AlsoAsked MCP Server: Bringing "People Also Ask" Insights Directly into AI

As an SEO professional and developer, I’ve always been fascinated by the wealth of information hidden in Google’s “People Also Ask” (PAA) boxes. These questions reveal genuine search intent and content gaps that can drive powerful SEO strategies. But constantly switching between tools, copying data, and manually analyzing PAA results felt inefficient.

That’s when I discovered the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and realized I could build something game-changing: an AlsoAsked MCP server that brings real-time PAA data directly into AI assistants like Claude.

What is the AlsoAsked MCP Server?

The AlsoAsked MCP server is a bridge between AI assistants and the AlsoAsked API, which provides structured access to Google’s “People Also Ask” data. Instead of manually researching PAA questions, you can now ask your AI assistant to:

• Analyze PAA questions for any search term
• Compare search intent across different geographic locations
• Research content gaps in your niche
• Generate hierarchical question trees
• Track account usage and credits

All of this happens seamlessly within your AI conversation, leveraging Claude’s reasoning capabilities to analyze and interpret the data. See the X thread and example outputs.

Key Features

Real-Time PAA Data

Access fresh “People Also Ask” questions directly from Google’s search results, with options for both cached and fresh data depending on your needs.

Geographic Targeting

One of the most powerful features is geographic targeting using latitude and longitude coordinates. Want to see how search intent differs between Texas and New York? Just include location and Claude will handle the rest automatically:

Location	Coordinates
Texas	31.9686, -99.9018
New York	40.7128, -74.0060

This reveals fascinating regional differences in search behavior and content opportunities.

Multi-Language Support

The server supports 50+ languages, from English, Turkish and Spanish to Japanese and Arabic, making it perfect for international SEO strategies.

Hierarchical Analysis

Configure question depth from 1-3 levels to get comprehensive question trees that reveal how related questions branch out from your main search term.

Three Powerful Tools

Tool	Purpose	Use Case
search_people_also_ask	Bulk PAA research for multiple terms	Content strategy planning
search_single_term	Quick single-term queries	Rapid keyword research
get_account_info	Track your API usage and credits	Account management

Technical Implementation

The Challenge: Authentication

The first hurdle was understanding the AlsoAsked API’s authentication method. Unlike many APIs that use standard Authorization: Bearer headers, AlsoAsked requires the API key in an X-Api-Key header:

const headers = {
  'X-Api-Key': 'your-api-key',
  'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  'User-Agent': 'AlsoAsked-MCP-Server/0.1.0'
};

Environment Setup

To keep API keys secure, I implemented environment variable support using dotenv:

import 'dotenv/config';

class AlsoAskedMCPServer {
  private apiKey: string;

  constructor() {
    this.apiKey = process.env.ALSOASKED_API_KEY || '';

    if (!this.apiKey) {
      console.error('ALSOASKED_API_KEY environment variable is required');
      process.exit(1);
    }
  }
}

Geographic Targeting Implementation

The geographic targeting feature required extending the API interface to support latitude and longitude:

interface SearchRequestOptions {
  terms: string[];
  language?: string;
  region?: string;
  latitude?: number;
  longitude?: number;
  depth?: number;
  fresh?: boolean;
  async?: boolean;
  notifyWebhooks?: boolean;
}

Error Handling and Validation

Robust error handling ensures users get meaningful feedback:

private async makeApiRequest(endpoint: string, options: RequestInit = {}): Promise {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(url, { ...options, headers });

    if (!response.ok) {
      const errorText = await response.text();
      throw new Error(`AlsoAsked API error: ${response.status} ${response.statusText} - ${errorText}`);
    }

    return await response.json();
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(`API request failed: ${error}`);
    throw error;
  }
}

Real-World Use Cases

Content Gap Analysis

Ask Claude: “What PAA questions exist for ‘sustainable fashion’ that I should cover in my blog?”

Claude analyzes the hierarchical question data and identifies content opportunities you might have missed.

Local SEO Strategy

Ask Claude: “Compare restaurant-related PAAs between Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon”

This reveals regional preferences and local search intent differences.

Competitor Research

Ask Claude: “What questions do people ask about email marketing tools?”

Discover what your audience wants to know that competitors might not be addressing.

International Content Planning

Ask Claude: “Research PAA questions for ‘digital marketing’ in German and Spanish markets”

Perfect for planning multi-language content strategies.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• AlsoAsked API key
• Claude or another MCP-compatible AI assistant

Installation

1️Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/metehan777/alsoasked-mcp
cd alsoasked-mcp

2️Install dependencies:

npm install

3️Set up environment variables:

Create a .env file:

ALSOASKED_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

4️Build the project:

npm run build

5️Configure your AI assistant:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "alsoasked": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/alsoasked-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "ALSOASKED_API_KEY": "your-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Example Usage

Once configured, you can ask your AI assistant questions like:

• “Search for PAA questions about ‘machine learning’ in the US market”
• “Compare content marketing questions between UK and US regions”
• “Find hierarchical questions for ‘sustainable living’ with geographic targeting for California”

The Impact on SEO Workflow

This MCP server fundamentally changes how I approach SEO research:

Before:

graph LR
    A[Manual PAA Research] --> B[Copy/Paste Data]
    B --> C[Analyze in Spreadsheets]
    C --> D[Generate Insights]

After:

graph LR
    A[Natural AI Conversation] --> B[Real-time Data Analysis]
    B --> C[Immediate Actionable Insights]

The AI’s reasoning capabilities combined with real-time PAA data create a powerful synergy that speeds up research and uncovers insights I might have missed.

Future Enhancements

I’m planning several improvements:

• Batch processing for large-scale research projects
• Historical data comparison to track question trends
• Integration with other SEO APIs for comprehensive analysis
• Custom reporting formats for different stakeholders
• Automated content brief generation based on PAA analysis
• Question clustering and categorization using AI

Conclusion

Building the AlsoAsked MCP server has been an incredible journey into the intersection of AI and SEO tools. The ability to seamlessly access real-time PAA data within AI conversations opens up new possibilities for content strategy and SEO research.

The geographic targeting feature, in particular, has proven invaluable for understanding regional search intent differences. Whether you’re planning local SEO campaigns or international content strategies, having this data at your fingertips accelerates decision-making.

Key Takeaway: If you’re working in SEO, content marketing, or digital strategy, I encourage you to explore MCP servers. They represent a new paradigm where AI assistants become powerful research partners rather than just conversational tools.

The future of SEO research is here, and it’s AI-powered, data-driven, and seamlessly integrated.

Get Involved

Ready to try it yourself? The AlsoAsked MCP server is open source and available for the community to use and contribute to. Let’s build the future of SEO tools together!

Links & Resources

• GitHub Repository: alsoasked-mcp
• AlsoAsked API Docs: developers.alsoasked.com
• Model Context Protocol: modelcontextprotocol.io
• MCP SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

Connect

Have questions or want to share your own MCP server projects?

• X: @metehan777
• LinkedIn: Connect with me
• GitHub Issues: Ask questions or report bugs

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