# Keyword Search Volume & Keyword Research - Keyword Planner (`wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume`) Actor

SEO keyword research tool with real Google Keyword Planner data: bulk search volume, CPC, competition, 12-month trends and keyword ideas for any country, city or language. No Google Ads account needed. $4 per 1,000 keywords; keywords without data are free.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume.md
- **Developed by:** [Wrenfield Data](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools
- **Stats:** 57 total users, 43 monthly users, 99.3% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.30 / 1,000 keyword 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Keyword Search Volume & Keyword Research Tool (Google Keyword Planner data)

**Keyword Search Volume** is a bulk **keyword research tool** for SEO and PPC. Paste a list of keywords and get real **Google Keyword Planner** numbers from the **Google Ads API**: average monthly search volume, a 12-month search trend, CPC, competition and low/high top-of-page bids. Turn on **keyword ideas** to discover new keywords from seed keywords. It works for any country, region, city and language.

- ✅ **No Google Ads account, no ad spend.** You get exact Keyword Planner averages, not the "1K–10K" ranges Google shows to accounts without active campaigns.
- 💸 **$4 per 1,000 keywords**, and keywords without data are free. Many keyword volume tools charge $10–12 per 1,000.
- ⚡ **Fast and reliable.** 1,000 keywords per Google Ads request, typically 20–40 seconds per run. 99% of runs in the last 30 days succeeded.

#### Sample output

| Keyword | Monthly searches | CPC (USD) | Competition | Top-of-page bid (high) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| keyword research | 135,000 | 16.68 | LOW | 26.33 |
| seo tools | 165,000 | 24.39 | LOW | 29.08 |
| ai seo | 6,600 | 41.45 | MEDIUM | 34.42 |

<sub>Real rows from the prefilled example run (Oct 19, 2026), 5 of 21+ fields shown. Export as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, or read them through the API.</sub>

### What data do you get?

One clean row per keyword:

| Field | What it is |
| --- | --- |
| 📈 `search_volume` | Average monthly Google searches, as reported by Google Ads Keyword Planner |
| 📅 `monthly_searches` | Month-by-month search volume (last 12 months, or up to 4 years with a date range) |
| 📊 `trend` | % change vs. last month, last quarter and last year (when that much history is available) |
| 💰 `cpc` | Average cost per click in USD |
| 🎯 `low_top_of_page_bid` / `high_top_of_page_bid` | The bid range advertisers pay to show at the top of the page |
| 🥊 `competition` / `competition_index` | Google Ads competition: LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH and 0–100 |
| 🧠 `keyword_difficulty` / `search_intent` | SEO keyword difficulty (0–100) and search intent, with the keyword database data source |
| 💡 `type: "idea"` + `seed_keyword` | Keyword ideas generated from your seed keywords |

Download the results as Excel, CSV, JSON or HTML, or get them through the API.

### How to do keyword research with this tool

1. Paste your keywords, one per line, into **Keywords**. Lists of thousands of keywords work fine.
2. Set **Location** (`United States`, `GB`, `2840` or `California,United States`) and **Language** (`English`).
3. Under **What to get**, pick **Search volume**, **Keyword ideas** or **Both**.
4. Click **Start**. A typical run finishes in under a minute.

**Tip:** to find new keywords, use **Keyword ideas** with 1–20 seed keywords and set **Minimum search volume for ideas** (for example `100`) to skip tiny long-tail phrases.

### Use cases

- **SEO keyword research**: size topics before you write, and prioritize pages by search demand and difficulty.
- **PPC and Google Ads planning**: estimate CPC and top-of-page bids before you launch campaigns.
- **Content calendars**: spot seasonal peaks in the monthly history.
- **Market research**: compare demand for products, brands or features across countries and cities.
- **Agencies, SaaS and AI agents**: enrich keyword lists in bulk on a schedule through the API, Make, Zapier, n8n or MCP.

