About SEOptimate

SEOptimate is an AI-powered SEO and GEO automation platform that helps small businesses, e-commerce brands, and marketing agencies take control of their organic search strategy. The platform covers the full SEO workflow, from keyword research and competitor analysis to AI-assisted content creation and one-click publishing, while keeping the user in the driver’s seat.

What sets SEOptimate apart is its origin: it wasn’t built by another software company. It was born out of real frustration, and built by a webshop owner who was tired of paying for SEO results that never materialized.

Objectives

➤ Replace expensive, underperforming agency work with a data-driven, self-service SEO platform.
➤ Enable e-commerce owners and small businesses to make informed keyword decisions based on actual search data, not guesswork.
➤ Combine AI content generation with real-time Google data so content is built to rank and convert.
➤ Keep the user in control: AI assists, but people decide.

Featured Products

SERP API: Real-time and historical SERP data, all major search engines, all rich SERP features available.

Keywords Data API: Actual keyword metrics directly from Google and Bing, clickstream data for even more precision.

DataForSEO Labs API: Keyword research, competitor analysis – all in one API that connectes directly to our regularly updated proprietary database.

On-Page API: In-depth technical SEO audits in seconds, all possible website performance insights and customization options.

Backlinks API: Trillions of live backlinks, new links made available every second, detailed backlink profiles for any domain.

About DataForSEO

DataForSEO is the leading provider of SEO data for the marketing technology industry. With an API-led approach to data delivery, DataForSEO is enabling hundreds of software businesses to enhance their products with reliable, accurate, and fresh data. In addition, DataForSEO offers robust no-code integration options with popular services for building tailored SEO and marketing solutions.

Background: From Frustrated Webshop Owner to SEO Platform Founder

Koen Pijnenburg is the founder of both SEOptimate and GeheimBiertje, a Dutch e-commerce brand specializing in craft beer from independent, local breweries. GeheimBiertje has grown into one of the best-rated specialty beer webshops in the Netherlands, rated 9.8 on Trustpilot, winner of Rabobank’s Starter of the Quarter award, and finalist for RetailRookie of the Year by RetailTrends.

But the road to organic visibility was anything but smooth.

For years, I was paying a marketing agency hundreds of euros per month for SEO. The results were disappointing, to put it mildly. The blog content they delivered was riddled with spelling errors. The keywords they targeted were plucked out of thin air, with no data behind them, no search volume, nothing. When I checked, some of these keywords had literally zero monthly searches. It felt like I was being scammed.

The experience left Koen with a deep distrust of traditional SEO services, but also with a burning question: if the agencies couldn’t get it right, what would it take to do it properly?

I realized the problem wasn’t SEO itself, it was the lack of transparency and data. Nobody was showing me why a keyword was worth targeting. Nobody was proving that the content strategy made sense. I was paying for gut feelings, not for results.

Discovering the power of DataForSEO + AI

A few years ago, Koen saw an opportunity to combine real search data with AI-powered content generation, and decided to build the solution he wished had existed when he was struggling with his agency.

When I discovered DataForSEO, it clicked. Here was an API that could give me actual Google data, real search volumes, real keyword difficulty, and real SERP results. Not estimates, not cached data from months ago. And when I combined that with AI for content generation, I realized: this is what every small business owner needs. Not another expensive agency, but a tool that shows you the data and lets you make the decisions.

Together with a developer and several marketers, Koen built SEOptimate, born from personal frustration and the desire to help others avoid the same experience.

The Challenge: Autopilot vs. Control

The SEO tools market is flooded with platforms that promise to publish blogs on autopilot for €500 per month. Koen sees a fundamental problem with this approach.

There are plenty of tools that will generate and publish content for you automatically. But here’s the thing: if you hand your entire content strategy over to AI without any human oversight, you end up ranking for keywords that don’t convert. You might get views and clicks, but no sales. For an e-commerce business like GeheimBiertje, that’s useless. I need people who are actually looking to buy craft beer, not people who stumbled onto a random blog post about beer history.

This insight became SEOptimate’s core design principle: AI assists, but the user decides. The platform needed to solve several interconnected challenges to make this work:

1. Data-backed keyword selection. Users should choose keywords based on real search volume, difficulty, intent, and competitive data, not on assumptions or AI suggestions alone.
2. Competitor-aware content generation. AI-generated content should be informed by what’s currently ranking on Google, not generated in a vacuum.
3. Human review and control. Every piece of content must pass a thorough examination before publishing, with tools to refine and adjust the output.
4. Conversion focus, not just traffic. The platform should help users target keywords that lead to actual business outcomes, not just pageviews.

The Solution: Five DataForSEO APIs Powering a User-Led Workflow

DataForSEO became SEOptimate’s data foundation from day one. Five APIs work together to power each part of the platform:

1: Keyword Research That Shows the Full Picture

When users start a project, they upload seed keywords or let the platform suggest them. The Keywords Data API and DataForSEO Labs API immediately enrich every keyword with actual search volume, CPC, keyword difficulty, and search intent classification.

