# Serp Feature Opportunity Finder (`apage/serp-feature-opportunity-finder`) Actor

Scrape Google SERPs to find Featured Snippet and People Also Ask (PAA) opportunities. Automatically track competitor gaps, check your organic position, and get actionable content suggestions to win SERP features without ongoing rank-tracking costs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/apage/serp-feature-opportunity-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Andy Page](https://apify.com/apage) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, Automation, Other
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## SERP Feature Opportunity Finder

A powerful, one-time batch analyzer that scrapes Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) to detect features like Featured Snippets and People Also Ask (PAA). It checks your domain's presence and generates actionable opportunity reports with content suggestions for your SEO workflows.

Perfect for in-house SEOs, content managers, and agencies who want structured, actionable insights across dozens or hundreds of keywords without paying for ongoing rank-tracking tools.

### 🎯 Key Features

- **Competitor Gap Analysis:** Track up to 50 competitor domains. See exactly which competitors own the Featured Snippets or appear in the PAA answers you're targeting.
- **Pre-Built Action Views:** Don't drown in CSVs. Use our custom dataset views to instantly filter for "Quick Wins" (where you rank well but miss the snippet) or "Content Expansion" (where PAA questions are ripe for the taking).
- **SERP Feature Detection:** Detects Featured Snippets, People Also Ask (PAA), Video Carousels, Image Packs, Shopping Results, and Local Packs.
- **Domain Presence Check:** Input your domain to see where you rank organically and whether you hold the snippet or appear in PAA.
- **Actionable Opportunity Report:** Automatically generates an `opportunitySummary` and `contentSuggestions` (e.g., "Format as numbered steps to win the snippet") based on keyword intent and current SERP landscape.
- **One-Time Batch Analysis:** No continuous tracking required. Run on demand or schedule quarterly via Apify.

### 💡 Use Cases

1. **Competitor Snapshot:** Run a client's keywords and input their top 3 rivals in `competitorDomains`. Instantly see which rivals hold snippets and where the client is lagging.
2. **Content Planning:** Use the "Content Expansion (PAA)" view to pull PAA questions and snippet-format hints to brief writers or plan your content calendar.
3. **Quarterly SERP Audits:** Run a keyword list and your domain to prioritize where you can win SERP features. Check the "Quick Wins" view to see where you rank in the top 10 but don't hold the snippet yet.

### 📥 Input

The Actor accepts a JSON object. Here are the key fields:

- `apifyToken` (optional string): Your Apify API token. **Required if you are on a Free/Starter plan.** This Actor relies on the official `apify/google-search-scraper` to ensure perfect data quality and bypass bot protections. Since that is a "Public Actor", Apify restricts Free accounts from calling it programmatically. By pasting your API token here, you allow the Actor to run the scraper on your behalf.
- `keywords` (required array of strings): List of search queries to analyze.
- `yourDomain` (optional string): The domain to check for presence in SERP features and organic results (e.g. `example.com`).
- `competitorDomains` (optional array of strings): List of competitor domains to track (e.g. `competitor.com`). The Actor will check if they hold the featured snippet or appear in PAA.
- `country` (optional string): Country code for SERP geography (default: `US`).
- `language` (optional string): Language code for search results (default: `en`).
- `includePaaQuestions` (optional boolean): If true, includes the full list of PAA questions (default: `true`).

#### Example Input

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "how to bake bread",
    "best bread flour",
    "sourdough starter recipe"
  ],
  "yourDomain": "mybakeryblog.com",
  "competitorDomains": [
    "kingarthurbaking.com",
    "theperfectloaf.com"
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "maxKeywords": 50,
  "maxOrganicResults": 20,
  "includePaaQuestions": true
}
```

### 📤 Output

The Actor outputs one dataset item per keyword. The dataset includes:

- **Features Present:** Booleans for `hasFeaturedSnippet`, `hasPaa`, `hasVideoCarousel`, etc.
- **Snippet Details:** `featuredSnippetDomain`, `featuredSnippetType`, and `featuredSnippetText`.
- **Your Position:** `yourOrganicPosition`, `yourSiteInFeaturedSnippet`, `yourSiteInPaa`.
- **Competitor Insights:** `competitorInFeaturedSnippet`, `competitorsInPaa`.
- **Opportunity:** `hasOpportunity`, `opportunitySummary`, and `contentSuggestions`.
- **PAA Questions:** `paaQuestions` array (if enabled).

#### Example Output Item

