# YouTube Keyword Research Tool - Autocomplete & Competition (`seemuapps/youtube-keyword-research`) Actor

Expand any seed keyword into hundreds of real YouTube search suggestions and score each one by competition - result count, top-10 views, freshness and opportunity score.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/seemuapps/youtube-keyword-research.md
- **Developed by:** [Andrew](https://apify.com/seemuapps) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$5.00 / 1,000 keywords

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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

## YouTube Keyword Research Tool - Autocomplete & Competition

Turn one seed keyword into hundreds of real YouTube search terms - the exact suggestions YouTube shows in its search box - then score every keyword by how hard it is to rank for: estimated result count, view statistics of the current top 10, how many of those videos are less than a year old, how many different channels hold the top spots, and a single 0-100 **opportunity score**. Free-form, no API key, no quota.

Give it topics and get a keyword spreadsheet you can sort by opportunity, ready for JSON, CSV, Excel or Google Sheets.

### What you get

For every keyword:

- **keyword**, **seedKeyword**, **source** (`seed`, `autocomplete`, `alphabet:a`, `question:how`, `modifier:vs`...), **suggestionRank**
- **wordCount**, **isQuestion** - spot long-tail and question-style searches
- **estimatedResults** - how many videos compete for the term
- **top10AvgViews**, **top10MedianViews**, **top10MinViews**, **top10MaxViews** - how much demand the ranking videos capture
- **top10VideosUnderOneYear** - whether fresh content still breaks in
- **top10UniqueChannels** - whether one channel dominates the term
- **top10ShortVideos** - how many top results are Shorts
- **topVideoTitle**, **topVideoChannel**, **topVideoViews**, **topVideoUrl** and the full **topVideos** list
- **opportunityScore** - 0-100 heuristic combining demand, competition and freshness

### Use cases

- **Video topic research** - find high-demand, low-competition angles before you film
- **Title and tag optimisation** - use the exact phrases people type into YouTube
- **Content calendars** - generate months of video ideas from a handful of seeds
- **Niche validation** - check whether a topic has real search interest and who already owns it
- **Question mining** - filter **isQuestion** for FAQ, tutorial and explainer video ideas
- **Agency reporting** - deliver keyword sheets for clients across countries and languages

### How to use

1. Enter one or more **Seed keywords**.
2. Choose an **Expansion method**: direct suggestions only, Alphabet soup (seed + a to z), Questions and modifiers (how, why, best, vs, tutorial...), or Both.
3. Set **Max keywords per seed** (default 50, `0` for everything found).
4. Leave **Measure competition** on to score each keyword, or turn it off for a suggestions-only run in seconds.
5. Set **Country** and **Language** to research a specific market.
6. Run the actor and sort the **Dataset** by **opportunityScore**.

### Output format

```json
{
  "keyword": "sourdough bread recipe",
  "seedKeyword": "sourdough bread",
  "source": "autocomplete",
  "suggestionRank": 2,
  "wordCount": 3,
  "isQuestion": false,
  "estimatedResults": 2454818,
  "top10AvgViews": 4101606,
  "top10MedianViews": 3072042,
  "top10MinViews": 113063,
  "top10MaxViews": 16358555,
  "top10VideosUnderOneYear": 1,
  "top10UniqueChannels": 8,
  "top10ShortVideos": 0,
  "topVideoTitle": "Bake the Perfect Sourdough Bread: A Step-by-Step Guide",
  "topVideoChannel": "Natashas Kitchen",
  "topVideoViews": 3222265,
  "topVideoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gEoh3sk2AE",
  "topVideos": [
    { "videoId": "4gEoh3sk2AE", "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gEoh3sk2AE", "title": "Bake the Perfect Sourdough Bread: A Step-by-Step Guide", "channelTitle": "Natashas Kitchen", "viewCount": 3222265, "publishedText": "2 years ago", "durationSeconds": 713 }
  ],
  "opportunityScore": 58
}
```

### How the opportunity score works

The score is a heuristic, not a search-volume figure. It rewards keywords where the current top 10 earn high median views (demand), where the total number of competing videos is comparatively low, and where recent uploads still rank (the term is not locked up by old evergreen videos). Use it to shortlist, then read the top-10 data to make the final call.

### Pricing

You pay a small fixed amount per keyword returned.

### Tips

- **Both** expansion typically yields 200-400 unique keywords per seed; raise **Max keywords per seed** to keep them all.
- Filter **top10UniqueChannels** ≥ 7 for terms where no single channel dominates.
- Sort by **top10MedianViews** descending and **estimatedResults** ascending to find under-served demand.
- Use two-letter **Country** codes (AU, GB, CA...) to get market-specific suggestions.

### FAQ

**Does it give search volume?**
YouTube does not publish search volumes. The top-10 view statistics are the closest public proxy for demand.

**Are the suggestions the same as what I see on YouTube?**
Yes - they come from the same autocomplete service the YouTube search box uses, for the country and language you choose.

**Can I research Shorts?**
The **top10ShortVideos** field shows how many top results are Shorts. Use the YouTube Shorts Scraper to dig into a term further.

# Actor input Schema

## `seedKeywords` (type: `array`):

Topics to research, one per line. Each seed is expanded through YouTube's own search suggestions.

## `expansion` (type: `string`):

How to expand each seed. Alphabet soup queries the seed followed by every letter a-z; Questions adds how/what/why prefixes and best/vs/tutorial suffixes; Both combines them for the widest list.

## `maxKeywordsPerSeed` (type: `integer`):

Keywords to keep for each seed, in the order YouTube suggests them. 0 = everything found, up to 2,000 per seed.

## `includeCompetition` (type: `boolean`):

Run a YouTube search for every keyword to capture the estimated result count, top-10 view statistics, freshness, unique channels and an opportunity score. Turn off for a suggestions-only run that is much faster.

## `country` (type: `string`):

Two-letter country code that controls which suggestions and rankings YouTube returns, e.g. US, GB, AU, DE.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Language code for suggestions and search, e.g. en, de, pt-BR.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional. Leave off by default. Enable Apify Proxy only if YouTube starts blocking requests from the default network.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "seedKeywords": [
    "sourdough bread"
  ],
  "expansion": "alphabet",
  "maxKeywordsPerSeed": 50,
  "includeCompetition": true,
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

One record per keyword: keyword, seedKeyword, source, suggestionRank, wordCount, isQuestion, estimatedResults, top10AvgViews, top10MedianViews, top10MinViews, top10MaxViews, top10VideosUnderOneYear, top10UniqueChannels, top10ShortVideos, topVideoTitle, topVideoChannel, topVideoViews, topVideoUrl, topVideos, opportunityScore.

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "seedKeywords": [
        "sourdough bread"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("seemuapps/youtube-keyword-research").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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "seedKeywords": ["sourdough bread"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("seemuapps/youtube-keyword-research").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "seedKeywords": [
    "sourdough bread"
  ]
}' |
apify call seemuapps/youtube-keyword-research --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,seemuapps/youtube-keyword-research"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/BItpOOz40wweNYSCI/builds/v7k2ZDEAZZAyfg0FP/openapi.json