iflow-mcp_egebese_seo-mcp 0.2.4
A free SEO tool MCP (Model Control Protocol) service based on Ahrefs data. Includes features such as backlinks, keyword ideas, and more.
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.10

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# SEO Research MCP

**Free SEO research tools for AI-powered IDEs**

[![Python 3.10+](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.10+-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
[![MCP](https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP-Compatible-green.svg)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/)

[Features](#-features) • [Installation](#-installation) • [IDE Setup](#-ide-setup-guides) • [API Reference](#-api-reference) • [Contributing](#-contributing) • [Credits](#-credits)

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---

> [!CAUTION]
> ## ⚠️ Educational Use Only
>
> **This project is for educational and research purposes only.**
>
> - This tool interfaces with third-party services (Ahrefs, CapSolver)
> - Users must comply with all applicable terms of service
> - The authors do not endorse any use that violates third-party ToS
> - Use responsibly and at your own risk
>
> By using this software, you acknowledge that you understand and accept these terms.

---

## 🎯 What is this?

SEO Research MCP brings powerful SEO research capabilities directly into your AI coding assistant. Using the [Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/), it connects your IDE to Ahrefs' SEO data, allowing you to:

- Research competitor backlinks while coding
- Generate keyword ideas without leaving your editor
- Analyze traffic patterns for any website
- Check keyword difficulty before creating content

---

## ✨ Features

| Feature | Description | Example Use |
|---------|-------------|-------------|
| **🔗 Backlink Analysis** | Domain rating, anchor text, edu/gov links | "Show me backlinks for competitor.com" |
| **🔑 Keyword Research** | Generate ideas from seed keywords | "Find keywords related to 'python tutorial'" |
| **📊 Traffic Analysis** | Monthly traffic, top pages, countries | "What's the traffic for example.com?" |
| **📈 Keyword Difficulty** | KD score with full SERP breakdown | "How hard is 'best laptop 2025' to rank for?" |

---

## 📋 Prerequisites

Before you start, you'll need:

1. **Python 3.10 or higher**
   ```bash
   python --version  # Should be 3.10+
   ```

2. **CapSolver API Key** (for CAPTCHA solving)

   👉 [Get your API key here](https://dashboard.capsolver.com/passport/register?inviteCode=VK9BLtwYlZxi)

---

## 📦 Installation

### Option 1: From PyPI (Recommended)

```bash
pip install seo-mcp
```

Or using `uv`:
```bash
uv pip install seo-mcp
```

### Option 2: From Source

```bash
git clone https://github.com/egebese/seo-research-mcp.git
cd seo-research-mcp
pip install -e .
```

---

## 🛠️ IDE Setup Guides

Choose your IDE and follow the setup instructions:

<details>
<summary><h3>🟣 Claude Desktop</h3></summary>

#### Step 1: Open Config File

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Go to **Settings** → **Developer** → **Edit Config**

#### Step 2: Add Configuration

Add this to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "seo-research": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--python", "3.10", "seo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CAPSOLVER_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

#### Step 3: Restart & Verify

1. Restart Claude Desktop
2. Look for the **hammer/tools icon** in the bottom-right corner

**📁 Config file locations:**
| OS | Path |
|----|------|
| macOS | `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` |
| Windows | `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` |

</details>

<details>
<summary><h3>🔵 Claude Code (CLI)</h3></summary>

#### Option A: Quick Setup (CLI)

```bash
# Add the MCP server
claude mcp add seo-research --scope user -- uvx --python 3.10 seo-mcp

# Set your API key
export CAPSOLVER_API_KEY="YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
```

#### Option B: Config File

Add to `~/.claude.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "seo-research": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--python", "3.10", "seo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CAPSOLVER_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

#### Verify Installation

```bash
claude mcp list
```

</details>

<details>
<summary><h3>🟢 Cursor</h3></summary>

#### Global Setup (All Projects)

Create `~/.cursor/mcp.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "seo-research": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--python", "3.10", "seo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CAPSOLVER_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

#### Project Setup (Single Project)

Create `.cursor/mcp.json` in your project root with the same content.

#### Verify Installation

1. Go to **File** → **Preferences** → **Cursor Settings**
2. Select **MCP** in the sidebar
3. Check that `seo-research` appears under **Available Tools**

</details>

<details>
<summary><h3>🌊 Windsurf</h3></summary>

#### Step 1: Open Settings

- **Mac:** `Cmd + Shift + P` → "Open Windsurf Settings"
- **Windows/Linux:** `Ctrl + Shift + P` → "Open Windsurf Settings"

#### Step 2: Add Configuration

Navigate to **Cascade** → **MCP Servers** → **Edit raw mcp_config.json**:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "seo-research": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--python", "3.10", "seo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CAPSOLVER_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**📁 Config location:** `~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json`

</details>

<details>
<summary><h3>💜 VS Code (GitHub Copilot)</h3></summary>

> ⚠️ Requires VS Code 1.102+ with GitHub Copilot

#### Setup

Create `.vscode/mcp.json` in your workspace:

