diff --git a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/dataforseo/related_keywords.py b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/dataforseo/related_keywords.py
index 7a7fbdd11a..0757cb6507 100644
--- a/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/dataforseo/related_keywords.py
+++ b/autogpt_platform/backend/backend/blocks/dataforseo/related_keywords.py
@@ -182,13 +182,10 @@ class DataForSeoRelatedKeywordsBlock(Block):
             if results and len(results) > 0:
                 # results is a list, get the first element
                 first_result = results[0] if isinstance(results, list) else results
-                items = (
-                    first_result.get("items", [])
-                    if isinstance(first_result, dict)
-                    else []
-                )
-                # Ensure items is never None
-                if items is None:
+                # Handle missing key, null value, or valid list value
+                if isinstance(first_result, dict):
+                    items = first_result.get("items") or []
+                else:
                     items = []
                 for item in items:
                     # Extract keyword_data from the item