DataForSEO: Live SEO Data (Extension)

Live search data via the DataForSEO MCP server. Provides real-time SERP results (organic + images), keyword metrics, backlink profiles, on-page analysis, content analysis, business listings, AI visibility checking, and LLM mention tracking across 9 API modules with 79+ MCP tools.

Prerequisites

This skill requires the DataForSEO extension to be installed:

./extensions/dataforseo/install.sh

Check availability: Before using any DataForSEO tool, verify the MCP server is connected by checking if serp_organic_live_advanced or any DataForSEO tool is available. If tools are not available, inform the user the extension is not installed and provide install instructions.

API Credit Awareness

DataForSEO charges per API call. Be efficient:

• Prefer bulk endpoints over multiple single calls
• Use default parameters (US, English) unless user specifies otherwise
• Cache results mentally within a session; don't re-fetch the same data
• Warn user before running expensive operations (full backlink crawls, large keyword lists)

Cost Guardrails

Before every DataForSEO MCP call, run cost estimation:

"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/claude-seo" run dataforseo_costs.py check <endpoint> [--count N]

• If "status": "approved" → proceed with the API call
• If "status": "needs_approval" → show the cost estimate to the user and ask for confirmation before proceeding
• If "status": "blocked" → inform the user that the daily budget limit would be exceeded; do NOT proceed

After each API call completes, log the cost:

"${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/claude-seo" run dataforseo_costs.py log <endpoint> <actual_cost>

User commands for cost management:

• /seo dataforseo costs today → show today's spending breakdown
• /seo dataforseo costs summary → show 7-day spending history
• /seo dataforseo costs config --mode threshold --threshold 0.50 → configure approval mode

Load references/cost-tiers.md for the full pricing table, budget presets, and cost reduction tips.

Quick Reference

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SERP Analysis

/seo dataforseo serp <keyword>

Fetch live Google organic search results.

MCP tools: serp_organic_live_advanced

Default parameters: location_code=2840 (US), language_code=en, device=desktop, depth=100

Also supports: The serp_organic_live_advanced tool supports Google, Bing, and Yahoo via the se parameter. Specify "bing" or "yahoo" to switch search engines.

Output: Rank, URL, title, description, domain, featured snippets, AI overview references, People Also Ask.

/seo dataforseo serp-youtube <keyword>

Fetch YouTube search results. Valuable for GEO. YouTube mentions correlate most strongly with AI citations.

MCP tools: serp_youtube_organic_live_advanced

Output: Video title, channel, views, upload date, description, URL.

/seo dataforseo youtube <video_id>

Deep analysis of a specific YouTube video: info, comments, and subtitles. Some third-party studies report a 0.737 correlation between YouTube mentions and AI visibility, so treat this as a methodology-dependent GEO signal.

MCP tools: serp_youtube_video_info_live_advanced, serp_youtube_video_comments_live_advanced, serp_youtube_video_subtitles_live_advanced

Parameters: video_id (the YouTube video ID, e.g., "dQw4w9WgXcQ")

Output: Video metadata (title, channel, views, likes, description), top comments with engagement, subtitle/transcript text.

/seo dataforseo serp-images <keyword>

Report the image elements Google shows in the organic results for a keyword (the pinned MCP server has no Google Images tool, so this is not a full Images SERP). See which images appear, which domains dominate them, and identify visual content opportunities.

MCP tools: none. The pinned [email protected] exposes no Google Images SERP tool (checked against the package, 2026-09-23). Say image SERP data is unavailable through the MCP and never call a tool by that name; an images element in serp_organic_live_advanced results, when present, is the closest substitute.

Default parameters: location_code=2840 (US), language_code=en, device=desktop, depth=100

Parameters: keyword (required), depth (optional, max 700, billed per 100-result increment), search_param (optional, e.g. "site:example.com")

Cost warning: Using site: or filetype: operators incurs 5x API cost. Warn user before running filtered queries.

Output: Position, title, alt text, source page URL, direct image URL, domain, encoded URL.

Analysis to provide:

• Domain dominance: which sites own the most image positions (top 10 domains by count)
• Alt text patterns: common title/alt text patterns in top-ranking images
• Format distribution: WebP vs JPEG vs PNG in top results (infer from image_url extension)
• Opportunity identification: keywords where user has organic rankings but no image presence

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Keyword Research

/seo dataforseo keywords <seed>

Generate keyword ideas, suggestions, and related terms from a seed keyword.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_google_keyword_ideas, dataforseo_labs_google_keyword_suggestions, dataforseo_labs_google_related_keywords

Default parameters: location_code=2840 (US), language_code=en, limit=50

Output: Keyword, search volume, CPC, competition level, keyword difficulty, trend.

