A straightforward guide to connecting DataForSEO’s tools with Claude Desktop what you need to know.

What You’ll Need First

Before we start, make sure you’ve got these three things sorted:

  1. Claude Desktop installed on your computer (works on Windows, Mac, or Linux)
  2. Node.js version 14 or newer – grab it from here if you haven’t got it
  3. A DataForSEO account with your API details ready – sign up here if you need one

Step 1: Finding Your DataForSEO Login Details

Right, first things first – you need your API credentials from DataForSEO. Here’s where to find them:

  1. Head to your DataForSEO Dashboard
  2. Click on the API Access section
  3. You’ll see two bits of information:
    • Your username (same as your login)
    • Your password (specifically for API access)

Keep these safe – you’ll need them in a moment. Worth noting that DataForSEO uses something called Basic Authentication, which basically means your username and password get combined and encoded before being sent to their servers. The good news? The connection tool handles all that automatically.

Step 2: The Quick Setup Method

Here’s the simplest way to get everything running – we’ll use something called npx, which lets you run the server without installing it permanently on your computer.

Setting Your Login Details

First, you need to tell your computer about your DataForSEO credentials. Pick the right option for your system:

Windows (Command Prompt):

set DATAFORSEO_USERNAME=your_username
set DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD=your_password

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:DATAFORSEO_USERNAME="your_username"
$env:DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD="your_password"

Mac or Linux:

export DATAFORSEO_USERNAME=your_username
export DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD=your_password

Telling Claude About DataForSEO

Now we need to update Claude’s settings so it knows how to connect to DataForSEO:

  1. Open Claude Desktop
  2. Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config
  3. Add this bit of code to your claude_desktop_config.json file:
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dataforseo": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["dataforseo-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "DATAFORSEO_USERNAME": "your_username_here",
        "DATAFORSEO_PASSWORD": "your_password_here",
        "ENABLED_MODULES": "SERP,KEYWORDS_DATA,DATAFORSEO_LABS,BACKLINKS"
      }
    }
  }
}

Don’t forget: Replace your_username_here and your_password_here with your actual DataForSEO details.

Choosing Which Tools You Want

DataForSEO offers different modules depending on what you need. You can pick and choose by updating the ENABLED_MODULES line. Here’s what’s available:

  • SERP – Real-time search results from Google and other search engines
  • KEYWORDS_DATA – Keyword research, search volumes, and competition data
  • ONPAGE – Website crawling and technical SEO checks
  • DATAFORSEO_LABS – Advanced SEO analytics and insights
  • BACKLINKS – Link analysis and backlink profiles
  • BUSINESS_DATA – Business reviews and local SEO information
  • DOMAIN_ANALYTICS – Website traffic estimates and technology stacks
  • CONTENT_ANALYSIS – Brand monitoring and sentiment tracking

Want everything? Use this line instead:

"ENABLED_MODULES": "SERP,KEYWORDS_DATA,ONPAGE,DATAFORSEO_LABS,BACKLINKS,BUSINESS_DATA,DOMAIN_ANALYTICS,CONTENT_ANALYSIS"

Step 3: Other Ways to Set It Up

Installing It Permanently

If you’d rather have the server installed on your computer permanently:

  1. Install it globally using this command:
    npm install -g dataforseo-mcp-server
  2. Then update your Claude config to use it directly:
    {"command": "dataforseo-mcp-server"}

    (instead of using npx)

Setting Up for Development

If you want to tinker with the code or customise things:

  1. Clone the repository:
    git clone https://github.com/dataforseo/mcp-server-typescript
    cd mcp-server-typescript
    npm install
    npm run build
  2. Point Claude to your local version with the full path:
    {"command": "node", "args": ["C:/path/to/mcp-server-typescript/build/index.js"]}

Step 4: Checking Everything Works

Once you’ve updated the configuration:

  1. Restart Claude Desktop completely
  2. Start a new conversation
  3. Ask Claude something like: “Can you check if the DataForSEO connection is working and tell me what tools are available?”

If everything’s set up correctly, Claude will confirm the connection and list the available tools.

Step 5: What You Can Do Now

With DataForSEO connected, you can ask Claude to do all sorts of SEO tasks. Here are some examples to get you started:

Keyword Research

“Use DataForSEO to find keyword ideas for ‘content marketing’ – I need search volumes and CPC data”

Checking Search Results

“Get me the current Google search results for ‘best SEO tools 2025’ using DataForSEO”

Backlink Analysis

“Can you analyse the backlink profile of example.com with DataForSEO?”

Website Audits

“Run an on-page SEO audit of https://example.com using DataForSEO”

Advanced Settings (Optional)

Getting Just the Data You Need

If you find the responses are too detailed, you can create a configuration file to filter the data:

  1. Create a file called field-config.json with your preferred fields:
    {
      "supported_fields": {
        "serp_google": ["title", "url", "description", "position"],
        "keywords_for_site": ["keyword", "search_volume", "cpc", "competition"]
      }
    }
  2. Tell Claude to use it by adding the path to your config:
    "args": ["dataforseo-mcp-server", "--configuration", "C:/path/to/field-config.json"]

Getting Complete API Responses

Want the full, unfiltered data from DataForSEO? Add this to your environment settings:

"DATAFORSEO_FULL_RESPONSE": "true"

Fixing Common Problems

“Command not found” errors

  • Check Node.js is properly installed
  • Make sure it’s in your system PATH
  • Try using the full path to npx or node

Authentication problems

  • Double-check your username and password are correct
  • Make sure they’re properly added to the config file
  • Remember: these are separate fields in the config, not combined or encoded

Server won’t start

  • Check if another program is using port 3000
  • Make sure all the required files are installed
  • Look at Claude Desktop’s logs for more specific error messages

No tools showing up

  • Check your ENABLED_MODULES setting is correct
  • Make sure your DataForSEO subscription includes the modules you’re trying to use
  • Remember to restart Claude Desktop after changing the configuration

Where to Get Help

Practical Examples

Competitor Analysis Workflow

Try asking Claude to:

  1. “Get the top 10 Google results for ‘project management software'”
  2. “Extract the main keywords from these competitor pages”
  3. “Find keyword gaps and opportunities we could target”
  4. “Analyse the backlink profiles of the top 3 results”

Content Research

Build a content strategy by asking:

  1. “Find trending keywords in digital marketing”
  2. “Show me search volumes and difficulty scores”
  3. “Identify long-tail keyword opportunities”
  4. “Generate content ideas based on search intent”

Technical SEO Audit

Get a comprehensive site check:

  1. “Crawl website.com and identify technical SEO issues”
  2. “Check page load times and Core Web Vitals”
  3. “Find broken links and redirect chains”
  4. “Analyse meta descriptions and title tags”

Wrapping Up

That’s it – you’ve now got DataForSEO connected to Claude Desktop. This setup gives you:

  • Complete SEO analysis without leaving Claude
  • Real-time SERP data and keyword metrics
  • Automated SEO workflows and reporting
  • The ability to combine AI insights with actual SEO data

Just keep an eye on your DataForSEO API usage through their dashboard – you don’t want to blow through your monthly allowance too quickly.

One last tip: Gemini mentioned that some users have found environment variables don’t always pass through correctly in Claude’s config. If you run into this issue, try passing your credentials directly in the args array instead. The DataForSEO team are pretty responsive if you need help sorting any quirks.