Placement API vs Seo MCP
A side-by-side look at the Placement API and Seo MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Placement API for marketing work over a hosted endpoint; choose Seo MCP for marketing as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Placement API when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Marketing domain.
- You prefer a remote HTTP/SSE transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
PLACEMENT_KEY. - You want tools like
search_placements, plan_links, compare_domain.
Choose Seo MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Marketing domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
MCP_API_KEY, PORT, APP_API_BASE_URL, APP_PUBLIC_BASE_URL, MCP_INTERNAL_TOKEN. - You want tools like
run_audit_anonymous, run_audit, get_audit.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Marketing | Marketing |
| Quality signal | 48/100 · Fair | 55/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Remote HTTP/SSE | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | PLACEMENT_KEY | MCP_API_KEYPORTAPP_API_BASE_URLAPP_PUBLIC_BASE_URLMCP_INTERNAL_TOKEN |
Tools & capabilities
Placement API tools 5
search_placementsSearch ~550k priced placements deduplicated by domain, with verification, score and price plausibility on every rowplan_linksA brief in (links, topic, DR, budget, strategy) → a costed plan of named domains, each with `why`, held at price for four hourscompare_domainEverything about one publisher: listings and spread, verification, web-graph, survival, outcomes, Placement Score, market referencetarget_profileYour page's backlink profile and the competitor links you can reproducibly buy, pricedkeyword_winnersWhat the sites that rank for a keyword look like, and what they buy
Seo MCP tools 6
run_audit_anonymousRun a one-shot SEO + AI-readability audit on any public URL. Returns scores across 11 modules and ~90 checks, plus actionable findings with rule docs. Limited to 1 audit per IP per 24 hours — for higher volume, get an API key at https://app.metricspot.com/settings/api-keys and use `run_audit`. Synchronous: blocks until the audit completes. Does NOT include Core Web Vitals (use `run_audit` for full PSI scoring). No auth required.run_auditQueue a full SEO + AI-readability audit (includes Core Web Vitals from Google PSI and organic traffic if Google is linked). Returns the audit envelope immediately with `status: queued` and an `audit_id`. Poll `get_audit` with the returned `audit_id` until `status` becomes `complete` (typical 10-30s). Counts against the user's plan allowance. Requires an API key as a Bearer token. Quota and per-domain cooldowns mirror the dashboard.get_auditFetch a previously-run audit by id. Returns module scores (0-100), total score, all findings with severity, recommendation text, and links to the HTML report. Use this to poll a queued `run_audit` until `status: complete`. Requires an API key.list_audits
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Placement API
{
"mcpServers": {
"placement-api": {
"url": "https://api.placementapi.com/mcp"
}
}
}
Seo MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"seo-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@metricspot/mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"MCP_API_KEY": "YOUR_MCP_API_KEY_HERE",
"PORT": "YOUR_PORT_HERE",
"APP_API_BASE_URL": "YOUR_APP_API_BASE_URL_HERE",
"APP_PUBLIC_BASE_URL": "YOUR_APP_PUBLIC_BASE_URL_HERE",
"MCP_INTERNAL_TOKEN": "YOUR_MCP_INTERNAL_TOKEN_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Placement API is categorized under Marketing and uses a remote HTTP/SSE transport. Seo MCP belongs to Marketing and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Placement API for marketing work and Seo MCP for marketing.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Placement API has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Seo MCP has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add placement-api and seo-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Placement API has a quality signal of 48/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 0 GitHub stars. Seo MCP has 55/100 (Good) with 2 views, 2 installs and 0 GitHub stars.