seo-dataforseo skill

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 serporganiclive_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

SERP Analysis

/seo dataforseo serp

Fetch live Google organic search results.

MCP tools: serporganiclive_advanced

Default parameters: locationcode=2840 (US), languagecode=en, device=desktop, depth=100

Also supports: The serporganiclive_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

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

MCP tools: serpyoutubeorganicliveadvanced

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

/seo dataforseo youtube

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: serpyoutubevideoinfoliveadvanced, serpyoutubevideocommentsliveadvanced, serpyoutubevideosubtitleslive_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

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 dataforseo-mcp-server@2.8.10 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 serporganiclive_advanced results, when present, is the closest substitute.

Default parameters: locationcode=2840 (US), languagecode=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

Keyword Research

/seo dataforseo keywords

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

MCP tools: dataforseolabsgooglekeywordideas, dataforseolabsgooglekeywordsuggestions, dataforseolabsgooglerelatedkeywords

Default parameters: locationcode=2840 (US), languagecode=en, limit=50

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

/seo dataforseo volume

Get search volume and metrics for a list of keywords.

MCP tools: kwdatagoogleadssearch_volume

Parameters: keywords (array, comma-separated), locationcode, languagecode

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

/seo dataforseo difficulty

Calculate keyword difficulty scores for ranking competitiveness.

MCP tools: dataforseolabsbulkkeyworddifficulty

Parameters: keywords (array), locationcode, languagecode

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