### Input example

```json
{
    "keywords": ["keyword research", "seo tools", "ai seo", "content marketing", "running shoes"],
    "location": "United States",
    "language": "English",
    "mode": "search_volume",
    "includeMonthlySearches": true
}
```

| Field | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `keywords` | Keywords to check, or seed keywords for ideas. Normalized and de-duplicated automatically. Max 80 characters and 10 words each. |
| `location` | Country name, 2-letter code or Google Ads location code. For regions and cities, use the Google Ads name, e.g. `London,England,United Kingdom`. Default: `United States`. |
| `language` | Language name or code (`English`, `es`). Empty = main language of the location. |
| `mode` | `search_volume` (default), `keyword_ideas` or `both`. |
| `includeMonthlySearches` | Add the month-by-month history (default `true`). |
| `dateFrom` / `dateTo` | Optional history range as `YYYY-MM`, up to 4 years back. Default: last 12 months. |
| `maxIdeas` | Max keyword ideas per run (default 100). |
| `minSearchVolume` | Skip ideas below this monthly volume. |
| `dataSource` | `google_ads` (default, live Google Ads API), `keyword_database` (monthly-refreshed Keyword Planner data with keyword difficulty and search intent, countries only, no request fee) or `auto`. |
| `ideasMethod` | Keyword database only: `keyword_ideas`, `keyword_suggestions` (long-tail) or `related_keywords`. |
| `googleAdsMode` | `live` (default, seconds) or `queued` (cheaper request fee, usually takes minutes). |

### Output example

Real output for `running shoes`, United States, October 2026 (`monthly_searches` shortened):

```json
{
    "keyword": "running shoes",
    "type": "keyword",
    "seed_keyword": null,
    "location": "United States",
    "location_code": 2840,
    "language": "English",
    "language_code": "en",
    "search_volume": 301000,
    "cpc": 1.09,
    "competition": "HIGH",
    "competition_index": 100,
    "low_top_of_page_bid": 0.48,
    "high_top_of_page_bid": 2.07,
    "keyword_difficulty": null,
    "search_intent": null,
    "trend": { "monthly": -18, "quarterly": 22, "yearly": null },
    "monthly_searches": [
        { "date": "2025-10", "year": 2025, "month": 10, "search_volume": 368000 },
        { "date": "2025-11", "year": 2025, "month": 11, "search_volume": 301000 },
        { "date": "2026-09", "year": 2026, "month": 9, "search_volume": 246000 }
    ],
    "found": true,
    "source": "google_ads_live",
    "data_updated_at": null,
    "scraped_at": "2026-10-19T00:33:26Z"
}
```

`monthly_searches` lists every month, oldest first. Keyword ideas have `"type": "idea"` and the `seed_keyword` they came from. If Google has no data for a keyword, it's still listed with `"found": false` and a short `note`, and you aren't charged for it. The dataset has an **Overview** table and a **Monthly trends** view. The `SUMMARY` record in the key-value store lists skipped or invalid keywords and run statistics.

### Pricing

This Actor uses **pay-per-event** pricing. Keywords without data are free. Paid Apify plans get automatic volume discounts on keyword results.

| Event | Price |
| --- | --- |
| Keyword result (`keyword-result`) | **$0.004** per keyword or keyword idea with data |
| Google Ads live request (`google-ads-live-request`) | **$0.15** per request (up to 1,000 keywords, or up to 20 seeds for ideas) |
| Google Ads queued request (`google-ads-queued-request`) | **$0.08** per request (`googleAdsMode: queued`) |

**Upcoming change:** from **October 23, 2026**, the Google Ads live request will cost **$0.25** and the queued request **$0.15**. The keyword-result price does not change. The example costs below use the current prices.

| Example run | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| 5 keywords, United States | $0.17 |
| 1,000 keywords, Germany | $4.15 |
| 5,000 keywords | $20.75 |
| 1,000 keywords with `dataSource: keyword_database` (no request fee) | $4.00 |

To cap your spend, set **Maximum cost per run** in the run options. The Actor checks the limit before each Google Ads request and stops cleanly when it's reached.

**Free Apify plan:** runs from free-plan accounts use the keyword database and are limited to 10 keywords and 10 ideas per run, at country level only. Any paid Apify plan removes these limits.

### Search volume API: use it from code, on a schedule or with AI agents

Call it from Python, JavaScript or any HTTP client with the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2), run it on a schedule to track demand every month, or connect it to Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets and other integrations. AI agents can call it through the Apify MCP server.

