In short: You can bring keywords into a project from a file, a paste, Ahrefs, seed keyword research, Search Console or a Google Sheet. SerpDad removes only exact duplicates and obvious junk. It never merges keywords that just look similar, because the search results decide that later.
Where keywords go
A keyword is one unique search phrase in a project. Keywords belong to one project. The same phrase in two projects counts as two separate keywords.
Open Plan > Import in a project. The Import page is also the start form of the project's default workflow, "Keyword pile to page plan". See Run a plan.
Only the Owner, Admins and Managers can import keywords.
Sources
| Source | Where | What it does | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upload export | Import, "Upload export · CSV" tab | Upload CSV, TSV or TXT files from any keyword tool | No cost to import |
| Paste keywords | Import, "Paste keywords" tab | Paste one keyword per line | No cost to import |
| From Ahrefs | Import, "From Ahrefs" tab | Keyword ideas from seed keywords, or the keywords a site ranks for, from your own Ahrefs account | Ahrefs units on your Ahrefs plan |
| Seed keywords | Import, "Seed keywords" tab | Keyword ideas from a few seed keywords, through DataForSEO Labs on your DataForSEO key | Shown as an estimate before you fetch |
| Keyword inbox | Plan > Keyword inbox | Search Console queries that no keyword covers yet | No cost until you route them |
| Competitors | Measure > Competitors | Keywords that up to 5 competitor domains rank for | Shown as an estimate before you fetch |
| Import from Google Sheets | A workflow block | Reads keywords from one column of a Google Sheet, on a read-only Google grant | No cost |
Upload a file
- Open Import and choose "Upload export · CSV".
- Add up to 20 files. Each file can be up to 10 MB.
- Map the columns. Keyword is required. Volume is optional. Other columns can be set to Ignore.
- Check the counts, then go on to the estimate.
If a file has no keyword column, SerpDad refuses it with: "No keyword column found. Rename a column to Keyword and upload again." A refused file costs nothing and shows in the import history as "Failed · no cost".
Large uploads, above about 2 MB, are read in the background.
From Ahrefs
- Add your Ahrefs API v3 key in Workspace > Provider keys. See Provider keys.
- Open Import > From Ahrefs.
- Choose keyword ideas from seed keywords (up to 10 seeds), or the keywords a site ranks for.
- Set the most keywords to fetch. The default is 1,000. The maximum is 10,000.
- SerpDad shows the most Ahrefs units the import can use and how many you have left. Confirm to fetch.
Seed keywords
- Open Import > Seed keywords.
- Enter up to 20 seed keywords.
- Read the estimate on your DataForSEO key, then fetch.
- Add the keywords you want to the project.
Keyword inbox
When Search Console is connected, the keyword inbox lists queries from your site's data that match no keyword in the project. They are not keywords yet. They do not count toward keywords stored and cost nothing until you route them. Queries with fewer than 10 impressions are left out.
Each query gets a proposal, for example to join a planned page or to need a new page, with a receipt of where its impressions land. Routing a query shows an estimate and runs through a normal run.
How SerpDad cleans the list
SerpDad cleans every import the same way, before anything is sent to a provider.
| Rule | What happens |
|---|---|
| Normalize | Each phrase is lowercased and trimmed |
| Exact duplicates | Removed. Only exact duplicates after lowercasing and trimming count. |
| Similar phrases | Never merged. "api testing tool" and "api testing tools" stay as two keywords until the results decide. |
| Empty or symbols only | Skipped as junk |
| Longer than 10 words | Skipped as junk |
| Previously junked | Skipped. Phrases on the project's junk list are never imported again. |
Skipped keywords are never stored, never sent to a provider and never billed. The import shows how many were skipped and why.
Limits
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Files per import | 20 |
| Size per file | 10 MB |
| File types | CSV, TSV, TXT |
| Keywords per project | 200,000 |
| Keywords per run (fair use) | 200,000 |
| Words per keyword | 10 |
| Ahrefs seeds | 10 |
| Ahrefs keywords per fetch | 1,000 by default, up to 10,000 |
| Seed keyword research seeds | 20 |
A run above 200,000 keywords is refused at the gate. The message gives the count, the limit and how many keywords to remove. Nothing is fetched and nothing is charged.
Import history
Each import shows its source, rows read, junk skipped by reason, how many keywords were routed, the run it fed, who imported it and when, and who approved the run.
Keywords stored
Keywords stored is the count of unique keywords across all live projects in your workspace. It is a count, not a limit. Re-running stored keywords adds nothing to it. Junking or deleting a keyword lowers it.