> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.synscribe.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to bring your own DataForSEO key (run SERP data on your own account)

> Connect your own DataForSEO API login and password so live Google SERP data — the data behind keyword exploration and SERP-cliff analysis — runs on your own DataForSEO account instead of Synscribe's shared one.

DataForSEO powers the live Google SERP data behind Synscribe — the `search` tool that feeds
[keyword exploration](/platform/keyword-exploration) and
[SERP-cliff analysis](/platform/keyword-eval-vs-serp-cliff). Out of the box it runs on **Synscribe's
shared DataForSEO account**, so everything works with no setup. To run SERP data on **your own
account** instead, connect your DataForSEO **API Login** and **API Password**; from then on
those SERP calls are billed to your DataForSEO account, not Synscribe's shared one. This is a
one-time credential — nothing about how keyword exploration, SERP cliff, or seo-debug
work changes.

> ❓ \[needs Raymond: confirm the exact UI surface for entering your DataForSEO login/password.
> The connector mechanism is in code (`packages/connectors/src/core-connectors.ts`), but the current
> Settings → Features page has no DataForSEO field and there's no connectors settings page in
> synscribe yet — so the BYOK entry point may not be shipped in the UI. Bless the surface before we
> tell users where to click.]

## How it works under the hood

DataForSEO is a **core connector** (`packages/connectors/src/core-connectors.ts`). Two things about
it matter here:

* **It defaults to Synscribe's shared credentials.** New connectors of this kind start at
  `defaultCredentialSource: 'platform'` — they use Synscribe's DataForSEO login/password from the
  platform environment, so SERP data works immediately with no setup.
* **Your key flips it to your own account.** DataForSEO authenticates with HTTP Basic
  `login:password`, so the connector collects two fields — **API Login** and **API Password** (the
  password is the secret half). Supply your pair and the connector builds the auth header
  from *your* credentials instead of the shared ones. The SERP endpoint itself is a fixed code
  constant, so the shared platform key is never sent to a customer-controlled host, and your
  key is only ever used for your own account's calls.

Same header shape either way — the only thing that changes is *whose* DataForSEO account the SERP
call runs on.

## What it changes (and what it doesn't)

* **Changes:** the DataForSEO account that live SERP lookups are billed against, for your org.
* **Doesn't change:** the tools. `search`, keyword exploration, SERP-cliff analysis, and the
  seo-debug SERP reads all behave identically — they just resolve your credentials at call
  time. You don't re-run anything or re-tag keywords.

## When to do it

Bring your own key when you want your SERP research to run on — and be billed to — your own
DataForSEO account (e.g. you already hold a DataForSEO subscription, or you want the usage on your
own statement). It's optional: leave it on the shared default and everything still works.

## Steps

1. Get your DataForSEO **API Login** and **API Password** (from your DataForSEO dashboard).
2. Connect them to your org so the DataForSEO connector's credential source flips from the
   shared platform account to your own. *(Exact surface pending the ❓ above.)*
3. Confirm SERP data still returns — run a keyword exploration or a SERP-cliff check
   ([2.2.1](/platform/keyword-exploration) / [2.2.5](/platform/keyword-eval-vs-serp-cliff)). A clean
   result means your key is authenticating.

***

**Feeds:** [2.2.1 Keyword exploration](/platform/keyword-exploration) · [2.2.2 Evaluate + SERP-cliff a batch](/platform/evaluate-serp-cliff) · **Sibling setup:** [2.1.3 Connect Google Search Console](/platform/connect-gsc) · **Sibling how-tos:** [2.8.1 Fix a page that won't rank](/platform/fix-page-not-ranking) · [2.8.2 Get cited by AI](/platform/get-cited-by-ai)