Keyword research with Claude Code: a volume skill

Keyword research is a list job: take a set of phrases, attach volume and cost per click to each, sort. It is exactly the kind of work an agent does well once it has the right tool and the right instruction, and does badly when it answers from memory.

This post shows how to do it from Claude Code with a skill, what the numbers mean and what to check before you trust them.

Can Claude Code do keyword research?

Yes, when it can call a keyword data source. On its own a model can suggest phrases, but it cannot know how many people search for them. Volume and cost per click come from a data provider, and the agent has to call one.

The keyword volume skill does that, one of the 20 skills in the library. It takes a list of keywords, a country and a language, calls the cheapest provider that returns volume, and hands back a table sorted by volume.

What does the keyword volume skill ask for?

Two things beyond the keywords: the country and the language. Volume differs by market, so a number with no country attached cannot be compared. The skill asks when you do not say.

It then reads the price of the endpoint and tells you before it runs. A batch of keywords is one call at that price, so a list of fifty costs the same per call as a list of five.

What comes back?

Per keyword: search volume per month, cost per click, paid competition, search intent and keyword difficulty where the provider returns it. The skill sorts by volume and states the country the numbers belong to.

The live price per call for the volume endpoint is below. It is read from the catalog and changes when the provider changes.

How do I read the numbers?

Volume is an estimate of searches in a month, not a count. Treat it as a ranking between your keywords, not a promise of traffic. Cost per click is what advertisers pay on average, and a high figure signals commercial intent.

Difficulty is a provider's own score of how hard it is to rank, so do not compare it across providers. Use it to order your own list.

What should I check before I trust a list?

Three things. First, the country, because a global number hides the market you sell in. The date, because the volume figure is an average that moves. And the keyword's intent, because a high-volume phrase that wants an answer, not a purchase, will not convert the way its CPC suggests.

A second skill closes the loop. After you pick a keyword, the Google results skill reads who ranks for it today, so you can judge the gap before you write.

Try it: a prompt for your agent

What it cannot do

• It does not tell you what will rank. Volume is demand, not your chance of winning it.
• It does not give exact numbers. Providers estimate, and two providers can disagree.
• It does not track rankings over time. Scheduled tracking is not available yet.

Last checked 2026-10-04 against the looot skill library and the live catalog. Author: the looot team.