LSD
APIEndpoint 11 of 40Keyword Research / Search Volume / Bulk Lookup

Search Volume API

The keyword volume API for the new local SEO stack.

Keyword research was captured by SaaS dashboards — Ahrefs at $129/mo, Semrush at $139.95/mo, Moz at $99/mo. All of them repackage the same upstream data (DataForSEO, Google clickstream) and lock it behind per-seat subscriptions. We unbundled the data layer. Call the endpoint, get 1,000 keywords' worth of monthly volume, CPC, competition, and 12-month trends in one POST. $0.0001 per keyword. Your agent does the rest.

Start Free — 50 CreditsView Docs

POST /v1/keywords/search-volume · 1 credit / 50 keywords

POST /v1/keywords/search-volume5 of 50
Volume · CPC · Trend
KeywordVolumeCPCTrend
plumber near me12,100$45.20
emergency plumber austin2,400$38.50
best plumber austin tx880$22.10
pipe repair cost590$12.40
drain cleaning austin720$18.90
▌ Ask your agent

These prompts are the new keyword research workflow.

Connect Local SEO Data as an MCP server once (60 seconds, below). Then your agent runs the research. Replace bracketed keywords or locations with your own.

Local volume sweep

Pull search volume for [my 200 target keywords] in [Denver, Charlotte, and Phoenix]. Flag any with volume >500 and CPC >$25.

Long-tail discovery

Find every keyword variant of [best pizza brooklyn] with volume >300 and CPC <$8. Pull monthly trends for the last 12 months.

Competitor volume comparison

Compare search-volume trends for [plumber Atlanta] keywords vs [plumber Charlotte] over the last year. Which market is hotter?

Volume drop alert

Pull this month's volume for our top 500 commercial keywords. Flag any with month-over-month drops >20%. Alert me on the most expensive ones (CPC >$50).

▌ Real response

What you get back

Live response for a 3-keyword request in Denver. Real API response, April 2026.

response · application/json~2.5s · 1 credit
{
  "status": "success",
  "credits_used": 1,
  "data": {
    "keywords": [
      {
        "keyword": "plumber near me",
        "search_volume": 2400,
        "cpc": 45.20,
        "competition": 0.87,
        "competition_level": "HIGH",
        "monthly_searches": [
          { "month": "2026-04", "volume": 2400 },
          { "month": "2026-03", "volume": 2200 },
          { "month": "2026-02", "volume": 2800 },
          { "month": "2026-01", "volume": 2500 }
        ]
      },
      {
        "keyword": "emergency plumber",
        "search_volume": 880,
        "cpc": 62.50,
        "competition": 0.92,
        "competition_level": "HIGH",
        "monthly_searches": [
          { "month": "2026-04", "volume": 850 },
          { "month": "2026-03", "volume": 820 },
          { "month": "2026-02", "volume": 1100 },
          { "month": "2026-01", "volume": 920 }
        ]
      },
      {
        "keyword": "pipe repair denver",
        "search_volume": 240,
        "cpc": 28.40,
        "competition": 0.54,
        "competition_level": "MEDIUM",
        "monthly_searches": [
          { "month": "2026-04", "volume": 240 },
          { "month": "2026-03", "volume": 220 },
          { "month": "2026-02", "volume": 260 },
          { "month": "2026-01", "volume": 310 }
        ]
      }
    ],
    "location": "Denver, Colorado, United States"
  }
}
▌ Returns

Exactly what agents need to make keyword decisions

Per keyword

Volume, CPC, competition level

Monthly search volume, cost-per-click in USD, and competition index (0-1). All three metrics in one call, so your agent ranks keywords by commercial value, not just traffic.

Monthly history

12-month trend breakdown

Volume for each of the past 12 months. Detect seasonal swings (plumbing spikes in winter, solar peaks in spring), month-over-month growth or decline, and long-term trends. One agent prompt flags keywords losing volume; another surfaces emerging opportunities.

Location specificity

Volume is always geographic

The same keyword has wildly different volume across cities: 'best pizza brooklyn' is not the same market as 'best pizza Denver.' All volume is location-specific from day one. Multi-location agencies batch-query 5+ cities per agent run.

