Struggling to create enough content to rank for all your target keywords? Programmatic SEO could be the solution.
In this post, we'll dive deep into what programmatic SEO is, how it works, and the tools you can use to implement it - all without needing to know how to code. Whether you're an SEO pro, content marketer, or website owner, you'll learn a step-by-step process for scaling your content creation while saving time and money.
Here's what we'll cover:
By the end, you'll have a clear roadmap for implementing programmatic SEO in your own business. Let's dive in.
Programmatic SEO is an approach to content creation that uses templates, structured data, and automation to generate and optimize pages at scale. Rather than manually writing each article, you create systems that allow you to produce hundreds or even thousands of pages with minimal additional effort.
This differs from the traditional content creation process, where every piece--and every step--is created from scratch by a writer. With programmatic SEO, the majority of the content follows a predefined template and is populated dynamically using data from sources like spreadsheets or databases.
The key problems that programmatic SEO solves are:
When implemented well, programmatic SEO allows you to drastically scale your content output and organic search footprint in a cost-effective way. Some notable examples of programmatic SEO in action include:
Zapier created over 25,000 pages targeting long-tail keywords around connecting different apps. These pages are dynamically generated based on the apps' integrations and help docs.
Copy.ai generated hundreds of tools and template pages programmatically using AI leading. These pages drove over 1M clicks per month.
At a high level, programmatic SEO systems combine three key components:
The general process for implementing programmatic SEO looks like this:
Some of the most common tools used for programmatic SEO include:
When creating programmatic SEO content, sourcing relevant data is crucial. Here are some ways to help you identify the best places to find the data you need:
Proprietary data is information that is unique to your organization. This includes data collected from customer interactions, product analytics, and internal research. Utilizing proprietary data gives you a competitive edge because it's exclusive to you and offers unique insights.
Public data is accessible to the general public and can often be freely used for commercial purposes. Examples include government databases, industry reports, and scientific research available through open-access journals. While easy to obtain, remember that your competitors may also be using these sources.
Scraping involves extracting data from websites using automated tools. While this can be a rich data source, be cautious of copyright and legal issues related to the data you scrape. Make sure to adhere to terms of service of any sites you scrape from.
Platforms designed for data sharing often provide high-quality datasets on a multitude of topics. For instance, Kaggle is a well-known repository where you can find valuable datasets for subjects ranging from economics to social science. These datasets can be employed to enrich your content with new and varied information.
Many specialized repositories focus on specific fields. Conducting searches on these platforms can provide tailored data that might not be easily found elsewhere. For instance, searching for “cost of living” on various data platforms can yield specialized information that will help you stand out from competitors.
Professional communities and industry organizations often release detailed reports that can serve as excellent data sources. These pieces usually feature well-researched, high-quality data that can be integrated into your content seamlessly.
Once you've identified your sources, compile the data into a coherent format that suits your needs. Consider blending various data types to create a comprehensive dataset. This will add depth to your content and make it more authoritative.
There are significant benefits to taking a programmatic approach to SEO, but it's not without its challenges. Let's look at some of the key pros and cons:
Now that you understand how programmatic SEO works and some of the key considerations, let's walk through the process of actually implementing it for your own website.
The first step is to identify the topics and keyword clusters you want to target with programmatic content. Keyword research is critical for understanding the search terms your audience is using and identifying opportunities to rank.
Look for keyword clusters where you can create content at scale. These will often be bottom-of-funnel keywords with lower individual search volumes. Tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush can help you analyze keywords and group them into clusters.
Once you've identified target keyword clusters, analyze the SERPs to understand the searcher intent behind those queries and the type of content that is currently ranking on page one.
Look at the format and structure of the top ranking pages. Identify the key elements they include and how they address the search query. This will inform how you design your content templates.
Based on your SERP analysis, create a template that will be used for your programmatic content. The template should include:
The template will define the structure for every page and what elements need to be populated with data. Tools like Webflow and WordPress make it easy to design page templates without coding.
For example, here's a simple template created in Webflow:
Next, you need to collect and organize the data that will be used to fill in your content template. As we mentioned, you will have created a database or spreadsheet with a row for each target keyword/topic and columns for the various data points you want to include. This helps you to automate the important SEO elements like page titles, URLs and body.
Airtable is a user-friendly tool for creating these types of databases. You can create a table with fields for things like:
If you are looking for a free option and willing to do a little more setup, Google Sheets is a good alternate. You would create formulas that combine data from different cells to construct the page elements dynamically. For example, you can combine relevant keywords, category names, or other variables to generate unique and optimized titles.
Similarly, you can use formulas to generate SEO-friendly URLs by converting titles into slug format and ensuring they are concise and descriptive. When it comes to body copy, you can use functions to pull in content snippets, product descriptions, or other information from your spreadsheet to populate your pages efficiently.
Once you have your database and template created, you need to connect them so the structured data can be pulled in to populate the content on each page. This can be done in a few different ways:
With your template and data connected, you're ready to generate your actual pages. If you're using a CMS with dynamic page functionality, this can be as simple as clicking "Publish."
If you're using an external automation tool like Zapier, you'll set up a workflow to create a new page for each row in your database and populate the content using your template structure.
As with any SEO initiative, it's important to monitor the performance of your programmatic pages over time. Use tools like Google Search Console and Ahrefs to track metrics like:
Based on the performance data, identify opportunities to iterate and improve your page content. Update the copy, add new sections, or adjust the target keywords based on what you're seeing.
