Keyword Research Tool — Search Volume, Difficulty & Ideas

Find keywords you can actually rank for, and see which ones Google answers with an AI Overview. Paste your keywords or one seed topic and get Google search volume, keyword difficulty (0–100), search intent, CPC, a 12-month trend and the SERP features for each, including AI Overviews, featured snippets and People Also Ask. Export to CSV, Excel or JSON, or call it from code.

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.

What you can do with it

• 🎯 Find easy wins: turn one seed topic into up to 1,000 related keywords and sort by difficulty.
• 🤖 Check AI Overview exposure: see which keywords trigger Google AI Overviews, for AEO/GEO planning and to spot shrinking organic clicks.
• 📅 Plan a content calendar with exact Google volumes and the search intent behind each keyword.
• 💰 Budget PPC with CPC, the low/high bid range and competition.
• 🌍 Research 17 markets: US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Brazil, Mexico, India.

Why this Actor

• 📊 Everything in one row: volume, difficulty, intent, CPC, competition, SERP features and monthly volumes.
• ✅ Google's own numbers: search volume, CPC and the 12-month trend come from Google Ads data, exact and not ranges.
• 💡 Relevant ideas: long-tail suggestions that contain your seed first, then related searches.
• 💸 Pay only for data: keywords without data are free. No subscription, no expiring credits.
• 🤖 Automation-ready: Python, JavaScript, n8n, Make, Zapier, or as a tool for AI agents through the Apify MCP server.

How to use it

1. Paste keywords into Keywords, and/or add a topic to Seed keywords to get ideas.
2. Pick a Country.
3. Click Start, then sort or filter the table and export it.

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

Output example (real, US, September 2026)

keyword	searchVolume	keywordDifficulty	intent	AI Overview
protein powder	368,000	32	transactional	✅
standing desk	135,000	38	transactional	—
cold brew coffee	40,500	23	transactional, informational	✅
how to make cold brew	12,100	4	informational	✅
keyword research tool	4,400	81	commercial	✅

Easy wins among 100 ideas for "cold brew coffee" (33 of the 100 trigger an AI Overview):

idea	searchVolume	keywordDifficulty
cold brew coffee maker	49,500	1
how make cold brew coffee	27,100	11
coarse ground coffee cold brew	22,200	0
cold-brew coffee concentrate	18,100	0
how can i make cold brew coffee at home	12,100	6

One row (real output; monthlySearches trimmed to 2 of 12 months):

{
  "keyword": "protein powder",
  "source": "keyword",
  "searchVolume": 368000,
  "volumeSource": "google_ads",
  "keywordDifficulty": 32,
  "competition": 82,
  "intents": ["transactional"],
  "serpFeatures": ["ai_overview", "organic", "product_considerations", "people_also_ask", "popular_products", "related_searches", "images"],
  "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.

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) < 30:
        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 of yours returned with data
• Keyword idea: per related keyword returned

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

More 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
• Amazon Product Scraper — prices, ratings, reviews and best sellers from 18 Amazon marketplaces

FAQ

Where does the data come from? Search volume, CPC, competition and the 12-month trend are Google Ads data; keyword difficulty, intent and SERP features (including AI Overviews) come from a commercial SEO data provider that tracks Google results.

Why do numbers differ from Ahrefs or Semrush? Every SEO tool estimates keyword difficulty its own way, so scores vary between vendors. Compare keywords within one tool.

What does "AI Overview" mean? Google shows an AI-generated answer above the results for that keyword. Such keywords often send fewer clicks, and they are the targets for AEO (getting cited in AI answers).

Not affiliated with Ahrefs, Semrush or Google.