Pull the live Top Websites board as domain-plus-category JSON, then check Google Search demand for the brands that lead each category.
Live data as of 2026-08-09
The Top Websites API on Trends MCP returns category traffic leaders as structured JSON from one get_top_trends call with type Top Websites. From the board stamp as_of_ts 2026-08-02T04:01:35 UTC (pulled again on August 9, 2026), a limit 25 request returned count 25 domain-and-category rows, and a limit 50 request returned count 50. Every row carries rank 1 because the feed lists the leader inside each category path, not a single global ranking. On August 8, 2026, Google Search follow-ups put PayPal at index 53.0 (~22,200,000 estimated volume, -5.36% over 30 days) and Canva at index 60.0 (+3.45% over 30 days). A free tier covers 100 requests per month. This page shows the exact call, the live category sample, and brand search growth that turns a domain list into demand signals. For dashboard wiring patterns, see how to build a trends dashboard.
From the Trends MCP Top Websites scan stamped August 2, 2026 (as_of_ts 2026-08-02T04:01:35 UTC), these 18 category leaders appeared in the first page of results:
| Domain | Category path |
|---|---|
| paypal.com | finance |
| bitlabs.link | gambling/bingo |
| impress.co.jp | business-and-consumer-services/marketing-and-advertising |
| famousbirthdays.com | community-and-society/holidays-and-seasonal-events |
| rohto.co.jp | health/biotechnology-and-pharmaceuticals |
| mcmaster.com | heavy-industry-and-engineering/heavy-industry-and-engineering |
| fc2.com | computers-electronics-and-technology/web-hosting-and-domain-names |
| pages.dev | computers-electronics-and-technology/computer-security |
| ancestry.com | hobbies-and-leisure/ancestry-and-genealogy |
| mercadolibre.com | e-commerce-and-shopping/auctions |
| linktr.ee | business-and-consumer-services/online-marketing |
| babycenter.com | health/childrens-health |
| bilibili.com | arts-and-entertainment/animation-and-comics |
| tinder.com | community-and-society/romance-and-relationships |
| canva.com | computers-electronics-and-technology/graphics-multimedia-and-web-design |
| rocket.com | heavy-industry-and-engineering/aerospace-and-defense |
| ticketmaster.com | e-commerce-and-shopping/tickets |
| homedepot.com | home-and-garden |
Google Search growth follow-ups on shortened brand keywords:
| Brand | Recent index | Recent date | 30D | 3M | 6M | 12M | Est. volume (recent) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayPal | 53.0 | 2026-08-08 | -5.36% | -11.67% | -15.87% | -18.46% | 22,200,000 |
| Canva | 60.0 | 2026-08-08 | +3.45% | -27.71% | -21.05% | -15.49% | n/a |
| Linktree | 17.0 | 2026-08-08 | -10.53% | -22.73% | -10.53% | -15.0% | n/a |
| Tinder | 15.0 | 2026-08-08 | -6.25% | -16.67% | -6.25% | -28.57% | 8,310,000 |
| Ancestry | 67.0 | 2026-08-08 | -33.0% | -27.17% | -23.86% | -8.22% | n/a |
| Bilibili | 78.0 | 2026-08-01 | 0.0% | +2.63% | +14.71% | -15.22% | 7,320,000 |
| Home Depot | 60.0 | 2026-08-01 | -14.29% | -11.76% | +20.0% | 0.0% | 32,800,000 |
| Ticketmaster | 19.0 | 2026-07-25 | -26.92% | -36.67% | -66.07% | -13.64% | 8,400,000 |
One board call and one growth call cover most Top Websites research. get_top_trends with type Top Websites returns domain-and-category leaders. get_growth with source google search and a brand keyword returns index moves and, when available, estimated search volume. On August 9, 2026, the board response still carried as_of_ts 2026-08-02T04:01:35 UTC with count 25 at limit 25.
{
"type": "Top Websites",
"limit": 25,
"offset": 0
}
{
"mode": "get_growth",
"source": "google search",
"keyword": "PayPal",
"percent_growth": ["30D", "3M", "6M", "12M"]
}
Optional category filtering is supported on this feed type. Omit it to receive the mixed category leader list shown above.
Treat each row as "number one inside this category path," not as proof that paypal.com outranks youtube.com globally. The August 2, 2026 stamp lists youtube.com under arts-and-entertainment/tv-movies-and-streaming and again under arts-and-entertainment, both at rank 1. paypal.com appears under finance and under finance/banking-credit-and-lending. Duplicate domains across related category paths are expected.
Search follow-ups answer a different question: whether the brand still draws Google demand. Home Depot held ~32,800,000 estimated volume at index 60.0 on August 1, 2026, flat over 12 months but down 14.29% over 30 days. Ticketmaster cooled harder, to index 19.0 and ~8,400,000 volume on July 25, 2026 (-26.92% over 30 days, -66.07% over 6 months). Category leadership and search heat can diverge for months.
Competitive research teams pull the board to build a watchlist of category incumbents, then schedule get_growth on the brand names once a week. Agencies building traffic dashboards merge Top Websites rows with Google Trends-style indexes so a domain list becomes a demand panel; the trends dashboard guide covers the wiring. Investors watching consumer platforms track soft patches early: Tinder at index 15.0 (-28.57% over 12 months) and Linktree at 17.0 (-15.0% over 12 months) on August 8, 2026 are quieter than Bilibili at 78.0.
A compact August 9, 2026 workflow: fetch Top Websites at limit 50, dedupe domains, map each domain to a brand keyword, then request 30D and 12M google search growth. Keep estimated volume next to the percent so a -5% move on PayPal (22.2M volume) is not treated like a -5% move on a tiny brand.
The board stamp lagged the pull day during this run: responses fetched on August 9, 2026 still reported as_of_ts 2026-08-02T04:01:35 UTC. Quote the stamp, not the calendar day of the HTTP call. There is no dedicated top websites growth source; brand follow-ups use google search (and optionally youtube or other keyword sources). Estimated volumes on Google Search are derived from the trend index for that source, not an independent measurement.
Category paths are long slash-delimited strings. Parsing them into a top-level sector (for example health from health/childrens-health) is application-side work. The older marketing URL /web-traffic-data is not a substitute for this feed; that path currently 404s and is not present in the pages bucket.
Sign up on the free tier, copy the API key, and call get_top_trends with type Top Websites. Authentication is one bearer header against https://api.trendsmcp.ai. Most users finish signup to first JSON response in under 5 minutes, and the free tier requires no credit card. The docs cover Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and plain REST.
The free tier covers 100 requests per month across all sources. Paid plans start at Starter $19 per month for 1,000 requests, Pro $49 for 5,000, and Business $199 for 25,000. See pricing for current numbers and Google Trends for adjacent search-demand workflows.
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