As you implement programmatic SEO for your own site, keep these best practices and tips in mind:
When implementing programmatic SEO strategies, it's essential to focus on understanding and addressing the intent behind user queries, rather than solely targeting specific keywords. While keyword research is still valuable, creating pages solely for the purpose of targeting certain keywords can lead to content that lacks substance and fails to truly resonate with your audience.
While leveraging programmatic SEO techniques allows you to scale content production efficiently, it's crucial not to compromise quality for the sake of publishing a higher volume of pages. Ensure that every page you create is of high quality, providing substantial value to your target audience. Aim to deliver a engaging and informative user experience on each page, rather than churning out thin or low-quality content solely for the purpose of increasing your page count.
To avoid issues with repetitive or duplicate content, which can negatively impact your performance, it's important to incorporate semantic variations and synonyms throughout your copy. While your programmatic page titles and H1 headings should be topically similar, avoid using identical phrasing across multiple pages. Instead, strategically vary the language and word choices to maintain topical coherence while preventing duplication and differentiate your content.
Improve the overall site architecture and user flow between your programmatically generated pages by implementing a strategic internal linking strategy. Within the body content of each page, include relevant links to other related pages on your site. This practice not only helps users navigate and discover additional content of interest but also facilitates the flow of link equity throughout your site, boosting the discoverability and ranking potential of your programmatic pages.
While it's tempting to simply compile information from various sources when generating programmatic content, it's essential to offer something distinct and more valuable to your audience. Include your own proprietary data, insights, or perspectives that differentiate your content from generic or widely available information. Share your expertise, industry knowledge, or original research to establish authority and credibility in your niche.
Creating helpful images to visualize data can also make your content more engaging and easier to understand, thereby increasing its usefulness and shareability.
To maintain a high level of quality and consistency across your programmatically generated content, it's crucial to implement a rigorous quality assurance (QA) process before publishing. This process should involve thoroughly reviewing each page for potential errors, inconsistencies, or issues. Look for things like incorrect company names, broken links, factual inaccuracies, or instances where the tone or voice deviates from your brand's established style guidelines.
Creating high-quality programmatic content means going beyond merely generating numerous similar pages; it’s about delivering genuine value to the user. Good programmatic content:
Bad or spammy content often falls into the trap of being:
Using tools like ChatGPT along with simple scripts can technically generate thousands of pages quickly. However, without ensuring the quality of data and relevance, these efforts usually lead to:
In essence, successful programmatic content hinges on the depth and usefulness of the information provided. By focusing on user intent, incorporating rich and relevant data, and ensuring the content serves a practical purpose, you can distinguish good content from the spammy flood of the internet.
If you're investing in programmatic SEO, you want to ensure that your templated pages are as high-quality and comprehensive as possible. Your up-front research helps, and you have further opportunity to elevate your content based on its actual SEO performance.
That’s right, SEO performance of existing content.
Remember that once you publish, the work isn't done. Success doesn't happen without making the content improvement cycle part of your overall strategy. Programmatic SEO systems work well alongside automated content analysis and improvement.
That's where RivalFlow AI comes in.
RivalFlow AI analyzes your existing content and compares it against the pages that are currently outranking you on the SERPs. It identifies the gaps between your pages and your competitors', then provides specific, actionable suggestions for how to improve your content.
With RivalFlow AI, you can:
Best of all, RivalFlow AI works well with your existing content workflow. Its simplified copy-to-clipboard functionality allows you to paste the suggested copy into your CMS without the format bloat that can torpedo your layout. Blend the suggested changes into your copy, and re-publish.
Sign up for a free trial of RivalFlow AI and start optimizing your programmatic SEO content today.
Programmatic SEO can be a game-changer for businesses looking to drastically scale their organic search footprint without breaking the bank. By combining content templates, structured data, and automation, you can publish landing pages at a pace that would be impossible doing it manually.
Even further, you can get a significant boost by building on keyword variations coupled with great data. This allows you to lean on similar versions of a page, but you could change key elements to describe a hyper-specific keyword. For example, the keyword "insurance coverage" lends itself to variations like "boat insurance coverage" as much as "insurance coverage in Atlanta" and "insurance coverage for teen drivers." By building one template for this root keyword and then creating dedicated pages for each one, you have a his powerful strategy in your hands.
This potent combination can catapult your website's traffic, making it feasible to generate thousands (even millions) of pageviews from a single page template. Harnessing these tools not only enhances your ability to reach a wider audience quickly but also maximizes the efficiency of your digital marketing efforts.
Implementing programmatic SEO is not a quick or simple process. It requires significant planning and preparation to design the right templates and data structures. And you still need quality checks in place to maintain content standards.
If you're considering programmatic SEO, use the step-by-step process laid out in this guide to start putting the pieces in place. Identify target topics, analyze SERP intent, build your templates and databases, and start publishing.
And don't forget to optimize your programmatic pages with RivalFlow AI. With AI-powered content suggestions, you can ensure your pages are as comprehensive and high-quality as possible.
To recap, here are the key takeaways from this guide:
Now it's time to put these principles into practice. Follow the steps outlined here to start implementing programmatic SEO for your own business. And sign up for a free trial of RivalFlow AI to take your content to the next level.