/seo dataforseo volume <keywords>

Get search volume and metrics for a list of keywords.

MCP tools: kw_data_google_ads_search_volume

Parameters: keywords (array, comma-separated), location_code, language_code

Output: Keyword, monthly search volume, CPC, competition, monthly trend data.

/seo dataforseo difficulty <keywords>

Calculate keyword difficulty scores for ranking competitiveness.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_bulk_keyword_difficulty

Parameters: keywords (array), location_code, language_code

Output: Keyword, difficulty score (0-100), interpretation (Easy/Medium/Hard/Very Hard).

/seo dataforseo intent <keywords>

Classify keywords by user search intent.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_search_intent

Parameters: keywords (array), location_code, language_code

Output: Keyword, intent type (informational, navigational, commercial, transactional), confidence score.

/seo dataforseo trends <keyword>

Analyze keyword trends over time using Google Trends data.

MCP tools: kw_data_google_trends_explore

Parameters: keywords (array), location_code, date_from, date_to, language_code

Output: Keyword, time series data, trend direction, seasonality signals.

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Domain & Competitor Analysis

/seo dataforseo backlinks <domain>

Comprehensive backlink profile analysis.

MCP tools: backlinks_summary, backlinks_backlinks, backlinks_anchors, backlinks_referring_domains, backlinks_bulk_spam_score, backlinks_timeseries_summary

Default parameters: limit=100 per sub-call

Output: Total backlinks, referring domains, domain rank, spam score, top anchors, new/lost backlinks over time, dofollow ratio, top referring domains.

/seo dataforseo competitors <domain>

Identify competing domains and estimate traffic.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_google_competitors_domain, dataforseo_labs_google_domain_rank_overview, dataforseo_labs_bulk_traffic_estimation

Output: Competitor domains, keyword overlap %, estimated traffic, domain rank, common keywords.

/seo dataforseo ranked <domain>

List keywords a domain ranks for with positions and page data.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_google_ranked_keywords, dataforseo_labs_google_relevant_pages

Default parameters: limit=100, location_code=2840

Output: Keyword, position, URL, search volume, traffic share, SERP features.

/seo dataforseo intersection <domain1> <domain2> [...]

Find shared keywords and backlink sources across 2-20 domains.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_google_domain_intersection, backlinks_domain_intersection

Parameters: domains (2-20 array)

Output: Shared keywords with positions per domain, shared backlink sources, unique keywords per domain.

/seo dataforseo traffic <domains>

Estimate organic search traffic for one or more domains.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_bulk_traffic_estimation

Parameters: domains (array)

Output: Domain, estimated organic traffic, estimated traffic cost, top keywords.

/seo dataforseo subdomains <domain>

Enumerate subdomains with their ranking data and traffic estimates.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_google_subdomains

Parameters: target (domain), location_code, language_code

Output: Subdomain, ranked keywords count, estimated traffic, organic cost.

/seo dataforseo top-searches <domain>

Find the most popular search queries that mention a specific domain in results.

MCP tools: dataforseo_labs_google_top_searches

Parameters: target (domain), location_code, language_code

Output: Query, search volume, domain position, SERP features, traffic share.

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Technical / On-Page

/seo dataforseo onpage <url>

Run on-page analysis including Lighthouse audit and content parsing.

MCP tools: on_page_instant_pages, on_page_content_parsing, on_page_lighthouse

Usage:

• on_page_instant_pages:Quick page analysis (status codes, meta tags, content size, page timing, broken links, on-page checks)
• on_page_content_parsing:Extract and parse page content (plain text, word count, structure)
• on_page_lighthouse:Full Lighthouse audit (performance score, accessibility, best practices, SEO, Core Web Vitals)

Output: Pages crawled, status codes, meta tags, titles, content size, load times, Lighthouse scores, broken links, resource analysis.

/seo dataforseo tech <domain>

Detect technologies used on a domain.

MCP tools: domain_analytics_technologies_domain_technologies

Output: Technology name, version, category (CMS, analytics, CDN, framework, etc.).

/seo dataforseo whois <domain>

Retrieve WHOIS registration data.

MCP tools: domain_analytics_whois_overview

Output: Registrar, creation date, expiration date, nameservers, registrant info (if public).

