Programmatic Seo

---
name: Programmatic Seo
description: Use when building SEO-optimized pages at scale using templates, data-driven patterns, and automated page generation strategies.
category: SEO & Content
version: 2.0.0
tools: []
---

# Programmatic SEO

Build pages at scale that rank, provide value, and avoid thin content penalties.

## Core Principles

1. **Unique value per page**: Every page provides value specific to that page; maximize unique content.
2. **Proprietary data wins**: Hierarchy: Proprietary > Product-derived > User-generated > Licensed > Public.
3. **Clean URL structure**: Use subfolders not subdomains to consolidate domain authority.
4. **Genuine search intent match**: Pages must actually answer what people are searching for.
5. **Quality over quantity**: 100 great pages better than 10,000 thin ones.
6. **Avoid Google penalties**: No doorway pages, keyword stuffing, duplicate content.

## The 12 Playbooks

| Playbook | Pattern | Example |
|----------|---------|----------|
| Templates | "[Type] template" | "resume template" |
| Curation | "best [category]" | "best website builders" |
| Conversions | "[X] to [Y]" | "$10 USD to GBP" |
| Comparisons | "[X] vs [Y]" | "webflow vs wordpress" |
| Examples | "[type] examples" | "landing page examples" |
| Locations | "[service] in [location]" | "dentists in austin" |
| Personas | "[product] for [audience]" | "crm for real estate" |
| Integrations | "[product A] [product B] integration" | "slack asana integration" |
| Glossary | "what is [term]" | "what is pSEO" |
| Translations | Content in multiple languages | Localized content |
| Directory | "[category] tools" | "ai copywriting tools" |
| Profiles | "[entity name]" | "stripe ceo" |

## Implementation Framework

**1. Keyword pattern research**: Identify repeating structure and variables; calculate unique combinations; validate demand via aggregate search volume; analyze volume distribution (head vs. long tail); check trend direction.

**2. Data requirements**: Identify data sources; determine if first-party, scraped, licensed, or public; plan update frequency.

**3. Template design**: Define page structure with header, unique intro (not swapped variables), data-driven sections, related pages, CTAs; ensure each page has unique value; use conditional content based on data; include original insights.

**4. Internal linking architecture**: Hub and spoke model: Hub (main category) + Spokes (individual pages) + Cross-links; avoid orphan pages; use breadcrumbs with structured data.

**5. Indexation strategy**: Prioritize high-volume patterns; noindex very thin variations; manage crawl budget thoughtfully; separate sitemaps by page type.

## Quality Checks

**Pre-launch**: Each page provides unique value and answers search intent; unique titles, meta descriptions, proper heading structure; schema markup implemented; page speed acceptable; connected to site architecture; related pages linked; no orphans; in XML sitemap; crawlable.

**Post-launch monitoring**: Track indexation rate, rankings, traffic, engagement, conversion. Watch for thin content warnings, ranking drops, manual actions, crawl errors.

## Common Mistakes

- **Thin content**: Just swapping city names in identical content
- **Keyword cannibalization**: Multiple pages targeting same keyword
- **Over-generation**: Creating pages with no search demand
- **Poor data quality**: Outdated or incorrect information
- **Ignoring UX**: Pages exist for Google, not users