# Documentation SEO Analysis — January 2, 2026

**Objective:** Identify SEO opportunities for Banatie's technical documentation (10 pages at `/docs/`) without major content changes.

**Budget Used:** ~$0.25 (3 DataForSEO queries)

---

## Executive Summary

### Key Findings

1. **MCP Integration is Table Stakes** — Both Replicate and fal.ai now have official MCP servers. This validates our MCP strategy but also means we must ship and document it to stay competitive.

2. **Placeholder Niche is Wide Open** — SERP for "placeholder image url" (390 volume, KD 21) is dominated by basic random-photo services. None offer AI-generated placeholders. Banatie's Live URLs feature can capture this market.

3. **"Image Generation API" SERP Has No Direct Competitors** — Top 10 dominated by OpenAI, Google, Leonardo. Neither Replicate, fal.ai, nor Runware appear. Opportunity exists for a focused API landing/docs page.

4. **Documentation Structure Gap** — Competitors have model playgrounds, interactive examples, and SDK quickstarts prominently featured. We should highlight these in navigation.

---

## Task 1: Keyword Research (Complete)

### Primary Keywords — Image Generation API

| Keyword | Volume | KD | Intent | Opportunity |
|---------|--------|-----|--------|-------------|
| image generation api | 210 | 31 | Commercial | **TARGET** — exact match, reasonable KD |
| ai image generator api | 90 | 19 | Commercial | **TARGET** — low KD, transactional |
| openai image generation api | 480 | 20 | Navigational | Comparison angle |
| gpt-image-1 api | 210 | 20 | Navigational | Specific model search |
| chatgpt 4o image generation api | 50 | 10 | Navigational | Very low KD |

### Placeholder/Live URL Keywords (Niche Opportunity)

| Keyword | Volume | KD | Opportunity |
|---------|--------|-----|-------------|
| placeholder image url | 390 | 21 | **EXCELLENT** — exact match to Live URLs |
| placeholder image generator | 480 | 32 | **GOOD** — matches use case |
| lorem picsum | 880 | 15 | **EXCELLENT** — competitor brand, beatable |
| random image url | 320 | 24 | **GOOD** — developer testing |
| placeholder image api | 90 | 23 | **GOOD** — exact product match |

### Related Searches (from SERP)

- "Image generation api python" → add Python SDK examples
- "Image generation API pricing" → pricing transparency
- "Placeholder image url generator" → Live URLs positioning

---

## Task 2: Competitor Documentation Analysis (Complete)

### Replicate

**URL:** replicate.com/docs

**Structure:**
- Getting Started / How it Works
- HTTP API Reference (detailed endpoints)
- SDKs (Python, JavaScript, Go, Swift)
- Explore (model browser)
- Collections (curated model groups)
- **MCP Server** ← NEW, official integration

**Strengths:**
- Interactive model pages with live testing
- Multiple SDK support with examples
- Strong API reference with cURL examples
- Migration guides from other platforms

**Weaknesses:**
- Generic platform (not image-specific)
- Complex pricing varies by model
- No built-in delivery/CDN

### fal.ai

**URL:** docs.fal.ai

**Structure:**
- Model APIs (core documentation)
  - Quickstart
  - Client Libraries (JS, Python)
  - Model Endpoints / Queue API
  - Guides (text-to-image, video, etc.)
  - **MCP Integration** ← documented for Cursor
- Platform APIs (model management)
- Examples & Tutorials
- Model Playgrounds (interactive)

**Strengths:**
- MCP integration documented for Cursor/Claude
- Model playgrounds prominent
- Clear separation: Model APIs vs Platform APIs
- OpenAPI schema published

**Weaknesses:**
- Dense documentation
- Less beginner-friendly than Replicate

### Runware

**URL:** docs.runware.ai

**Structure:**
- Getting Started / Introduction
- API References by type:
  - Image Inference
  - Video Inference
  - Audio Inference
- Utilities (Model Search)
- Tools (Caption API)
- Model Providers (OpenAI, etc.)

**Strengths:**
- Task-based architecture (clear pattern)
- Multi-modal coverage
- Aggressive pricing ($0.0006/image)

**Weaknesses:**
- No visible MCP integration
- Less polished documentation
- No model playground

### Competitive Matrix

| Feature | Replicate | fal.ai | Runware | **Banatie** |
|---------|-----------|--------|---------|-------------|
| MCP Server | ✅ Official | ✅ Official | ❌ No | 🔜 Planned |
| Playground | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Python SDK | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| JS SDK | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| OpenAPI Spec | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❓ Unknown | ❌ No |
| Live URL Gen | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ **Unique** |
| Built-in CDN | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ **Unique** |

---

## Task 3: SERP Analysis (Complete)

### "image generation api" — Top 10

| Position | Domain | Type |
|----------|--------|------|
| 1 | platform.openai.com | Documentation |
| 2 | ai.google.dev | Documentation |
| 3 | leonardo.ai | Landing page |
| 4 | reddit.com | Discussion |
| 5 | docs.cloud.google.com | Documentation |
| 6 | thehive.ai | Landing page |
| 7 | developer.puter.com | Tutorial |
| 8 | openrouter.ai | Documentation |
| 9 | edenai.co | Landing page |
| 10 | (Images carousel) | — |

**Insight:** Mix of documentation and landing pages. No direct competitors in top 10. Reddit at position 4 shows community engagement potential.

