# eBay Keyword Tool — Search Suggestions In Bulk (`thenetaji/ebay-keyword-suggestions-scraper`) Actor

Expand seed terms into the completions eBay's own search box offers shoppers. Feed it a list of keywords and get one row per suggestion — real demand signal for writing listing titles, picking categories, and targeting ads.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thenetaji/ebay-keyword-suggestions-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [The Netaji](https://apify.com/thenetaji) (community)
- **Categories:** E-commerce, SEO tools, Marketing
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.55 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#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

## eBay Keyword Suggestions Scraper

The Actor expands seed keywords into the completions eBay's own search box offers shoppers, saving one record per suggestion. Each seed is looked up separately, and a live lookup returns up to ten completions.

```json
{
  "keywords": ["lego", "running shoes"],
  "maxItems": 100
}
```

### Accepted input

`keywords` is required and accepts a list of partial or complete search terms; surrounding whitespace is trimmed and blank entries are dropped before any request is made. Each entry is one lookup, so a list of fifty seeds is fifty requests.

`maxItems` bounds the number of records saved across the whole run rather than per keyword, and defaults to `100`; a value of `0` disables the bound. With several seeds and a low bound, the run fills from the first seed before reaching the second.

### Result fields

Each row carries `keyword`, the seed that was looked up, and `suggestion`, one completion eBay offers for it.

```json
{ "keyword": "lego", "suggestion": "lego star wars" }
```

One row per suggestion is deliberate rather than one row per keyword holding an array. Exported to CSV, the result is a column that can be sorted, deduplicated across seeds, and fed back into this Actor as a second round of seeds, none of which requires unpacking a nested field first.

### What a suggestion means, and what it does not

These are the completions eBay's search box offers as a shopper types, ordered as eBay ranks them. That ordering reflects what eBay considers relevant and popular for the seed, which makes the list a usable demand signal for writing listing titles and choosing terms to target.

It is not search volume. eBay publishes no figure for how often a suggestion is searched, and none is inferred here; the only information in the ranking is the relative order eBay itself assigns. A suggestion's position is therefore comparable within one seed's results and not across different seeds.

### Seeds that return nothing

A seed for which eBay offers no completions contributes no rows and does not stop the run; the remaining seeds are looked up normally. A request that fails outright is treated the same way, so one bad seed in a list costs only that seed's rows. A run whose `keywords` list is empty is rejected before any request is made.

Broad seeds return more useful expansions than narrow ones. A seed that is already a complete, specific product title frequently returns nothing at all, because there is nothing left for eBay to complete.

### Related Actors

Suggestions from this Actor describe what shoppers search for; the categories eBay files listings under are a separate axis, listed by the [eBay Category Tree Scraper](https://apify.com/thenetaji/ebay-category-tree-scraper) and browsable with the [eBay Category Products Scraper](https://apify.com/thenetaji/ebay-category-products-scraper). To see what is actually listed and at what price against a term, use the [eBay Product Scraper](https://apify.com/thenetaji/ebay-product-scraper) for known listings, the [eBay Store Scraper](https://apify.com/thenetaji/ebay-store-scraper) for a competitor's range, or the [eBay Deals Scraper](https://apify.com/thenetaji/ebay-deals-scraper) for what eBay is currently promoting.

# Actor input Schema

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

One or more partial keywords to expand into eBay's own search suggestions. Each keyword is looked up separately.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of records to save. Set 0 for no limit.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "lego",
    "running shoes"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

All records scraped by this run

# 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": [
        "lego"
    ],
    "maxItems": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thenetaji/ebay-keyword-suggestions-scraper").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": ["lego"],
    "maxItems": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thenetaji/ebay-keyword-suggestions-scraper").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": [
    "lego"
  ],
  "maxItems": 20
}' |
apify call thenetaji/ebay-keyword-suggestions-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thenetaji/ebay-keyword-suggestions-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

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/LGI9aN00RUK4nkhX1/builds/V68qVwgM54514ci9f/openapi.json