Keyword Search Volume Finder — Ahrefs Alternative

Find keyword ideas or check Google Ads search volumes for supplied phrases. Export CPC, competition, available research metrics, and provenance using your DataForSEO credentials; provider usage is billed separately. For keyword planners, each dataset row represents one delivered keyword with request endpoint and collection provenance.

Workflow: put the results to work

Use keyword_ideas to expand seeds or search_volume to assess a known list. Set the market before comparing volume and CPC, then retain endpoint and collection context with the export. Provide your DataForSEO credentials and account for the provider's usage charges.

Best fit

Use this for SEO teams that need a reproducible keyword-research export inside an Apify workflow. Choose keyword_ideas to expand a topic into related phrases, or search_volume to evaluate a known shortlist with Google Ads volume, CPC, and competition data.

Use when you have one to ten seed phrases and need a bounded, provider-provenanced keyword dataset for planning or automation. Avoid when you need observed SERP positions, a domain's organic-keyword inventory, live Google result scraping, or a ranking guarantee; this Actor is keyword research, not rank tracking or site auditing.

For observed Google SERP positions, pair the selected research keywords with the Keyword Rank Tracker. Treat modeled search volume, CPC, difficulty, and intent as planning context alongside first-party analytics.

Inputs

Input	Use
mode	keyword_ideas for related terms, search_volume for supplied keywords.
seedKeywords	One to ten seed phrases; duplicates and blanks are removed.
locationCode / languageCode	DataForSEO market context; default is US English (2840, en).
maxResults	Bounded output cap from 1–50; default 25.
minSearchVolume	Optional post-response filter; it does not change provider coverage.
includeSerpInfo	Adds available SERP features for keyword ideas; default false.

Quick start

Discover keyword ideas

{
  "mode": "keyword_ideas",
  "seedKeywords": ["keyword research"],
  "locationCode": 2840,
  "languageCode": "en",
  "maxResults": 25,
  "minSearchVolume": 100,
  "includeSerpInfo": false
}

Example: evaluate a known shortlist

{
  "mode": "search_volume",
  "seedKeywords": ["keyword research", "keyword research tool"],
  "locationCode": 2840,
  "languageCode": "en",
  "maxResults": 10
}

Output

Each dataset row has a stable, agent-readable shape: keyword, searchVolume, monthlySearches, cpcUsd, competition, competitionLevel, keywordDifficulty, searchIntent, serpFeatures, market context, and provenance.

{
  "mode": "keyword_ideas",
  "keyword": "keyword research tools",
  "seedKeywords": ["keyword research"],
  "searchVolume": 1200,
  "keywordDifficulty": 32,
  "searchIntent": "commercial",
  "locationCode": 2840,
  "languageCode": "en",
  "provenance": {
    "source": "DataForSEO API v3",
    "endpoint": "dataforseo_labs/google/keyword_ideas/live"
  }
}

Read OUTPUT for the compact terminal outcome and RUN_SUMMARY for provider attempts, provider cost, request context, and warnings. COMPLETE means all normalized rows persisted; PARTIAL preserves useful rows; VALID_EMPTY means a valid provider response had no matching rows; INVALID_INPUT, CONFIG_ERROR, and UPSTREAM_FAILED explain non-success states honestly.

Verification and freshness

Each keyword row retains its request context and provenance. Review collection time and the provider endpoint when comparing research exports; search-volume metrics are estimates for the chosen market.

API and agent workflow

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~dataforseo-keyword-research/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"mode":"keyword_ideas","seedKeywords":["keyword research"],"locationCode":2840,"languageCode":"en","maxResults":25}'

MCP prompt

Run khadinakbar/dataforseo-keyword-research to find US-English keyword ideas for keyword research. Return the top 25 rows with keyword, searchVolume, keywordDifficulty, cpcUsd, searchIntent, provenance, and the OUTPUT outcome. Read the keyword_research dataset view, use RUN_SUMMARY for provider cost, and tighten maxResults when a smaller response is useful.

Limits and responsible use

DataForSEO metrics are provider estimates whose scope depends on the selected location, language, endpoint, and provider freshness. Keep credentials in Actor secrets or private input; they are used only for the provider authorization header and are never written to output. Use only a DataForSEO account you are authorized to access and follow its terms and your organization’s data-retention requirements.

Builder's note

I built this around DataForSEO's separate keyword-ideas and Google Ads search-volume endpoints because they have different data semantics and billing surfaces. Each row carries the endpoint and provider task ID, while the output cap ties useful persisted data to a predictable Apify event. The terminal contract keeps completed research, valid empty responses, configuration setup, and provider availability visible to users and agents.

Pricing and run costs

This Actor uses Pay per event plus Apify platform usage. The Pricing tab lists the current event rates and billing terms.

Event	Billing unit	When it applies
apify-actor-start	Actor Start	Charged when the Actor starts running. Number of events charged depends on Actor memory (one event per GB, minimum one event).
keyword-research-result	Keyword research result	Charged once for each validated DataForSEO keyword row persisted to the dataset.

Run cost combines the charged events and Apify platform usage. Your data-provider account may incur separate charges; eligible provider access is required. Review the run charge limit and requested result count before starting.

Independent alternative

This Actor provides the specific workflow described above. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ahrefs; the named product and its trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Connect an AI agent

Use the Apify MCP configurator to choose an available client connection. Inspect this Actor’s current input schema and required credentials before running it.