SEO Keyword Research (DataForSEO)

Setup

Install dependencies:

pip install -r scripts/requirements.txt

Configure credentials by creating a .env file in the project root:

DATAFORSEO_LOGIN=your_email@example.com
DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD=your_api_password

Get credentials from: https://app.dataforseo.com/api-access

Quick Start

User says	Function to call
"Research keywords for [topic]"	keyword_research("topic")
"YouTube keyword data for [idea]"	youtube_keyword_research("idea")
"Analyze competitor [domain.com]"	competitor_analysis("domain.com")
"What's trending?"	trending_topics()
"Keyword analysis for [list]"	full_keyword_analysis(["kw1", "kw2"])
"Landing page keywords for [topic]"	landing_page_keyword_research(["kw1"], "competitor.com")

Execute functions by importing from scripts/main.py:

import sys
from pathlib import Path
sys.path.insert(0, str(Path("scripts")))
from main import *

result = keyword_research("AI website builders")

Workflow Pattern

Every research task follows three phases:

1. Research

Run API functions. Each function call hits the DataForSEO API and returns structured data.

2. Auto-Save

All results automatically save as timestamped JSON files to results/{category}/. File naming pattern: YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS__operation__keyword__extra_info.json

3. Summarize

After research, read the saved JSON files and create a markdown summary in results/summary/ with data tables, ranked opportunities, and strategic recommendations.

High-Level Functions

These are the primary functions in scripts/main.py. Each orchestrates multiple API calls for a complete research workflow.

Function	Purpose	What it gathers
keyword_research(keyword)	Single keyword deep-dive	Overview, suggestions, related keywords, difficulty
youtube_keyword_research(keyword)	YouTube content research	Overview, suggestions, YouTube SERP rankings, YouTube trends
landing_page_keyword_research(keywords, competitor_domain)	Landing page SEO	Overview, intent, difficulty, SERP analysis, competitor keywords
full_keyword_analysis(keywords)	Strategic content planning	Overview, difficulty, intent, keyword ideas, historical volume, Google Trends
competitor_analysis(domain, keywords)	Competitor intelligence	Domain keywords, Google Ads keywords, competitor domains
trending_topics(location_name)	Current trends	Currently trending searches

Parameters

All functions accept an optional location_name parameter (default: "United States"). Most functions also have boolean flags to skip specific sub-analyses (e.g., include_suggestions=False).

Individual API Functions

For granular control, import specific functions from the API modules. See references/api-reference.md for the complete list of 25 API functions with parameters, limits, and examples.

Results Storage

Results auto-save to results/ with this structure:

results/
├── keywords_data/    # Search volume, CPC, competition
├── labs/             # Suggestions, difficulty, intent
├── serp/             # Google/YouTube rankings
├── trends/           # Google Trends data
└── summary/          # Human-readable markdown summaries

Managing Results

from core.storage import list_results, load_result, get_latest_result

# List recent results
files = list_results(category="labs", limit=10)

# Load a specific result
data = load_result(files[0])

# Get most recent result for an operation
latest = get_latest_result(category="labs", operation="keyword_suggestions")

Utility Functions

from main import get_recent_results, load_latest

# List recent files across all categories
files = get_recent_results(limit=10)

# Load latest result for a category
data = load_latest("labs", "keyword_suggestions")

Creating Summaries

After running research, create a markdown summary document in results/summary/. Include:

• Data tables with volumes, CPC, competition, difficulty
• Ranked lists of opportunities (sorted by volume or opportunity score)
• SERP analysis showing what currently ranks
• Recommendations for content strategy, titles, tags

Name the summary file descriptively (e.g., results/summary/ai-tools-keyword-research.md).

Tips

1. Be specific — "Get keyword suggestions for 'AI website builders'" works better than "research AI stuff"
2. Request summaries — Always create a summary document after research, named specifically
3. Batch related keywords — Pass multiple related keywords at once for comparison
4. Specify the goal — "for a YouTube video" vs "for a landing page" changes which data matters most
5. Ask for competition analysis — "Show me what videos are ranking" helps identify content gaps

Defaults

• Location: United States (code 2840)
• Language: English
• API Limits: 700 keywords for volume/overview, 1000 for difficulty/intent, 5 for trends, 200 for keyword ideas