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/wrenfield-data~keyword-search-volume/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"keywords": ["keyword research", "seo tools"], "location": "United States"}'
```

### Related SEO tools

A full SEO toolkit from the same developer: keyword demand → competitor authority and traffic → AI search visibility.

- [Domain Authority & Traffic Checker](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/domain-authority-traffic-checker): bulk domain authority, backlinks and organic traffic
- [AI Search Visibility Tracker](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/ai-search-visibility-tracker): check if ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews mention your brand
- [Google Trends Scraper](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/google-trends-scraper): interest over time, by region, related queries and Trending Now
- [Google Ads Transparency Scraper](https://apify.com/wrenfield-data/google-ads-transparency-scraper): see competitors' Google, YouTube and Shopping ads

All of them export flat JSON, CSV or Excel, so you can feed one tool's dataset into the next.

### FAQ

**Is there a free keyword research tool or free trial?**
Every Apify account, including the free plan, gets $5 of platform credit each month with no credit card. That's enough to try this Actor. Free-plan runs use the keyword database and are limited to 10 keywords and 10 ideas per run (country level). Any paid Apify plan removes the limits and adds volume discounts.

**Is this a Google Keyword Planner alternative without an Ads account?**
Yes. Keyword Planner hides exact volumes (it shows ranges like "1K–10K") unless you run ads. This Actor returns the exact Keyword Planner averages, monthly history and CPC with no Google Ads account and no ad spend.

**Is there a search volume API?**
Yes. Every Apify Actor is an API. Call the `run-sync-get-dataset-items` endpoint shown above from any language, or use the official Python and JavaScript clients, Make, Zapier, n8n or the Apify MCP server.

**Where does the data come from?**
From the Google Ads API, which is the same data you see in Google Keyword Planner. With `dataSource: keyword_database`, the Actor reads a database built from Google Ads data and refreshed every month instead. It's cheaper for small runs and adds keyword difficulty and search intent.

**Can I use it as a cheaper alternative to big SEO suites for search volume?**
Yes, for search volume, CPC, competition, trends and keyword ideas. You pay only for keywords that return data, with no monthly subscription. (This Actor isn't affiliated with any SEO suite.)

**Why is a keyword returned with `found: false`?**
Google has no measurable search volume for it, usually because the phrase is very rare or new. You aren't charged for it.

**Why do similar keywords show identical numbers?**
Google Ads groups close variants (plurals, misspellings, word order) and reports the same volume for all of them. Google also rounds volumes into buckets such as 90,500 or 110,000.

**Why do some months jump a lot?**
The monthly numbers are what Google Ads reports, including its rounding buckets. Use the 12-month average (`search_volume`) for planning and the monthly history for seasonality.

**Can I get search volume for a city or state?**
Yes. Use the Google Ads location name, e.g. `New York,New York,United States`, `California,United States` or `Bavaria,Germany`.

**How many keywords can I check at once?**
Thousands per run. They're sent in batches of 1,000 per Google Ads request. Google Ads allows about 12 live requests per minute, so 10,000 keywords (10 requests) usually take 1–3 minutes.

**Is this an official Google product?**
No. This Actor isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Google. Google, Google Ads and Keyword Planner are trademarks of Google LLC.

**Found a problem?**
Open an issue on the Issues tab with your run ID.

### Acceptable use

- This Actor is an independent tool. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google, Google Ads or DataForSEO.
- Don't use the data to build a competing search engine, or otherwise to compete with or harm Google or the other search engines the data comes from.
- The Actor may not be used from, or for people or organizations in, Russia, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Syria, Myanmar, North Korea, Crimea or the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
- You are responsible for using the results lawfully, including privacy laws such as GDPR for any personal data they contain.

# Actor input Schema

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

Keywords to look up, one per line (thousands are fine). Used as <b>seed keywords</b> when you ask for keyword ideas. Keywords are trimmed, lower-cased and de-duplicated; match-type symbols like <code>\[exact]</code> or <code>"phrase"</code> and characters Google Ads does not accept are removed. Max 80 characters and 10 words per keyword. Large lists are split into batches of 1,000 automatically. Keywords without data are free.