```json
{
  "keyword": "how to bake bread",
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "hasFeaturedSnippet": true,
  "hasPaa": true,
  "hasVideoCarousel": false,
  "hasImagePack": false,
  "hasShoppingResults": false,
  "hasLocalPack": false,
  "featuredSnippetDomain": "competitor.com",
  "featuredSnippetType": "list",
  "featuredSnippetText": "1. Mix flour and yeast. 2. Add water and salt. 3. Knead...",
  "yourOrganicPosition": 4,
  "yourSiteInFeaturedSnippet": false,
  "yourSiteInPaa": false,
  "yourSiteInVideoCarousel": false,
  "opportunitySummary": "Featured snippet held by competitor.com; you rank #4. Format your content as numbered steps to win the snippet.",
  "hasOpportunity": true,
  "paaQuestions": [
    "How long does bread take to bake?",
    "What flour is best for bread?"
  ],
  "contentSuggestions": [
    "Format your content as numbered steps to win the snippet.",
    "Add an FAQ section answering the 2 PAA questions."
  ],
  "serpUrl": "https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+bake+bread",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-02-21T14:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### ⚖️ Legal Disclaimer

Use of SERP data and compliance with Google's Terms of Service (and any applicable law) are the user's responsibility. This Actor retrieves data from publicly available web pages. You should not scrape personal data or copyrighted material unless you have a legitimate reason to do so. If you're unsure whether your use case is legitimate, please consult an attorney.

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

List of search queries to analyze. The Actor will scrape the current SERP for each keyword and produce one result item per keyword with SERP features, your ranking (if yourDomain is set), and opportunity suggestions.

## `yourDomain` (type: `string`):

The domain to check for presence in SERP features and organic results (e.g. example.com). Do not include protocol (http/https). When provided, the Actor will report your organic position, whether you hold the featured snippet or appear in PAA, and tailor opportunity and content suggestions. Leave empty for a feature-only audit without “your site” analysis.

## `competitorDomains` (type: `array`):

List of competitor domains to track (e.g. competitor.com). The Actor will check if they hold the featured snippet or appear in PAA, giving you a competitive gap analysis.

## `apifyToken` (type: `string`):

Your Apify API token (starts with 'apify\_api\_'). Required only if you're on a plan that restricts public Actor execution. Providing this token allows the tool to run the underlying Google Scraper using your account's access.

## `country` (type: `string`):

Country code for SERP geography (e.g. US, UK, DE). Used when fetching Google search results so SERPs match the target market.

## `language` (type: `string`):

Language code for search results (e.g. en, es, de). Affects the language of the SERP and results.

## `maxKeywords` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of keywords to process. Caps the run to avoid excessive cost and run time. If the keywords array has more than this number, only the first maxKeywords are processed.

## `maxOrganicResults` (type: `integer`):

How many organic results to consider when determining “your” position. The Actor will report your first occurrence within this range (1-based position, or 0 if not found).

## `includePaaQuestions` (type: `boolean`):

If true, the output will include the full list of People Also Ask questions in paaQuestions for each keyword. If false, PAA presence is still reported but the question list may be omitted or truncated to save output size.

## `useApifyProxy` (type: `boolean`):

If true, SERP requests are sent through Apify Proxy to reduce blocking. Recommended for production runs.

## `delayBetweenRequestsMs` (type: `integer`):

Delay in milliseconds between processing each keyword. Helps avoid rate limiting when scraping SERPs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "how to bake bread",
    "what is sourdough"
  ],
  "yourDomain": "myblog.com",
  "competitorDomains": [
    "competitor.com"
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en",
  "maxKeywords": 100,
  "maxOrganicResults": 20,
  "includePaaQuestions": true,
  "useApifyProxy": true,
  "delayBetweenRequestsMs": 2000
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

API URL to fetch dataset items (JSON array).

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "keywords": [
        "how to bake bread",
        "best bread flour",
        "sourdough starter recipe"
    ],
    "yourDomain": "example.com",
    "competitorDomains": [
        "competitor1.com",
        "competitor2.com"
    ],
    "country": "US",
    "language": "en"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("apage/serp-feature-opportunity-finder").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "keywords": [
        "how to bake bread",
        "best bread flour",
        "sourdough starter recipe",
    ],
    "yourDomain": "example.com",
    "competitorDomains": [
        "competitor1.com",
        "competitor2.com",
    ],
    "country": "US",
    "language": "en",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("apage/serp-feature-opportunity-finder").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "keywords": [
    "how to bake bread",
    "best bread flour",
    "sourdough starter recipe"
  ],
  "yourDomain": "example.com",
  "competitorDomains": [
    "competitor1.com",
    "competitor2.com"
  ],
  "country": "US",
  "language": "en"
}' |
apify call apage/serp-feature-opportunity-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=apage/serp-feature-opportunity-finder",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/aoVswFTcvtopcQiFN/builds/90n8TKjplYNlmIOyK/openapi.json