REST API overview
The CheckSEO API allows you to start audits, check progress, and retrieve results programmatically. Key endpoints: • POST /api/audits — start an audit (body: {url, lang, skip_performance, skip_broken_links}) • GET /api/audits/{id}/status — poll audit progress (returns step, percent, status) • GET /api/audits/{id}/result — get full audit results as JSON Authentication: optional. Anonymous users get 3 audits/month. API key (csk_...) in Authorization: Bearer header unlocks plan limits. API keys are available on Agency and Enterprise plans.
Starting an audit via API
POST https://checkseo.site/api/audits Content-Type: application/json Authorization: Bearer csk_your_key (optional) {"url": "https://example.com", "lang": "en"} Response: {"audit_id": "uuid", "url": "https://example.com"} The audit runs asynchronously in the background (typically 30–90 seconds). Poll the status endpoint until status is 'done', then fetch the result.
Audit result structure
GET /api/audits/{id}/result returns: • audit_id, url, lang, status, created_at, duration_seconds • overall_score (0–100) • report — nested object with 10 category results, each containing: score, issues (list of {severity, message, recommendation}), and category-specific metrics • report.all_issues — flat list of all issues across categories • report.recommendations — deduplicated action items sorted by severity
MCP server for AI assistants
CheckSEO includes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets AI assistants like Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible tools run SEO audits as tool calls. Installation: pip install seo-audit[mcp] Tools available: • run_seo_audit(url, lang) — start audit, wait for completion, return full results • get_audit_status(audit_id) — check progress of a running audit • get_audit_result(audit_id) — get results of a completed audit Configure in Claude Desktop (~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json): {"mcpServers": {"checkseo": {"command": "seo-audit-mcp", "env": {"CHECKSEO_API_KEY": "csk_..."}}}} Or in Claude Code: claude mcp add checkseo seo-audit-mcp -e CHECKSEO_API_KEY=csk_...
Rate limits and plans
API rate limits by plan: • Free: 3 audits/month, 5/minute burst • Registered: 5 audits/month • Pro ($19/mo): 30 audits/month • Agency ($49/mo): 100 audits/month, API key access • Enterprise ($149/mo): 500 audits/month, API key access When the limit is reached, the API returns HTTP 429 with used/limit counts and a link to the pricing page.
POST /api/audits — Start a new SEO audit. Returns audit_id.
GET /api/audits/{id}/status — Poll audit progress. Returns status, step, percent.
GET /api/audits/{id}/result — Get full audit results as JSON. Requires audit to be 'done'.
MCP server — seo-audit-mcp command exposes 3 tools over stdio for AI assistants.