition keywords, easy-win topics, and SERP risks before writing.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "fczw1KxfqtEpxUZyz" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/groupoject~keyword-difficulty-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-groupoject-keyword-difficulty-checker", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/groupoject~keyword-difficulty-checker/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-groupoject-keyword-difficulty-checker", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/groupoject~keyword-difficulty-checker/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-groupoject-keyword-difficulty-checker", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "keywords": { "title": "Keywords", "uniqueItems": true, "type": "array", "description": "Keywords to check difficulty for. You can also paste them as text below.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "keywordsText": { "title": "Keywords as text", "type": "string", "description": "Paste one keyword per line or comma-separated." }, "geo": { "title": "Country (gl)", "type": "string", "description": "Google country code, e.g. US, GB, CA, FR, DE.", "default": "US" }, "language": { "title": "Language (hl)", "type": "string", "description": "Language code, e.g. en, fr, es, de.", "default": "en" }, "serpApiKey": { "title": "SerpApi API key", "type": "string", "description": "Required. One SERP lookup per keyword. Get a free key (100/month) at https://serpapi.com. Never logged." }, "maxKeywords": { "title": "Max keywords", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 2000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of keywords to process.", "default": 100 }, "requestDelayMs": { "title": "Request delay (ms)", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Delay between SERP lookups.", "default": 500 }, "maxConcurrency": { "title": "Max concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10, "type": "integer", "description": "Parallel SERP lookups. Keep modest to respect your SerpApi rate limit.", "default": 3 }, "fetchMode": { "title": "Fetch mode", "enum": [ "serpapi" ], "type": "string", "description": "Data source for SERPs. SerpApi (BYO key) is the reliable path.", "default": "serpapi" }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy configuration", "type": "object", "description": "Optional. Not required in SerpApi mode." }, "debugMode": { "title": "Debug mode", "type": "boolean", "description": "Verbose logging.", "default": false } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```