### "placeholder image url" — Top 10

| Position | Domain | Description |
|----------|--------|-------------|
| 1 | placehold.co | Simple placeholder service |
| 2 | picsum.photos | Lorem Picsum (random photos) |
| 3 | reddit.com | r/webdev discussion |
| 4 | placehold.net | Another placeholder service |
| 5 | (Images carousel) | — |
| 6 | loremipsum.io | Article listing services |
| 7 | VS Code extension | — |
| 8 | placeholder.pics | URL-based placeholders |
| 9 | pagebee.io | Random images service |
| 10 | dev.me | Advanced placeholder API |

**Critical Insight:** ALL services return random stock photos. NONE offer AI-generated placeholders. This is a clear market gap.

---

## Recommendations

### 1. Live URLs → Placeholder Market (HIGH PRIORITY)

**Current state:** `/docs/live-urls/` exists but doesn't target placeholder keywords.

**Action:** Expand Live URLs page with new sections:

```
Current title: "Live URLs — Shareable Image Links"

Add sections:
- "Use as Placeholder Images" 
  Target: "placeholder image url", "placeholder image api"
  
- "Alternative to Lorem Picsum"
  Target: "lorem picsum", competitor comparison
  
- "Dynamic Testing Images"
  Target: "random image url", "free image url for testing"
```

**Traffic potential:** 1,500+ monthly searches from placeholder niche

### 2. MCP Documentation Page (HIGH PRIORITY — pending feature)

**Why:** Both Replicate and fal.ai have MCP docs. Developers expect this.

**Action:** When MCP server ships, create `/docs/mcp/` with:
- Cursor integration guide
- Claude Desktop setup
- Claude Code integration
- Example workflows

**Target keywords:** "image generation mcp", "ai image mcp server"

### 3. Comparison Content (MEDIUM PRIORITY)

**Option A:** Dedicated comparison page `/docs/vs-openai/`
**Option B:** Blog post "Banatie vs OpenAI Image API"

**Target keywords:**
- "openai image generation api" (480 volume, KD 20)
- "openai api pricing" (12K volume, comparison angle)

**Content:** Feature comparison table, pricing comparison, code examples side-by-side.

### 4. Python/SDK Examples (MEDIUM PRIORITY)

**Why:** "image generation api python" appears in related searches and competitors have SDK docs.

**Action:** Add Python snippets to Getting Started page, consider future SDK.

### 5. Interactive Playground (LOW PRIORITY — significant effort)

**Why:** All major competitors have playgrounds. Developers expect to test before integrating.

**Action:** Consider for roadmap, not documentation-only change.

---

## Content Ideas Generated

### For 0-inbox/

1. **placeholder-ai-images.md** — "AI-Powered Placeholder Images for Developers"
   - Target: placeholder niche keywords
   - Angle: Why AI placeholders beat random stock photos

2. **mcp-image-generation.md** — "Generate Images in Your IDE with MCP"
   - Target: MCP + image generation intersection
   - Timing: When MCP feature ships

3. **lorem-picsum-alternative.md** — "Lorem Picsum Alternative: AI Placeholders"
   - Target: "lorem picsum" (880 volume, KD 15)
   - Angle: Direct competitor comparison

---

## Research Tools Used

| Tool | Queries | Cost |
|------|---------|------|
| Brave Search | 5 queries | Free |
| Perplexity | 3 queries | Free |
| DataForSEO | 3 queries (~$0.08 each) | ~$0.25 |

**Total:** ~$0.25 / $0.50 budget

---

## Next Steps

1. [ ] Implement Live URLs page expansion (placeholder keywords)
2. [ ] Create content ideas in 0-inbox/
3. [ ] Ship MCP server → document immediately
4. [ ] Consider comparison page strategy
5. [ ] Track rankings for target keywords monthly

---

## Appendix: Full Keyword Data

### Image Generation API Keywords

```
image generation api | 210 | KD 31 | Commercial
ai image generator api | 90 | KD 19 | Commercial  
openai image generation api | 480 | KD 20 | Navigational
gpt-image-1 api | 210 | KD 20 | Navigational
chatgpt 4o image generation api | 50 | KD 10 | Navigational
image generation api python | — | — | Informational
image generation api pricing | 10 | Low | Commercial
```

### Placeholder Keywords

```
placeholder image url | 390 | KD 21 | Informational
placeholder image generator | 480 | KD 32 | Informational
lorem picsum | 880 | KD 15 | Navigational (competitor)
random image url | 320 | KD 24 | Informational
placeholder image api | 90 | KD 23 | Commercial
image placeholder html | 320 | KD 33 | Informational
```

---

## Expanded Research: Placeholder Niche Deep Dive

**See:** `placeholder-niche-deep-dive-2026-01-02.md`

Follow-up research revealed the placeholder opportunity is **15x larger** than initially estimated:

| Original Estimate | Expanded Research |
|-------------------|-------------------|
| ~2,100 monthly searches | **31,000+ monthly searches** |
| 6 keywords identified | **40+ keywords identified** |
| KD range: 15-33 | **Multiple KD 0-5 keywords found** |

### Key Additions from Deep Dive

**Zero-Difficulty Keywords (KD 0-5):**
- image placeholder dark — 4,400 vol, KD 2
- app placeholder image — 1,900 vol, KD 2
- profile placeholder image — 720 vol, KD 0
- ios placeholder image — 590 vol, KD 0
- dummy photo image — 720 vol, KD 5

**Community Validation (Reddit):**
> "right now my instructions are to just do placeholder image in various sizes... I am wondering if there is an mcp that can create or fetch these images for Claude instead."

This quote from r/ClaudeAI directly validates our use case and MCP strategy.