## `mode` (type: `string`):

<b>Search volume</b>: metrics for exactly the keywords you enter. <b>Keyword ideas</b>: new related keywords (with the same metrics) generated from your seed keywords, like Google Keyword Planner's 'Discover new keywords'. <b>Both</b>: metrics for your keywords plus ideas.

## `location` (type: `string`):

Country name (<code>United States</code>, <code>Germany</code>), 2-letter country code (<code>US</code>, <code>GB</code>) or location code (<code>2840</code>). For a state, region or city use the Google Ads location name, e.g. <code>California,United States</code> or <code>London,England,United Kingdom</code> (region/city lookups always use live Google Ads data).

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

Language name (<code>English</code>, <code>Spanish</code>) or code (<code>en</code>, <code>es</code>). Leave empty to use the main language of the location (e.g. German for Germany).

## `includeMonthlySearches` (type: `boolean`):

Add the month-by-month search volume (last 12 months by default, or the date range below) to every result.

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

Optional start month of the monthly history, format <code>YYYY-MM</code> (e.g. <code>2024-01</code>). Up to 4 years back. Leave empty for the last 12 months.

## `dateTo` (type: `string`):

Optional end month of the monthly history, format <code>YYYY-MM</code>. Google publishes data for the previous month only, so later months are capped automatically.

## `ideasMethod` (type: `string`):

Only used for keyword ideas. With the <b>Google Ads API</b> data source, ideas come from Keyword Planner's 'Discover new keywords' (up to 20 seed keywords per request) and this setting is ignored. With the <b>keyword database</b>: <b>Keyword Planner-style ideas</b> = keywords about the same topic; <b>Long-tail suggestions</b> = phrases that contain your seed keyword; <b>Related searches</b> = Google's 'related searches' for your seed keyword.

## `maxIdeas` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of keyword ideas to return in total per run. You only pay for ideas that are returned.

## `minSearchVolume` (type: `integer`):

Skip keyword ideas with a lower average monthly search volume (e.g. <code>100</code> to drop tiny long-tail phrases). 0 = keep all ideas that have data.

## `dataSource` (type: `string`):

<b>Google Ads API</b> (default): queries Google Ads (Keyword Planner) live, up to 1,000 keywords per request, and returns a row for every keyword Google knows. Adds a small per-request fee (see Pricing). <b>Keyword database</b>: a database built from Google Ads data, refreshed monthly; no request fee, also returns keyword difficulty and search intent, country-level locations only. <b>Auto</b>: keyword database for country-level searches, Google Ads API for regions/cities or languages the database does not cover.

## `googleAdsMode` (type: `string`):

Only used when the Google Ads API is queried. <b>Live</b> (default): results in seconds. <b>Queued</b>: cheaper per-request fee, but results usually take a few minutes and can take longer at peak times; the run waits for them. If a queued run times out, run it again with the same input to collect the results without paying the request fee again.

## `queuedMaxWaitMinutes` (type: `integer`):

Queued mode only: how long the run waits for Google Ads results before stopping (it never waits past the run timeout).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "keyword research",
    "seo tools",
    "ai seo",
    "content marketing",
    "running shoes"
  ],
  "mode": "search_volume",
  "location": "United States",
  "language": "English",
  "includeMonthlySearches": true,
  "ideasMethod": "keyword_ideas",
  "maxIdeas": 100,
  "minSearchVolume": 0,
  "dataSource": "google_ads",
  "googleAdsMode": "live",
  "queuedMaxWaitMinutes": 120
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `keywords` (type: `string`):

No description

## `trends` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (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": [
        "keyword research",
        "seo tools",
        "ai seo",
        "content marketing",
        "running shoes"
    ],
    "mode": "search_volume",
    "location": "United States",
    "language": "English",
    "maxIdeas": 100
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume").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": [
        "keyword research",
        "seo tools",
        "ai seo",
        "content marketing",
        "running shoes",
    ],
    "mode": "search_volume",
    "location": "United States",
    "language": "English",
    "maxIdeas": 100,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume").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": [
    "keyword research",
    "seo tools",
    "ai seo",
    "content marketing",
    "running shoes"
  ],
  "mode": "search_volume",
  "location": "United States",
  "language": "English",
  "maxIdeas": 100
}' |
apify call wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,wrenfield-data/keyword-search-volume"
        }
    }
}
```

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/5XyRhwmSc6p21l9Ki/builds/WlzT50L6Lkabt1ZD5/openapi.json