| name | programmatic-seo |
| description | Build SEO pages at scale from repeatable patterns and validated keyword data. Use before any keyword research, page-pattern design, or batch page generation. |
Programmatic SEO
Programmatic SEO builds many similar pages from one template and a dataset, each
page targeting a distinct search query. It works when — and only when — every
page provides value specific to that page. A template that just swaps a variable
into otherwise identical copy produces doorway pages, which search engines
demote or deindex.
Core strategy
- Every page must earn its existence. Each page answers a real query with
content a searcher could not get from a sibling page. If two pages would
satisfy the same intent, merge them.
- Proprietary data wins. Product data, integration details, benchmarks, and
domain expertise from the product repository beat scraped public facts.
- Quality over quantity. 20 strong pages a week compound; 10,000 thin pages
get the whole domain demoted. Skipping a batch is a valid outcome.
- Subfolders over subdomains. Keep generated pages in the main site's
content tree so authority consolidates.
- Match genuine intent. Only target keywords with verified search volume
and a clear intent the product can actually satisfy.
Method
- Find the pattern, not the keyword. Look for repeatable query shapes
(
<product> vs <competitor>, <use case> for <persona>, how to <task> in <tool>). One pattern yields a whole page set. See
references/playbooks.md for the pattern catalog.
- Validate demand before writing. Enumerate the exact permutations and
check real search volumes. Kill permutations below the volume threshold or
without a plausible intent match. See
references/keyword-research.md.
- Design the template around unique value. Decide which sections are
shared scaffolding and which sections must be researched per page. A page is
viable only if its per-page sections carry the substance.
- Link hub-and-spoke. Every generated page links to a hub (category or
pillar page) and to 3-5 sibling pages; hubs link back. Orphan pages do not
get crawled or ranked.
- Hold the quality bar before publishing. Check every page against
references/page-quality.md. Cut pages that fail instead of padding them.
Critical warnings
- Thin content: variable swaps with no per-page substance. The most common
failure mode. Google's spam policies treat these as doorway pages.
- Cannibalization: multiple pages targeting the same intent split ranking
signals. One intent, one page.
- Zero-volume targets: pages nobody searches for are pure index bloat.
- Fabricated data: never invent statistics, quotes, or product claims to
fill a template section. An honest shorter page beats a padded false one.
