Engineering insights
Tutorials, deep dives, and practical guides for building AI agents with real-time web search.
TikTok Comment Sentiment for Brand Monitoring via API
Pull video comments via TikTok API, run sentiment analysis, and detect brand mentions. One credit per comments request at $0.005 each.
Vetting Influencer Follower Quality via TikTok API
Checking follower quality via TikTok API: pull follower sample, measure engagement rates, detect bot patterns. Costs roughly $0.05 per creator to vet.
TikTok Hashtag Trend Detection with a Daily API Pipeline
Monitor hashtag video counts over time to detect rising trends. TikTok hashtag endpoint plus a daily cron gives early trend signals before topics peak.
Tracking Walmart Product Data Without Scraping
Track Walmart product prices, rankings, and availability via search API. Structured JSON output without fighting Walmart's anti-bot defenses directly.
YouTube Data API v3 View Count Lag: SERP API Workaround
YouTube Data API v3 viewCount can freeze for 24 hours or more during high-traffic events. A SERP API call returns fresher stats without the lag.
Agent Search After the Tavily-Nebius Deal
Tavily acquired by Nebius for $275M. Free tier getting restrictive, enterprise focus. Migration paths for developers who built on Tavily's generous free tier.
AI Overview Tracking After Google I/O Changes
AI Overviews are default for 1B+ users post-I/O. Track which queries trigger overviews and whether your domain gets cited. Build tracking for under $15/month.
Amazon Scraper Maintenance Takes Longer Than Using Data
Amazon changes layouts 2-3x/month, rotates anti-bot weekly, blocks IPs aggressively. Structured API eliminates maintenance: no selectors, no proxies, no CAPTCHAs.
Apollo Fails for Local SMBs: What Actually Works
Apollo skews corporate. Local plumbers, restaurants, salons are not in the database. Google Maps via search API returns live business data at $0.005/query.
B2B Local Business Data Without Apollo
80% of local businesses are not in Apollo. Google Maps search data returns live business info with phone, website, ratings. Covers what Apollo misses for local B2B.
Cold Email to E-commerce: Data Enrichment Pipeline
Cold email converts 2-3x better with live product data enrichment. Check their rankings, Amazon presence, AI visibility. Cost: $0.015 per enriched lead.
Custom Rank Tracker After Google I/O 2026
Post-I/O rank trackers need organic position AND AI Overview citation tracking. Off-the-shelf tools miss AI Mode. Build your own for under $30/month.
Dropship Product Research: APIs vs Scrapers
APIs return product data from Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop at $0.005/query. Scrapers break monthly and cost $50-200 in proxies. APIs win on cost and reliability.
E-commerce Intelligence Without Maintaining Scrapers
Product pricing, competitor analysis, and market trends from Amazon, Walmart, TikTok Shop via structured API. No proxy costs, CAPTCHA solving, or selector maintenance.
Franchise Multi-Unit Operator Discovery via API
Discover multi-unit franchise operators by searching Google Maps, grouping by shared contacts, and scoring by location count. Highest-value B2B prospects.
1B AI Mode Users: Tracking Brand Visibility
With 1B Google AI Mode users, brand visibility depends on AI Overview citations, not just organic rank. Build a citation tracker with SERP API for under $15/month.
Google I/O 2026 AI Mode: SERP API Impact
Google I/O 2026 introduced AI Mode to 1B+ monthly users. What this means for SERP API consumers: AI Overview tracking, Information Agents, and new search surfaces.
Google Maps Data: API vs Scraping for SMB Leads
SERP API returns Google Maps business data legally at $0.005/query. Direct scraping violates ToS, gets blocked, and costs more in proxies. API wins for SMB leads.
Google Search Is Over: What Developers Do Now
Google Search as you know it is over was the I/O headline. The reality: blue links still exist under AI Mode summaries. Developers need structured APIs and AI Overview tracking.
GSC + SERP Data: Combined SEO Workflow via MCP
GSC shows clicks and impressions. SERP API shows rankings, competitors, and AI Overview citations. Combined they answer why traffic changed, not just what.
Hermes Agent: Browser Automation vs Search API
Use browser automation for behind-login pages. Use search API for everything else. Most Hermes tasks should default to API search -- faster, cheaper, more reliable.
Google Information Agents: What SEOs Need to Know
Google Information Agents launched at I/O 2026 autonomously monitor the web and send synthesized updates. SEO implications: your content surfaces without user queries.
Measuring LLM Visibility at Scale: Real Options 2026
Track whether AI models cite your brand: SERP API with AI Overview tracking, manual cross-model checks, or automated monitoring. All LLMs use Google data.
Local LLM Web Search: Beyond SearXNG in 2026
SearXNG gets blocked under sustained use. MCP search APIs work with Ollama, LM Studio, oMLX without self-hosting. Structured results, multi-platform, no proxy maintenance.
MCP Search Gateway: Multi-Provider Pattern 2026
Route agent search through a single MCP gateway that handles failover, load balancing, and provider selection. One config for all agents, automatic fallback.
n8n Search Nodes vs HTTP Request in 2026
HTTP Request node with structured search API beats dedicated n8n search nodes. More flexible, cheaper, supports AI Overview data and multi-platform search.
Open-Source Semrush on Cloudflare: What Actually Works
You can build a rank tracker and AI visibility monitor on Cloudflare for $15-50/month. You cannot build a Semrush replacement -- the backlink index costs millions.
Pi Coding Agent Search: Ketch, SearXNG, APIs Compared
Pi Coding Agent search tool comparison: Ketch for URL extraction, SearXNG for privacy, MCP search APIs for multi-platform reliability. Setup code for each.
Programmatic SEO Strategy After Google I/O 2026
After I/O 2026, programmatic SEO needs AI Overview awareness. Generate AEO-first pages, target long-tail queries with AI citations, track citation rate as KPI.
QSR Operator List Building via Search API
Build QSR franchise operator lists from Google Maps data. Group by shared phone/website to find multi-unit operators. Under $10 for 50 metro areas.