Pair with related endpoints

Compose workflows with Keyword Suggestions, Related Keywords, Keyword Opportunities

Seed with Search Volume. Branch into Keyword Suggestions for long-tail discovery. Overlay Related Keywords for semantic clustering. Close with Keyword Opportunities to rank by difficulty vs current rank. Each endpoint costs 1-4 credits.

▌ Built for

What SEO operators ship with this endpoint

Agency bulk keyword audits

Agencies pull volume for 500-1,000 target keywords per client location, one call per city. Flag winners (high volume, low competition, high CPC), alert clients to volume drops, and detect seasonal shifts. Run daily, weekly, or monthly — the per-keyword cost is $0.0001, so 5,000 keyword checks/month costs $0.50.

→ For agencies

Pre-pitch volume audits for consultants

Before the pitch call, pull volume for 100 prospect keywords. Walk in with 'these 12 keywords have 100+ monthly searches and <$30 CPC — that is where the immediate ROI sits.' Consulting close rate goes up when the diagnosis is data-driven, not anecdotal.

→ For consultants

AI-driven content gap analysis

Pair this endpoint with [Keyword Opportunities](/keyword-opportunities-api) to find high-volume keywords your site doesn't rank for. Your agent does the loop: fetch volume, check current rank, flag gaps. Then slot into [Content Calendar](/content-calendar) or pass to content team.

→ Keyword Opportunities API

Real-time volume trend monitoring

Set a cron job to pull volume for your top 200 commercial keywords every week. Your agent flags month-over-month drops >20%, alerts you to emerging seasonal peaks, and surfaces CPC changes. Standard multi-location operator workflow: monitor 3 locations, 200 keywords each = 3 cents/week.

→ For in-house teams
▌ vs. the alternatives

Why not use Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or Google Keyword Planner?

Keyword research was monopolized by SaaS dashboards. Here's why the API model is fundamentally better for agents.

ToolCost modelBulk keywordsMonthly historyAI-agent ready
Google Keyword Planner (free)Free (with active Ads spend)Yes, but ranges not exact volumesNo historical dataNo API, manual export
Google Ads API (official)$17 per 1,000 callsYes, up to 1,000NoAPI but requires OAuth + project setup
Ahrefs ($129/mo starter)$129–299/mo per seat, $1,548–3,588/yearYes, via dashboardYesAPI available but dashboard-first
Semrush ($139.95/mo)$139.95–499.95/mo per seat, $1,679–5,999/yearYes, via dashboardYesAPI available but dashboard-first
Moz ($99/mo) or KWFinder ($29.90/mo)$99–599/mo (Moz) or $29.90/mo (KWFinder)Limited batchingLimitedNo MCP integration
SE Ranking ($159/mo for Core)$159/mo for 1M credits (keyword data varies)Yes, up to 5,000YesAPI available but credit system opaque
DataForSEO raw API ($0.01 per keyword)$0.01 per keyword + task feeYes, up to 1,000Yes, but setup requiredAPI-only, no MCP
LocalSEOData Search Volume API$0.0001 per keyword, no seatsUp to 1,000 per call, unlimited callsFull 12-month breakdownNative MCP + REST, agent-first
▌ Connect in 60 seconds

Use it from your agent

Two integration surfaces: MCP for clients that speak MCP, REST API for everything else.

Direct MCP integration

Drop-in support in Claude Desktop, OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, and any MCP-aware client.

Add to your client's MCP config (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "localseodata": {
      "url": "https://mcp.localseodata.com",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer sk_live_..."
      }
    }
  }
}

REST API

For Perplexity Computer, ChatGPT Custom GPTs, custom agents, and any platform that calls REST endpoints directly.

Base URL:

api.localseodata.com

See the docs for endpoint reference and auth.