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "seo-research": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--python", "3.10", "seo-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "CAPSOLVER_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

#### Activate

1. Open the `.vscode/mcp.json` file
2. Click the **Start** button that appears
3. In Chat view, click **Tools** to toggle MCP tools
4. Use `#tool_name` in prompts to invoke tools

</details>

<details>
<summary><h3>⚡ Zed</h3></summary>

#### Setup

Add to your Zed `settings.json`:

```json
{
  "context_servers": {
    "seo-research": {
      "command": {
        "path": "uvx",
        "args": ["--python", "3.10", "seo-mcp"],
        "env": {
          "CAPSOLVER_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

#### Verify

1. Open **Agent Panel** settings
2. Check the indicator dot next to `seo-research`
3. **Green dot** = Server is active

</details>

---

## 📖 API Reference

### `get_backlinks_list(domain)`

Get backlink data for any domain.

```python
# Input
domain: str  # e.g., "example.com"

# Output
{
  "overview": {
    "domainRating": 76,
    "backlinks": 1500,
    "refDomains": 300
  },
  "backlinks": [
    {
      "anchor": "Example link",
      "domainRating": 76,
      "title": "Page title",
      "urlFrom": "https://source.com/page",
      "urlTo": "https://example.com/page",
      "edu": false,
      "gov": false
    }
  ]
}
```

---

### `keyword_generator(keyword, country?, search_engine?)`

Generate keyword ideas from a seed keyword.

```python
# Input
keyword: str        # Seed keyword
country: str        # Default: "us"
search_engine: str  # Default: "Google"

# Output
[
  {
    "keyword": "example keyword",
    "volume": 1000,
    "difficulty": 45
  }
]
```

---

### `get_traffic(domain_or_url, country?, mode?)`

Estimate search traffic for a website.

```python
# Input
domain_or_url: str  # Domain or full URL
country: str        # Default: "None" (all countries)
mode: str           # "subdomains" | "exact"

# Output
{
  "traffic": {
    "trafficMonthlyAvg": 50000,
    "costMontlyAvg": 25000
  },
  "top_pages": [...],
  "top_countries": [...],
  "top_keywords": [...]
}
```

---

### `keyword_difficulty(keyword, country?)`

Get keyword difficulty score with SERP analysis.

```python
# Input
keyword: str   # Keyword to analyze
country: str   # Default: "us"

# Output
{
  "difficulty": 45,
  "serp": [...]
}
```

---

## ⚙️ How It Works

```
┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│     Your     │     │   CapSolver  │     │    Ahrefs    │     │   Formatted  │
│    AI IDE    │────▶│   (CAPTCHA)  │────▶│     API      │────▶│    Results   │
└──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘
```

1. **Request** → Your AI assistant calls an MCP tool
2. **CAPTCHA** → CapSolver handles Cloudflare verification
3. **Data** → Ahrefs API returns SEO data
4. **Response** → Formatted results appear in your IDE

---

## 🐛 Troubleshooting

| Problem | Solution |
|---------|----------|
| "CapSolver API key error" | Check `CAPSOLVER_API_KEY` is set correctly |
| Rate limiting | Wait a few minutes, reduce request frequency |
| No results | Domain may not be indexed by Ahrefs |
| Server not appearing | Restart your IDE after config changes |
| Connection timeout | Check your internet connection |

---

## 🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

### Ways to Contribute

- **🐛 Report Bugs** - Found an issue? [Open a bug report](https://github.com/egebese/seo-research-mcp/issues/new?template=bug_report.md)
- **💡 Suggest Features** - Have an idea? [Request a feature](https://github.com/egebese/seo-research-mcp/issues/new?template=feature_request.md)
- **📝 Improve Docs** - Fix typos, clarify instructions, add examples
- **🔧 Submit Code** - Bug fixes, new features, optimizations

### Development Setup

```bash
# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/egebese/seo-research-mcp.git
cd seo-research-mcp

# Install dependencies
uv sync

# Run locally
python main.py
```

### Pull Request Process

1. **Fork** the repository
2. **Create** a feature branch (`git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature`)
3. **Commit** your changes (`git commit -m 'Add amazing feature'`)
4. **Push** to your branch (`git push origin feature/amazing-feature`)
5. **Open** a Pull Request

### Code Guidelines

- Keep code simple and readable
- Add comments for complex logic
- Test your changes before submitting
- Follow existing code style

---

## 📊 Star History

[![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/svg?repos=egebese/seo-research-mcp&type=Date)](https://star-history.com/#egebese/seo-research-mcp&Date)

---

## 📄 License

This project is licensed under the **MIT License** with an educational use notice.

See [LICENSE](LICENSE) for full details.

---

## 🙏 Credits

This project is a fork of [seo-mcp](https://github.com/cnych/seo-mcp) by [@cnych](https://github.com/cnych).

Special thanks to the original author for creating this tool.

---

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**⭐ If this helps your SEO research, consider giving it a star! ⭐**

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