DataForSEO: a 200 with an empty tasks array means no data, not success

TL;DR

With DataForSEO, always guard on the tasks array and the result before touching fields, even on a 200. An empty response is the API telling you there is no data; indexing into it anyway is how phantom SERP data gets invented.

Steps

1. With DataForSEO, always guard on the tasks array and the result before touching fields, even on a 200.
2. An empty response is the API telling you there is no data; indexing into it anyway is how phantom SERP data gets invented.

When to use

You are seeing this: With DataForSEO, always guard on the tasks array and the result before touching fields, even on a 200. Use this skill when you run into "DataForSEO: a 200 with an empty tasks array means no data, not success".

When not to use

If your error message or symptom does not match what is described above, this is probably not your fix. Search for your exact error text instead of forcing this one to fit.

Versions

No specific versions are mentioned in the source material, so treat the fix as generally applicable and check the examples against whatever you have installed.

Why this happens

The original report does not dig into a root cause. It documents the symptom and the fix that resolved it.

Source: From a community DataForSEO skill guide. An HTTP 200 with status code 20000 and an empty tasks array (or a null result) simply means the query has no data URIs a zero-volume keyword, a domain with no backlinks. It is not an error, so code that treats 200 as success and indexes straight into the first task result either crashes or, worse, fabricates downstream structure from nothing. The guide's rule: log the response shape and return early on empty.

Verified resolution: With DataForSEO, always guard on the tasks array and the result before touching fields, even on a 200. An empty response is the API telling you there is no data; indexing into it anyway is how phantom SERP data gets invented.

Source URL: https://github.com/mcerqua/jam-skills/blob/HEAD/dataforseo/SKILL.md