▌ Quickstart

Your first call in three lines

Same endpoint, three syntaxes. The `keywords` array accepts up to 1,000 keywords in one call; `location` is required and must be in the format 'City, State, Country' (e.g., 'Denver, Colorado, United States'). Optional: `language` (default 'en'). One call = 1 credit, which covers 50 keywords (~$0.005).

terminal · curl
POST /v1/keywords/search-volume
curl -X POST https://api.localseodata.com/v1/keywords/search-volume \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "keywords": ["plumber near me", "emergency plumber", "pipe repair"],
    "location": "Denver, Colorado, United States"
  }'
Full endpoint reference → · Get an API key →
▌ Pricing for this endpoint

$0.0001 per keyword

1 credit covers 50 keywords. Free tier on signup includes 50 credits (2,500 keywords). Monthly plans start at $19 and never expire. No per-seat fees, no seat caps.

Free tier
2,500
keywords on signup (50 credits)
Starter · $19/mo
190,000
keywords/mo at this rate
Per-keyword cost
$0.0001
or $0.005 per 50
▌ FAQ

Common questions

What is the Search Volume API?+
A REST endpoint that returns monthly search volume, cost-per-click, competition level, and 12-month trend data for up to 1,000 keywords in a single POST call. It's POST /v1/keywords/search-volume. One call returns structured JSON with volume, CPC, competition (0-1 scale), and monthly_searches array. Cost: 1 credit per 50 keywords (~$0.005). This is the foundational endpoint for keyword research — every workflow (content planning, bid audits, competitive analysis, SEO gap detection) starts with volume.
How accurate is the search volume data?+
Volume data comes from DataForSEO, the upstream provider used by most competitive SEO tools. DataForSEO aggregates clickstream data and Google's official historical metrics (via Google Ads API) normalized across providers. The accuracy is high for head terms (1,000+ monthly searches) and reasonable for long-tail. High-volume keywords will be within 5-10% of true searches; low-volume keywords (<100/mo) may have higher relative variance because the raw signal is smaller. For commercial keywords (the ones with high CPC), accuracy is excellent because advertisers depend on it. Note: No tool — not Google Keyword Planner, not Ahrefs, not Semrush — publishes exact clickstream data; all are estimates backed by the same upstream sources.
Where does the search volume data come from?+
DataForSEO, our upstream provider. DataForSEO aggregates volume from Google's historical metrics (Google Ads API, available only to API subscribers), Bing clickstream data, and proprietary clickstream sources. Most competitive tools use DataForSEO as their volume source too — Ahrefs, Semrush, SE Ranking, and others license or resell the same underlying data. The difference is we don't charge $99-$199/mo per seat. We're passing through the cost transparently: $0.0001 per keyword. You own the data in the response; no licensing fees when you report on it to clients.
How fresh is the data?+
Volume data refreshes monthly. The current month's data is typically available within 2-7 days of month-end, depending on DataForSEO's aggregation timing. CPC data reflects current Google Ads pricing and updates when you call the endpoint. Competition levels (0-1 scale) also refresh monthly. If you're doing day-to-day trend monitoring, you'll see volume shift across months but not hour-to-hour. That's fine for strategic keyword planning; it's not designed for real-time bid management.
How does this compare to Ahrefs ($129/mo) or Semrush ($139.95/mo)?+
Both Ahrefs and Semrush offer keyword volume data through dashboards and APIs, but the business model is per-seat subscription. A $129/mo Ahrefs Starter plan gives you ~160,000 API calls/month (or ~3.2M lookups/month if you batch 20 keywords per call) — assuming you have budget to use them all, that's a cost of roughly $0.00004 per keyword. But you're paying for the seat whether you use it or not, and if you need a second user on your team, that's another $129/mo. With us, you pay $0.0001 per keyword used, meaning 50,000 keywords/month = $5. 100,000/month = $10. And no limit on team size — your entire team uses the same API key (or different keys scoped to different projects) with no additional fees. For agencies managing 10+ client locations or in-house teams doing bulk research, the math breaks sharply in our favor. Ahrefs and Semrush are also dashboard-first tools; the API is secondary. We're API-first, built for agents and bulk workflows.
How does this compare to Google Keyword Planner (free)?+
