# Keyword Research: Search Volume, CPC, Difficulty & Intent (`zaiq/keyword-research`) Actor

Google search volume, CPC, competition, keyword difficulty, search intent and 12-month trend for any keywords in 60 countries, or hundreds of keyword ideas grown from your seed keywords, ranked by volume. No Semrush or Ahrefs subscription, no API key.

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

## Pricing

from $6.40 / 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.
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 Research: Google search volume, CPC, difficulty, intent and keyword ideas

Get **Google keyword data without a Semrush or Ahrefs subscription**: for any keywords in **60 countries**, the **monthly search volume**, **CPC** and **competition**, **keyword difficulty (0-100)**, **search intent**, the **last 12 months of searches** and the **monthly, quarterly and yearly trend**. Or give **seed keywords** and get **hundreds of keyword ideas** that contain them, or **Google's related searches**, highest volume first, with the same metrics.

Built for **SEO teams and agencies**, **content marketers**, **PPC managers**, **e-commerce sellers**, **AI agents and automations** that need keyword data on demand and pay per keyword instead of per seat.

### What you get

| Field | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Keyword rows | `keyword`, `searchVolume`, `cpc` (USD), `competition` (LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH), `competitionIndex`, `lowTopOfPageBid`, `highTopOfPageBid`, `keywordDifficulty`, `intent`, `otherIntents`, `trend` (monthly, quarterly, yearly % change), `monthlySearches` (12 months), `avgBacklinksOfTopPages`, `avgReferringDomainsOfTopPages`, `country`, `language`, `seed` |

### What people use it for

- **Keyword research:** find what people search for around your product, with volumes and difficulty
- **Content planning:** pick topics with volume and low difficulty, by intent
- **PPC budgeting:** CPC and bids before you spend
- **Market sizing:** search demand for a category, country by country
- **Seasonality:** 12 months of searches per keyword to time campaigns
- **AI agents:** keyword data inside any workflow, per keyword

### How to use it

1. Enter **keywords** (to measure) or **seed keywords** (to grow ideas) and pick the **mode**.
2. Pick the **country** (and the language if needed).
3. Click **Start**.

### Input

| Field | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords | `robot vacuum` | One per line |
| What to get | Metrics for these keywords | Or keyword ideas containing the seeds, or Google's related searches |
| Country | `US` | 60 countries |
| Language | `en` | Optional |
| Ideas per seed | `100` | Up to 1,000, highest volume first |

### Output

Each result is one row in the run's dataset (download it as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML, or read it through the API). An example row (values shortened):

```json
{
  "keyword": "robot vacuum for pet hair",
  "searchVolume": 14800,
  "cpc": 1.42,
  "competition": "HIGH",
  "competitionIndex": 100,
  "keywordDifficulty": 38,
  "intent": "commercial",
  "trend": {
    "monthly": 22,
    "quarterly": 0,
    "yearly": 49
  },
  "monthlySearches": [
    {
      "year": 2026,
      "month": 9,
      "searches": 18100
    }
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en"
}
```

A record named `SUMMARY` in the run's key-value store says what each input returned, with any notes (for example an account that does not exist), what was charged and how much traffic the run used.

### Pricing

- **$0.008 per keyword** with its metrics
- **$0.04 per data lookup** (one lookup covers up to 700 keywords, or one seed in the ideas mode)
- Keywords too rare to measure are free

What typical jobs cost at the list price:

| Job | Cost |
|---|---|
| 100 keywords measured | $0.84 |
| 1,000 keywords measured | $8.08 |
| 200 ideas from one seed | $1.64 |
| 10 keywords | $0.12 |

On Apify's Scale and Business plans the per-event prices are lower (Store discounts). Set **Maximum cost per run** and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached: you never pay more than that.

### Tips

- Measure in batches: one lookup covers up to 700 keywords.
- Ideas mode returns the highest-volume ideas first; raise Ideas per seed for the long tail.
- Use the country where your customers search: volumes differ a lot by country.

### Use it through the API

**Python**

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>")
run = client.actor("zaiq/keyword-research").call(run_input={"keywords": ["robot vacuum", "best robot vacuum for pet hair"], "country": "US"})
for row in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(row)
```

**JavaScript**

```js
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('zaiq/keyword-research').call({"keywords": ["robot vacuum", "best robot vacuum for pet hair"], "country": "US"});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

**HTTP (one call, results back)**

```bash
curl -X POST 'https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/zaiq~keyword-research/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN>' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"keywords": ["robot vacuum", "best robot vacuum for pet hair"], "country": "US"}'
```

### Integrations and schedules

- **Schedules:** run it every hour, day or week from the Apify Console (Schedules) and keep a history of results.
- **Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack, Airtable:** connect it through Apify's integrations, or send each finished run to a **webhook**.
- **Datasets:** results stay in the run's dataset; export them or read them by API whenever you need them.

### Use it with AI agents (MCP)

Add Apify's MCP server (`https://mcp.apify.com`) to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code or any MCP client. The agent can find this Actor and run it for you: ask it for "monthly search volume, CPC and difficulty for these 50 keywords in the UK". AI agents can also pay for runs directly through Apify's agentic payments.

### Limits

- Volumes are Google's (from Google Ads data), rounded the way Google rounds them; very rare keywords show no data.
- Apify's free plan: up to 10 keywords a run.

### FAQ

**Do I need a Google Ads, Semrush or Ahrefs account?**

No.

**Where does the data come from?**

Google Ads keyword data with keyword difficulty and intent from a search-data provider, refreshed monthly.

**How is keyword difficulty scored?**

0-100, from the strength of the pages that rank for the keyword.

**Which countries?**

60, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India, Germany, France, Spain, Brazil and Japan.

### Related Actors from Zaiq

- [google-trends-scraper](https://apify.com/zaiq/google-trends-scraper): how interest in the keywords moves over time
- [google-ai-mode-tracker](https://apify.com/zaiq/google-ai-mode-tracker): Google AI Mode answers for the same keywords

### Support

Questions, a site that changed, or a field you need? Open an issue on this Actor's **Issues** tab: we answer there, usually within a day.

***

Also found as: keyword research, search volume api, keyword difficulty, cpc data, keyword ideas, semrush alternative, ahrefs alternative, google keyword planner api.

# Actor input Schema

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

Keywords to measure (overview), or seed keywords to grow ideas from (ideas). One per line.

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

Overview measures your keywords; ideas finds longer keywords that contain each seed; related finds what Google lists as related searches. Ideas and related are ranked by volume.

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

Two-letter country code (60 countries), e.g. US, GB, ZA, DE, AU.

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

Optional language code (en, de, es...); empty = the country's main language.

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

For the ideas mode: how many related keywords per seed, highest volume first.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "robot vacuum",
    "best robot vacuum for pet hair"
  ],
  "mode": "overview",
  "country": "US",
  "maxIdeas": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

Dataset: the results.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

What each input returned, and notes.

# 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": [
        "robot vacuum",
        "best robot vacuum for pet hair"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("zaiq/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 = { "keywords": [
        "robot vacuum",
        "best robot vacuum for pet hair",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("zaiq/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 '{
  "keywords": [
    "robot vacuum",
    "best robot vacuum for pet hair"
  ]
}' |
apify call zaiq/keyword-research --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,zaiq/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/zp1jg6je1KD8gE4sC/builds/4ga8S9hmxZGacjf5e/openapi.json