# Google Autocomplete Scraper: A to Z keyword expansion (`steadydata/google-autocomplete`) Actor

Google autocomplete suggestions for up to 500 seed keywords per run, per country and language, with A to Z, question word and custom expansion for long tail keyword research. Ranked, with Google's relevance score and type. No start fee; pay only for delivered suggestions.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/steadydata/google-autocomplete.md
- **Developed by:** [Steadydata Team](https://apify.com/steadydata) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Marketing, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$0.35 / 1,000 suggestion listeds

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

## Google Autocomplete Keyword Scraper (long-tail keywords)

Google's autocomplete suggestions for **up to 500 seed keywords per run**, per country
and language, ranked and scored the way Google scores them. Switch on the a-to-z and
question-word expansions and one seed becomes hundreds of long-tail keywords. **You only
pay for suggestions that are actually delivered.**

### Why this scraper

- **The real thing, per market.** Autocomplete differs per country and language; set
  `country` and `language` and you get what people in that market see as they type.
- **Relevance score and type.** Google's Chrome client returns a relevance score and a
  type (QUERY, ENTITY, NAVIGATION) per suggestion; both are delivered, so you can sort
  by what Google itself ranks highest.
- **Expansion built in.** `expandAlphabet` queries "<seed> a" to "<seed> z",
  `expandQuestions` adds how, what, why, when, where, which, best, vs, for and without,
  and `customPrefixes` takes your own patterns in any language ("beste *", "* kopen").
  Suggestions are de-duplicated across all of them.
- **Lightweight route.** Under 1 KB per call; no browser, no rendering. In testing on
  13-09-2026 a call returned 15 suggestions in 886 bytes.
- **Only delivered suggestions are charged.** A seed with nothing to suggest comes back
  as a clear error record at no cost. No start fee.

### Who this is for

SEO and content teams building keyword lists and topic clusters. Marketplace sellers
looking for how buyers phrase a product. Anyone who wants to see the questions people
type after a brand or topic, per country, without clicking through Google letter by letter.

### Who this is not for

Autocomplete gives **what people type**, not **how often**. There is no search volume in
this data; combine it with the Google Trends Batch Scraper from the same publisher for
relative interest, or with your own volume source. Suggestions are also personalised
away: the route is anonymous, so you see the generic list, not what a logged-in user sees.

### Input example

```json
{
    "keywords": ["air fryer", "electric bike"],
    "country": "US",
    "language": "en",
    "expandAlphabet": false,
    "expandQuestions": true,
    "customPrefixes": [],
    "maxSuggestionsPerKeyword": 200
}
```

Cost control: a plain seed is one call (up to 15 suggestions); `expandAlphabet` adds 26
calls, `expandQuestions` adds 10, each custom pattern adds 1. `maxSuggestionsPerKeyword`
caps what is delivered and charged per seed.

### Output example

```json
{
    "keyword": "air fryer",
    "query": "how air fryer",
    "suggestion": "how air fryer works",
    "rank": 17,
    "relevance": 601,
    "suggestionType": "QUERY",
    "country": "US",
    "language": "en",
    "status": "ok"
}
```

A seed that yields nothing produces an error record instead, and is **not** charged:

```json
{
    "input": "qzxwv nonsense 99999",
    "status": "error",
    "errorCode": "NO_SUGGESTIONS",
    "error": "Google has no autocomplete suggestions for 'qzxwv nonsense 99999' in US"
}
```

Error codes: `INVALID_KEYWORD`, `NO_SUGGESTIONS`, `BLOCKED`. `INPUT_TRUNCATED` appears once when your input is longer than this actor accepts.

### Related actors from steadydata

- [google-trends-batch](https://apify.com/steadydata/google-trends-batch): real interest over time for the same keywords
- [google-trending-searches](https://apify.com/steadydata/google-trending-searches): what is trending right now per country

### Pricing

Pay per event: one `suggestion-listed` event per delivered suggestion. No start fee, no
charge for seeds that fail, no separate platform-usage surcharge.

### FAQ

**What does the relevance score mean?**
Google's own ranking weight for that suggestion within that query; in testing the values
ran from 550 to about 1250, higher is ranked higher. It is comparable within one query, not across different seeds.

**Why do I get different suggestions than in my browser?**
Your browser adds your history, location and account. This route is anonymous and
market-level, which is what keyword research wants.

**Are the question words available in other languages?**
The built-in set is English. For any other language, put your own patterns in
`customPrefixes`, with \* where the seed goes: "waarom *", "* kopen", "\* ervaringen".

**How many suggestions per seed?**
Up to 15 per call. In testing on 13-09-2026, a seed with the question-word expansion
yielded 140 to 165 unique suggestions, and a seed with both expansions plus four custom
patterns 500 to 600. The exact number depends on how much Google has to say about the topic.

**Is personal data collected?**
No. Autocomplete is aggregate data about what many people type; nothing about any
individual is involved.

**What happens when Google changes something?**
Routes change from time to time. The actor is monitored daily and fixed fast, and while
it is broken you are not charged, because only delivered suggestions cost anything.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

One seed keyword per row (up to 500). Each seed is one input; a seed without suggestions comes back as a free error record.

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

Two-letter country code that sets the market (gl), e.g. US, GB, NL, DE.

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

Interface language (hl), e.g. en, nl, de. Suggestions follow the language people type in that market.

## `expandAlphabet` (type: `boolean`):

Also query '<seed> a' to '<seed> z' (26 extra calls per seed) for long-tail keywords.

## `expandQuestions` (type: `boolean`):

Also query 'how <seed>', 'what <seed>', 'why <seed>', 'best <seed>', '<seed> vs' and similar (10 extra calls per seed). Question words are English; set them yourself via customPrefixes for other languages.

## `customPrefixes` (type: `array`):

Your own expansions, one per row. Use \* for the seed position, e.g. 'beste *' or '* kopen'. Without \* the text is used as a suffix.

## `maxSuggestionsPerKeyword` (type: `integer`):

Cost ceiling per seed across all expansions. One delivered suggestion is one charged event.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "air fryer",
    "electric bike"
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "expandAlphabet": false,
  "expandQuestions": false,
  "customPrefixes": [],
  "maxSuggestionsPerKeyword": 200
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

# 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 = {
    "keywords": [
        "air fryer",
        "electric bike"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("steadydata/google-autocomplete").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 = { "keywords": [
        "air fryer",
        "electric bike",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("steadydata/google-autocomplete").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 '{
  "keywords": [
    "air fryer",
    "electric bike"
  ]
}' |
apify call steadydata/google-autocomplete --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,steadydata/google-autocomplete"
        }
    }
}
```

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/KXEzSchopUnsVJNZ3/builds/YHADvozEVEMQ9dxI5/openapi.json