Google Keyword Planner is free but comes with hard limits. First, you need an active Google Ads account with ongoing spend — no account, no access. Second, it returns volume ranges, not exact numbers ('100-1K', '1K-10K'), which is useless for ranking keywords by commercial value. Third, it doesn't expose an API; you can't automate lookups or batch 1,000 keywords at once. It's a tool for humans clicking around in the Google Ads UI, not for agents doing keyword research at scale. Our endpoint gives you exact numbers, geographic specificity (Denver vs Denver metro vs Colorado state), and bulk batch processing. If you're building automated workflows or managing multiple locations, Google Keyword Planner doesn't compete.
Can I look up 1,000+ keywords in a single call?+
Yes. One call accepts up to 1,000 keywords in the keywords array. For 1,000 keywords, you pay 20 credits (~$0.10). If you need to look up more than 1,000 keywords, batch them into multiple calls. Most workflows look up 200-500 keywords per location per call. Bulk is the entire point of this endpoint — single-keyword lookups are rare in production.
Does this include CPC and competition data?+
Yes. Every keyword returns: search_volume (monthly), cpc (cost-per-click in USD), competition (0-1 index), and competition_level (enum: 'LOW', 'MEDIUM', 'HIGH'). You also get monthly_searches — an array of objects with month (YYYY-MM) and volume for the last 12 months. So you can see that 'emergency plumber' had 1,100 searches in January but only 750 in December — critical for seasonal businesses. CPC is invaluable for ranking keywords by commercial intent: high volume + high CPC = goldmine. Low volume + high CPC = risky bet. Your agent can flag these patterns automatically.
Can AI agents use this directly?+
Yes, two ways. MCP: Add Local SEO Data to your claude_desktop_config.json (or any MCP-compatible client like OpenClaw, Hermes Agent, or similar), and Claude calls this endpoint from your prompt without you writing integration code. You just say 'pull volume for my keywords' and it happens. REST: Any agent that can make HTTPS calls (ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Perplexity Computer, custom Python agents) hits api.localseodata.com with Authorization: Bearer sk_live_.... The agent receives structured JSON and can reason about it — flagging high-value keywords, comparing trends, alerting on drops. This is why the MCP integration matters: it's the bridge between human intent and automated research.
What changed in 2026 that made this category exist?+
Two things. First, MCP (the Model Context Protocol) became standard in late 2024 and went mainstream through 2025. It let agents call external APIs without custom integration work. The moment that happened, keyword research flipped from a dashboard-driven workflow ('log in to Ahrefs, click around') to an agent-driven workflow ('my Claude instance batches 1,000 keywords, ranks them by commercial value, flags gaps, and emails me the summary'). Second, SaaS subscription fatigue hit. Most teams have Ahrefs or Semrush on a credit card, pay $99-$199/mo, and use 10% of the seat because the onboarding is heavy and the per-seat pricing traps you in the dashboard. The API lets you pay for what you use. Same data, zero seat overhead, agent-native integration.
Do you support multi-language and multi-location lookups?+
Yes to both. location is a required parameter and must be in 'City, State, Country' format (e.g., 'Denver, Colorado, United States'). Volume is always geographic — the same keyword has different search counts in Denver vs. Atlanta. language is optional (default 'en') and accepts language codes. Multi-location workflows are standard: agencies call the endpoint once per city, batching 500 keywords per call. Multi-language is fine too — 'plumber' (English) vs. 'fontanero' (Spanish) return different volumes in different regions, which is correct.
▌ Related endpoints

Often used in the same agent prompt

POST /v1/keywords/suggestions
Keyword Suggestions API

Long-tail discovery from a seed keyword. Volume, difficulty, search intent.

POST /v1/keywords/related
Related Keywords API

Semantically related keywords. Cluster by topic, avoid cannibalization.

POST /v1/keywords/site-keywords
Keywords for Site API

What keywords a competitor ranks for. Reverse-engineer their strategy.

POST /v1/keywords/opportunities
Keyword Opportunities API

Rank keywords by difficulty vs your current rank. Find the quick wins.

Your agent can research keywords faster than you can type them.

50 free credits on signup. 2,500 keyword lookups included. Batch process your target list in your first agent prompt.

Start FreeRead the docs
▌ MADE FOR THE NEW LOCAL SEO STACK