| name | programmatic-seo |
| description | When the user wants SEO pages generated at scale from templates plus a dataset — "programmatic SEO," "pSEO," "directory pages," "location pages," "[keyword] + [city] pages," "integration pages," "generate 100 pages," "templated landing pages." For auditing an existing site, see seo-audit. For planning, see content-strategy. |
| category | marketing |
| tier | on-demand |
Programmatic SEO
Build template- and data-driven SEO pages at scale that rank, provide value, and avoid thin-content penalties.
Initial Assessment
Product context: If .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it first and tailor output to it; only ask for what it doesn't cover.
Understand first:
- Business Context — product/service? Target audience? Conversion goal for these pages?
- Opportunity — what search patterns exist? How many potential pages? Search volume distribution?
- Competition — who ranks now? What do their pages look like? Can you realistically compete?
Core Principles
- Unique value per page — value specific to that page, not just swapped variables in a template; the more differentiated, the better.
- Proprietary data wins — data defensibility hierarchy: (1) proprietary (you created it), (2) product-derived (from your users), (3) user-generated (your community), (4) licensed (exclusive access), (5) public (anyone can use—weakest).
- Clean URL structure — use subfolders, not subdomains; subfolders consolidate domain authority, subdomains split it. Good:
yoursite.com/templates/resume/. Bad: templates.yoursite.com/resume/.
- Genuine search intent match — pages must actually answer what people search for.
- Quality over quantity — better 100 great pages than 10,000 thin ones.
- Avoid Google penalties — no doorway pages, keyword stuffing, or duplicate content; genuine utility for users.
The 12 Playbooks (Overview)
| 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" |
For detailed playbook implementation: See references/playbooks.md
Choosing Your Playbook
| If you have... | Consider... |
|---|
| Proprietary data | Directories, Profiles |
| Product with integrations | Integrations |
| Design/creative product | Templates, Examples |
| Multi-segment audience | Personas |
| Local presence | Locations |
| Tool or utility product | Conversions |
| Content/expertise | Glossary, Curation |
| Competitor landscape | Comparisons |
Playbooks can layer (e.g., "Best coworking spaces in San Diego").
Implementation Framework
1. Keyword Pattern Research
Identify the pattern: repeating structure, variables, number of unique combinations. Validate demand: aggregate search volume, distribution (head vs. long tail), trend direction.
2. Data Requirements
What data populates each page? First-party, scraped, licensed, or public? How is it updated?
3. Template Design
Page structure: header with target keyword; unique intro (not just variables swapped); data-driven sections; related pages/internal links; CTAs appropriate to intent.
Uniqueness: unique value per page, conditional content based on data, original insights/analysis per page.
4. Internal Linking Architecture
Hub and spoke: hub = main category page; spokes = individual programmatic pages; cross-links between related spokes.
No orphan pages: every page reachable from main site, XML sitemap for all pages, 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 Checklist
Content quality:
Technical SEO:
Internal linking:
Indexation:
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: pages with no search demand
- Poor data quality: outdated or incorrect information
- Ignoring UX: pages exist for Google, not users
Output Format
Strategy Document: opportunity analysis, implementation plan, content guidelines.
Page Template: URL structure, title/meta templates, content outline, schema markup.
Task-Specific Questions
- What keyword patterns are you targeting?
- What data do you have (or can acquire)?
- How many pages are you planning?
- What does your site authority look like?
- Who currently ranks for these terms?
- What's your technical stack?
Related Skills
- seo-audit — auditing programmatic pages after launch
- schema-markup — adding structured data
- site-architecture — page hierarchy, URL structure, internal linking
- competitor-alternatives — comparison page frameworks