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Content & Business Data

/seo dataforseo content <keyword/url>

Analyze content quality, search for content by topic, and track phrase trends.

MCP tools: content_analysis_search, content_analysis_summary, content_analysis_phrase_trends

Parameters: keyword (for search/trends) or URL (for summary)

Output: Content matches with quality scores, sentiment analysis, readability metrics, phrase trend data over time.

/seo dataforseo listings <keyword>

Search business listings for local SEO competitive analysis.

MCP tools: business_data_business_listings_search

Parameters: keyword, location (optional)

Output: Business name, description, category, address, phone, domain, rating, review count, claimed status.

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AI Visibility / GEO

/seo dataforseo ai-scrape <query>

Scrape what ChatGPT web search returns for a query. ChatGPT visibility check: see which sources ChatGPT cites for your target keywords. Check Google AI Overviews and AI Mode with GSC gen-AI reports when available.

MCP tools: ai_optimization_chat_gpt_scraper

Parameters: query, location_code (optional), language_code (optional). Use ai_optimization_chat_gpt_scraper_locations to look up available locations.

Output: ChatGPT response content, cited sources/URLs, referenced domains.

/seo dataforseo ai-mentions <keyword>

Track how LLMs mention brands, domains, and topics. Critical for GEO. Measures actual AI visibility across multiple LLM platforms.

MCP tools: ai_opt_llm_ment_search, ai_opt_llm_ment_top_domains, ai_opt_llm_ment_top_pages, ai_opt_llm_ment_agg_metrics

Parameters: keyword, location_code (optional), language_code (optional). Use ai_opt_llm_ment_loc_and_lang for available locations/languages and ai_optimization_llm_models for supported LLM models.

Workflow:

1. Search LLM mentions with ai_opt_llm_ment_search (find mentions of a brand/keyword across LLM responses)
2. Get top cited domains with ai_opt_llm_ment_top_domains (which domains are most cited for this topic)
3. Get top cited pages with ai_opt_llm_ment_top_pages (which specific pages are most cited)
4. Get aggregate metrics with ai_opt_llm_ment_agg_metrics (overall mention volume, trends)

Output: LLM mention count, top cited domains with frequency, top cited pages, mention trends over time, cross-platform visibility scores.

Advanced: Use ai_opt_llm_ment_cross_agg_metrics for cross-model comparison (how mentions differ across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc.).

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Available Utility Tools

Additional DataForSEO MCP tools are available for internal use but do not have dedicated commands. Load references/tool-catalog.md when you need to find a specific utility tool (location lookups, bulk operations, historical data, filter options).

Cross-Skill Integration

When DataForSEO MCP tools are available, other claude-seo skills can leverage live data:

• seo-audit:Spawn seo-dataforseo agent for real SERP, backlink, on-page, and listings data
• seo-technical:Use on_page_instant_pages / on_page_lighthouse for real crawl data, domain_analytics_technologies_domain_technologies for stack detection
• seo-content:Use kw_data_google_ads_search_volume, dataforseo_labs_bulk_keyword_difficulty, dataforseo_labs_search_intent for real keyword metrics, content_analysis_summary for content quality
• seo-page:Use serp_organic_live_advanced for real SERP positions, backlinks_summary for link data
• seo-images:No Google Images SERP tool on the pinned MCP server; use any images element from serp_organic_live_advanced, cross-referenced with the on-page image audit
• seo-geo:Use ai_optimization_chat_gpt_scraper for real ChatGPT visibility, ai_opt_llm_ment_search for LLM mention tracking
• seo-plan:Use dataforseo_labs_google_competitors_domain, dataforseo_labs_google_domain_intersection, dataforseo_labs_bulk_traffic_estimation for real competitive intelligence

Error Handling

• MCP server not connected: Report that DataForSEO extension is not installed or MCP server is unreachable. Suggest running ./extensions/dataforseo/install.sh
• API authentication failed: Report invalid credentials. Suggest checking DataForSEO API login/password in MCP config
• Rate limit exceeded: Report the limit hit and suggest waiting before retrying
• No results returned: Report "no data found" for the query rather than guessing. Suggest broadening the query or checking location/language codes
• Invalid location code: Report the error and suggest using the locations lookup tool to find the correct code

Output Formatting

Match existing claude-seo output patterns:

• Use tables for comparative data
• Prioritize issues as Critical > High > Medium > Low
• Include specific, actionable recommendations
• Show scores as XX/100 where applicable
• Note data source as "DataForSEO (live)" to distinguish from static analysis