# Google SERP + AI Overview Monitor — Rank & AI Citations (`lizaraco/google-serp-ai-overview-monitor`) Actor For each keyword: full organic results, whether Google showed an AI Overview, and whether YOUR domain is cited in it. Track rankings and AI-answer visibility in one normalized call. Bring your own DataForSEO key — you pay wholesale, zero scraping fragility. - **URL**: https://apify.com/lizaraco/google-serp-ai-overview-monitor.md - **Developed by:** [Shawn Downs](https://apify.com/lizaraco) (community) - **Categories:** SEO tools, AI, Agents - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $5.00 / 1,000 serp checks 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 ## Google SERP + AI Overview Monitor — Rank & AI Citations When Google answers a query with an **AI Overview**, fewer people scroll to the links. Modern SEO means tracking two things per keyword: your **organic rank**, and whether the **AI answer cites you**. This actor returns both — plus the full SERP — in one normalized row per keyword, ready for dashboards, rank trackers, and AI agents. ### What you get per keyword - **AI Overview**: did one appear, how many sources it cites, the full reference list (domain, URL, title, position), and the deduped set of cited domains. - **Domain tracking**: for each domain in `trackDomains` — its organic rank (or null) and whether the AI Overview cites it (`cited_in_ai_overview` + citation positions). Subdomains match automatically (`blog.yoursite.com` counts for `yoursite.com`). - **Organic results**: rank, domain, URL, title (configurable depth 10–100). - **Extras**: featured-snippet holder, People-Also-Ask questions. ### Bring your own key — you control the cost You supply your own [DataForSEO](https://dataforseo.com) login; **you pay DataForSEO directly** (~$0.002/query wholesale) and this actor charges only a small per-keyword fee for the parsing and AI-Overview extraction. Flip on `useSandbox` to test the wiring for $0. No Google scraping, no proxies, no CAPTCHA arms race — this keeps working. Missing or invalid credentials never crash the run — you get a clear note back and nothing is charged. ### The LizaraCo SEO suite Pairs with our other actors for a full keyword workflow: [Google Trends](https://apify.com/lizaraco/scrape-google-trends) (demand shape) → [Keyword Volume & CPC](https://apify.com/lizaraco/keyword-metrics) (hard numbers) → **this actor** (who ranks & who the AI cites) → [Backlinks & Domain Authority](https://apify.com/lizaraco/domain-authority-backlinks) (why they rank) → [Site Audit](https://apify.com/lizaraco/site-audit) (fix your own site). ### Output row (per keyword) `keyword, ai_overview{present, reference_count, cited_domains[], references[]}, organic_top[{rank, domain, url, title}], organic_count, featured_snippet, people_also_ask[], track[{domain, organic_rank, cited_in_ai_overview, ai_citation_positions[]}], se_domain, check_url` ### Use with AI agents MCP-friendly: an agent asks "are we losing AI-Overview visibility on our money keywords?" and reasons over clean JSON — presence, citations, and ranks in one call. # Actor input Schema ## `keywords` (type: `array`): Search queries to check — one SERP per keyword. ## `trackDomains` (type: `array`): Your (or competitors') domains. Per keyword we report each domain's organic rank and whether the AI Overview cites it. Optional. ## `dataForSeoLogin` (type: `string`): Your DataForSEO account login. You pay DataForSEO directly (~$0.002/query wholesale) — this actor never uses anyone else's key. ## `dataForSeoPassword` (type: `string`): Your DataForSEO API password — OR the 'Base64 Format' token from DataForSEO's API Access page (the value with the copy button). Either works. Stored encrypted. ## `location` (type: `string`): Location name (e.g. 'United States', 'United Kingdom', 'Germany'). ## `language` (type: `string`): Language name (e.g. 'English', 'Spanish'). ## `device` (type: `string`): SERP device type. AI Overviews can differ between desktop and mobile. ## `depth` (type: `integer`): How many organic results to fetch per keyword (10–100). ## `useSandbox` (type: `boolean`): Route to DataForSEO's free sandbox (sample data, no charge to your balance) to test wiring before spending. ## Actor input object example ```json { "keywords": [ "best crm for small business", "project management software" ], "trackDomains": [ "hubspot.com" ], "location": "United States", "language": "English", "device": "desktop", "depth": 20, "useSandbox": false } ```` # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "keywords": [ "best crm for small business", "project management software" ], "trackDomains": [ "hubspot.com" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("lizaraco/google-serp-ai-overview-monitor").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${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 crm for small business", "project management software", ], "trackDomains": ["hubspot.com"], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("lizaraco/google-serp-ai-overview-monitor").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 crm for small business", "project management software" ], "trackDomains": [ "hubspot.com" ] }' | apify call lizaraco/google-serp-ai-overview-monitor --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=lizaraco/google-serp-ai-overview-monitor", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Google SERP + AI Overview Monitor — Rank & AI Citations", "description": "For each keyword: full organic results, whether Google showed an AI Overview, and whether YOUR domain is cited in it. Track rankings and AI-answer visibility in one normalized call. Bring your own DataForSEO key — you pay wholesale, zero scraping fragility.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "TKf6JvL9cxtoG62gp" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/lizaraco~google-serp-ai-overview-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-lizaraco-google-serp-ai-overview-monitor", "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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/lizaraco~google-serp-ai-overview-monitor/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-lizaraco-google-serp-ai-overview-monitor", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/lizaraco~google-serp-ai-overview-monitor/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-lizaraco-google-serp-ai-overview-monitor", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$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", "type": "array", "description": "Search queries to check — one SERP per keyword.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "trackDomains": { "title": "Domains to track", "type": "array", "description": "Your (or competitors') domains. Per keyword we report each domain's organic rank and whether the AI Overview cites it. Optional.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "dataForSeoLogin": { "title": "DataForSEO login (email)", "type": "string", "description": "Your DataForSEO account login. You pay DataForSEO directly (~$0.002/query wholesale) — this actor never uses anyone else's key." }, "dataForSeoPassword": { "title": "DataForSEO password / API key", "type": "string", "description": "Your DataForSEO API password — OR the 'Base64 Format' token from DataForSEO's API Access page (the value with the copy button). Either works. Stored encrypted." }, "location": { "title": "Location", "type": "string", "description": "Location name (e.g. 'United States', 'United Kingdom', 'Germany').", "default": "United States" }, "language": { "title": "Language", "type": "string", "description": "Language name (e.g. 'English', 'Spanish').", "default": "English" }, "device": { "title": "Device", "enum": [ "desktop", "mobile" ], "type": "string", "description": "SERP device type. AI Overviews can differ between desktop and mobile.", "default": "desktop" }, "depth": { "title": "Results depth", "minimum": 10, "maximum": 100, "type": "integer", "description": "How many organic results to fetch per keyword (10–100).", "default": 20 }, "useSandbox": { "title": "Use DataForSEO sandbox", "type": "boolean", "description": "Route to DataForSEO's free sandbox (sample data, no charge to your balance) to test wiring before spending.", "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```