This is where SEOptimate already differs from what my agency used to do. Instead of someone telling me ‘I think this keyword is good,’ the platform shows the data. You see the search volume. You see the difficulty. You see whether people searching this keyword want to buy something or just want information.

The DataForSEO Labs API is used here to cluster related keywords and identify pillar content opportunities, providing users with a strategic overview of their content roadmap.

2: Scraping and Analyzing Google’s Top Results

Before any content is generated, the SERP API fetches the current top 10 Google results for the chosen keyword and supplies SEOptimate with detailed data about what’s ranking, including SERP features like People Also Ask boxes, featured snippets, and knowledge panels.

This is where the magic happens. We feed AI everything it needs to know about the current competitive landscape. What does Google consider the best content for this query? What topics do the top pages cover? What questions are people asking? So the model doesn’t write in a vacuum, it writes knowing the full context.

3: Competitor and Backlink Intelligence

The Backlinks API adds depth to the competitive analysis by revealing the backlink profiles of top-ranking domains. Users can see the domain authority they’re up against and identify potential link-building opportunities.

For GeheimBiertje, understanding the backlink landscape was eye-opening. I could finally see why certain competitors ranked above me: it wasn’t just about content quality, it was about their link profile. That insight alone was worth more than months of agency work.

4: AI Content Generation with Human Control

Using the data from all previous stages, SEOptimate generates complete, SEO-optimized blog posts, product descriptions, and landing pages. But critically, nothing is published without the user’s approval.

The AI generates a solid draft based on real data. But the user reviews everything. They can adjust and rewrite sections with our Magic Rewrite feature, add their own expertise, and ensure the content accurately represents their brand. For GeheimBiertje, that means I add my knowledge about craft beer, specific breweries, and tasting notes, things AI can’t know.

This human-in-the-loop approach prevents the common pitfall of autopilot platforms: ranking for keywords that generate traffic but no conversions.

5: On-Page Validation and Publishing

Before content goes live, the On-Page API is used to validate the technical SEO elements, meta tags, heading structure, internal linking opportunities, and more. Once approved, content publishes directly to WordPress, Shopify, WooCommerce, or Magento with a single click.

Results

Since building SEOptimate on top of DataForSEO APIs and applying it to GeheimBiertje and early customer projects, the results have been significant:

Keyword research has been reduced from hours to minutes. What previously required half a day of manual research, or waiting weeks for an agency deliverable, now takes under 5 minutes. Users see real data immediately and make informed decisions on the spot.

3-5x more content published per month. By automating the research and drafting phases, SEOptimate users consistently publish more SEO-optimized content than they could with manual workflows or agency support. For GeheimBiertje, this translated into a steady stream of targeted blog posts about craft beer topics that actual buyers search for.

Measurable growth in organic traffic. GeheimBiertje and early SEOptimate customers have seen meaningful increases in organic traffic, driven by content that targets keywords with proven search demand, a stark contrast to the agency approach of targeting unvalidated keywords.

Content that converts, not just attracts. Because users choose keywords based on intent data and competitive analysis, the traffic driven by SEOptimate-generated content has a significantly higher conversion potential. For an e-commerce business, the difference between informational and transactional keyword targeting directly impacts revenue.

The biggest win isn’t just more traffic, it’s better traffic. When I was with the agency, they’d celebrate if a blog post got views. But views don’t pay the bills. Now I target keywords where people are actually looking to buy craft beer, and I can see it in my order numbers.

Why DataForSEO

Koen highlights the key reasons DataForSEO became SEOptimate’s data partner:

First, everything is under one roof. SERP data, keywords, backlinks, and on-page analysis, I didn’t need to stitch together five different vendors. Second, the pricing model. As a founder bootstrapping a product, I needed costs that scale with usage. DataForSEO’s credit-based system was perfect, I could start small and grow. Third, the data quality. This is real Google data, not estimates from a third-party database.

Looking Ahead

SEOptimate continues to expand, with LLM visibility and GEO features as key growth areas. As AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are increasingly used for search, Koen sees a new frontier for the platform.

SEO is no longer just about Google. Our users want to know: does ChatGPT recommend my business? Does Perplexity cite my content? We’re building features that track AI visibility and optimize content for both traditional search and AI-powered discovery. DataForSEO keeps adding new capabilities in this space, and we plan to integrate them.

From a frustrated webshop owner paying for empty promises, to the founder of an SEO platform used by businesses across the Netherlands, Koen’s journey shows what’s possible when real data meets the right tools.

I built SEOptimate because I needed it myself. Now I’m helping others avoid the same mistakes I made. DataForSEO is the engine under the hood, without their APIs, none of this would exist.