Keyword Research Tool — Search Volume, Difficulty & Ideas

Bulk keyword research without a $100+/month SEO subscription. Get Google search volume, keyword difficulty, search intent and SERP features — including whether Google shows an AI Overview — for thousands of keywords at once, and generate related keyword ideas from any seed. Every keyword also gets official Google Ads search volume, CPC, competition and a 12-month trend.

A pay-per-keyword alternative to Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Semrush Keyword Magic Tool and Google Keyword Planner — for SEO, content planning, PPC and AEO (AI search) research.

Why this Actor

• 📊 Everything in one row — volume, difficulty (0–100), intent (informational / commercial / transactional / navigational), SERP features
• 🤖 AI Overview detection — see which keywords trigger Google AI Overviews, the #1 question for AEO and content strategy in 2026
• 💡 Keyword ideas — up to 1,000 related keywords per seed, each with the same metrics
• 💰 Google's own numbers — search volume, CPC with low/high bid range, competition and monthly volumes for the last 12 months come straight from Google Ads data
• 🌍 17 markets — US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, India
• 💸 Pay only for data — keywords with no data are free; no subscription, no credits that expire

Input

{
  "keywords": ["protein powder", "keyword research tool"],
  "seedKeywords": ["cold brew coffee"],
  "ideasPerSeed": 100,
  "country": "us"
}

Output example (real, US, September 2026)

keyword	source	searchVolume	keywordDifficulty	intents	hasAiOverview
protein powder	keyword	368,000	72	informational	✅
keyword research tool	keyword	4,400	66	informational	—
coffee and cold brew	idea	40,500	32	informational	✅
cold brew using french press	idea	22,200	35	informational	✅

Every row (real output, US; monthlySearches trimmed to 2 of 12 months):

{
  "keyword": "protein powder",
  "source": "keyword",
  "searchVolume": 368000,
  "volumeSource": "google_ads",
  "keywordDifficulty": 72,
  "competition": 82,
  "intents": [
    "informational"
  ],
  "serpFeatures": [
    "also_asks",
    "related_search",
    "ai_overview"
  ],
  "hasAiOverview": true,
  "hasFeaturedSnippet": false,
  "hasPeopleAlsoAsk": true,
  "hasLocalPack": false,
  "cpc": 1.7,
  "cpcLow": 0.41,
  "cpcHigh": 2.67,
  "adsCompetition": "HIGH",
  "adsCompetitionIndex": 82,
  "monthlySearches": [
    {
      "month": "2026-07",
      "volume": 368000
    },
    {
      "month": "2026-08",
      "volume": 368000
    }
  ]
}

Ideas also carry seedKeyword. volumeSource is google_ads for official Google volumes, or estimate when Google withholds the number (e.g. some restricted topics).

Use it from code

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("jesting_grass/keyword-research-tool").call(run_input={
    "seedKeywords": ["cold brew coffee"],
    "ideasPerSeed": 200,
    "country": "us",
})
for row in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    if row.get("searchVolume", 0) > 1000 and (row.get("keywordDifficulty") or 100) < 40:
        print(row["keyword"], row["searchVolume"], row["keywordDifficulty"])   # easy wins

More examples (bulk CSV, easy-win finder, Node.js, cURL): github.com/emiohr/keyword-research-api · Tutorial: Keyword research in Python: search volume, difficulty and AI Overviews in bulk

Pricing

Pay per event — see the Pricing tab:

• Keyword metrics — per keyword with data
• Keyword idea — per related keyword returned
• Google Ads batch — once per run for every 1,000 keywords (volumes, CPC and trends come from Google Ads data)

Keywords with no data are free. The Actor respects your maximum-charge limit.

More SEO tools from the same developer

• Backlink Checker — every backlink, referring domains and competitor link gap
• Google Trends Scraper & API — interest over time, rising queries and regions
• Bulk Domain Authority & Backlink Checker — domain rank, referring domains and backlinks
• Tech Stack Detector — CMS, ecommerce, analytics and payments behind any website

FAQ

Where does the data come from? Search volume, CPC, competition and the 12-month trend come from Google Ads data; keyword difficulty, intent and SERP features (incl. AI Overviews) come from a commercial SEO database. Volumes are 12-month averages.

Why do numbers differ from Ahrefs or Semrush? Every SEO tool estimates volume and difficulty from its own data, so figures vary between vendors. Compare keywords within one tool.

What does "AI Overview" mean? Google shows an AI-generated answer at the top of results for that keyword. Those keywords often get fewer clicks — and are prime targets for AEO (getting cited by AI answers).

Not affiliated with Ahrefs, Semrush or Google.