Keyword Search Volume API — Bulk Google Volume + CPC

Turn a keyword list into one dataset row per keyword with Google Ads search volume, CPC, competition, and bid estimates. Built for SEO teams, PPC planners, and agents that already have the phrases and need structured volume plus cost data. Powered by the DataForSEO Google Ads Search Volume API on Apify, with API, schedule, and MCP access.

Best fit for this Actor

• Look up search volume and CPC for a known keyword list, then export JSON or CSV.
• Compare bid ranges across countries before you set a Google Ads budget.
• Feed volume and CPC fields into a content or bidding workflow.

When you need keyword ideas from a seed phrase, then use Keyword Research Tool — DataForSEO API. After you have ranks to watch, continue with Keyword Rank Tracker.

Practical scenario

An SEO lead pastes buy crm software, saas project management, and email marketing tool. The run returns one row per phrase with searchVolume, cpcUsd, competitionLevel, and top-of-page bid estimates for the United States. The lead keeps phrases with enough volume and a workable CPC, then schedules the same input weekly.

Quick start input

{
  "keywords": ["buy crm software", "saas project management", "email marketing tool"],
  "mode": "free_tier",
  "countryName": "United States",
  "languageName": "English"
}

mode: "free_tier" processes up to 25 unique keywords. mode: "bulk_paid" processes up to 1,000 unique keywords per run, batched at 700 by default.

Input reference

Field	Type	What it controls
keywords	array	Required phrases to look up. Duplicates collapse to one row.
mode	enum	free_tier (25) or bulk_paid (1,000). Default free_tier.
countryName	string	DataForSEO location name. Default United States.
languageName	string	DataForSEO language name. Default English.
includeCompetition	boolean	Include competition score and level. Default true.
includeLowTopOfPageBid	boolean	Include low top-of-page bid. Default true.
includeHighTopOfPageBid	boolean	Include high top-of-page bid. Default true.
maxKeywordsPerBatch	integer	Keywords per DataForSEO call. Default 700, max 1000.

Owner DataForSEO secrets stay in environment variables. Optional private input fields override them for a single run.

What data you receive

One dataset item is one input keyword.

{
  "keyword": "buy crm software",
  "normalizedKeyword": "buy crm software",
  "countryName": "United States",
  "languageName": "English",
  "searchVolume": 50,
  "cpcUsd": 8.72,
  "competition": 0.85,
  "competitionLevel": "HIGH",
  "lowTopOfPageBidUsd": 4.87,
  "highTopOfPageBidUsd": 12.29,
  "monthlySearches": [{ "year": 2025, "month": 12, "searchVolume": 40 }],
  "source": "dataforseo/keywords_data/google_ads/search_volume/live",
  "status": "OK"
}

Field	Meaning
searchVolume	Monthly Google Ads volume estimate.
cpcUsd	Average cost-per-click estimate in USD.
status	OK when DataForSEO matched the phrase; NO_DATA when the phrase is unmatched.

OUTPUT and RUN_SUMMARY in the default key-value store hold outcome, itemsPushed, chargedEventCounts, and providerCostUsd. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel, or HTML.

Use through the API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~keyword-search-volume-api/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords":["buy crm software"],"mode":"free_tier","countryName":"United States"}'

Use with AI agents through Apify MCP

Look up Google Ads search volume and CPC for buy crm software and email marketing tool in the United States. Return keyword, searchVolume, cpcUsd, competitionLevel, status, and fetchedAt. Read OUTPUT.outcome, itemsPushed, and RUN_SUMMARY.providerCostUsd for cost and scope.

Connect via https://mcp.apify.com. Start with free_tier so agents can confirm credentials and provenance before a bulk_paid list.

Connect the workflow

• When you need ideas from a seed, then search with Keyword Research Tool — DataForSEO API.
• After you pick phrases, monitor ranks with Keyword Rank Tracker.

Pricing

Pay per event plus platform usage. Confirm current event prices on the live Pricing tab; that tab is the source of truth if this page ever lags.

• apify-actor-start: $0.00005 per run
• dataforseo-volume-request: $0.30 per successful DataForSEO batch
• keyword-metric: $0.004 per persisted row (OK or NO_DATA)

A three-keyword prefill is about $0.312 in events plus a few seconds of Apify platform usage. Provider cost is recorded in RUN_SUMMARY.providerCostUsd.

How it works

1. Deduplicate and cap the keyword list for the selected mode.
2. POST batches to DataForSEO /keywords_data/google_ads/search_volume/live.
3. Charge dataforseo-volume-request after a successful batch, then write one row per input keyword.
4. Charge keyword-metric with each validated dataset write.

Best results

• Provide a focused list you already chose; start with free_tier to confirm the output shape.
• Use exact DataForSEO country and language names such as United Kingdom and English.
• Keep maxKeywordsPerBatch at 700 unless you have a specific batching reason.
• Treat volume and CPC as Google Ads planning estimates for the public keywords you are authorized to research.

Builder's note

I found that DataForSEO returns Google Ads search-volume rows in task.result rather than a nested items envelope, and that a live call costs about nine cents regardless of a 1-keyword or 25-keyword batch. I designed the free-tier cap and the request-plus-row events around that so a one-keyword check still covers provider cost, while a 1,000-keyword bulk run stays cheap per row. Every input keyword gets a row so downstream jobs can rely on a 1-to-1 map.

Legal and responsible use

Use this Actor with a DataForSEO account you are authorized to access, follow applicable law and DataForSEO plus Google terms, and keep the output in your own compliance workflow. Search volume and CPC are Google Ads model estimates delivered through DataForSEO.

Issues and feature requests: use the Actor Issues tab on Apify.