Programmatic SEO is the creation of large-scale landing pages to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). It is sometimes referred to as pSEO.
Each landing page starts from the same template containing the same elements (e.g. images, pricing, reviews, etc.).
Next, create variations of the same page using automated tools. Each page targets a different low-competition keyword.
Expedia uses this content marketing strategy throughout its website.
Let’s say you search for “best hotels in [location].” There’s a good chance you’ll find an Expedia page among the top results.
Here is the result for “best hotels in Florida”:
And “the best hotels in California”:
Notice that the landing page design remains the same, while the location and content change.
Expedia does not create these pages from scratch for every city, state and country. This is the result of programmatic SEO.
Regular SEO vs. Programmatic SEO
Programmatic SEO and regular shop search engine optimization share the same goal: getting more organic traffic.
But the way each one aims to increase your site’s visibility in search engines is different.
Regular SEO is a set of processes to improve the visibility of your website in search engines (like Google). It is a long-term strategy that focuses more on high-quality content.
Part of a regular SEO strategy is creating landing pages and blog posts focused on specific keywords. This part is the one that differs the most from programmatic SEO.
Creating content for regular SEO is a much longer process than creating unique content. And it can target higher competition keywords.
Programmatic SEO is a faster process to achieve the same goal: ranking on Google. It is a way to create multiple landing pages with an identical design for search.
You create these landing pages from a database, templates, and automation. And you can make thousands of pages from one database and one template.
These pages also involve specific keyword research, like regular SEO.
Pros and cons of programmatic SEO
Programmatic SEO takes a different educational and useful content for your website visitors approach than regular SEO. But pSEO is a legitimate way to get more traffic and conversions alongside your regular strategy.
These are some of the advantages of Programmatic SEO:
- Websites are easy to scale once you build your landing page template
- You can target entire keyword categories and rank for all available searches with a single effort.
- Targeting low competition keywords and ranking on Google increases your visibility in searches
- The more visibility and search traffic you get, the more likely you are to build backlinks.
- Targeting audiences that are ready to buy can lead to more sales
Here are some things you should know before you dive in:
- Creating a programmatic SEO template requires programming knowledge
- Investing in the right no-code tools comes at a higher upfront cost
- Creating low-quality or duplicate content may violate Google’s Spam Policies
- Indexing all your web pages can be complicated
- Programmatic SEO remains a time- and research-intensive process that requires ongoing maintenance/monitoring.
If you’re ready to give it a try, there are three main areas you need to understand.
The three pillars of programmatic SEO
An effective programmatic SEO strategy focuses on low-competition keywords that are most likely to convert.
Then, use those keywords to create high-quality landing pages filled with unique content.
1. Low competition keywords.
Programmatic SEO focuses on selecting keywords with less competition to increase a page’s chances of ranking.
For example, “places to stay in Nevada” is a low competition keyword that sites like Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Airbnb will target.
These types of keywords are found by measuring the competitiveness of search terms using a metric called keyword difficulty (KD ).
You’ll find it here in the Keyword Overview tool :
Your programmatic SEO project will target those keywords with a low KD%. 0-14 is “very easy,” while 15-29 is “easy” and relatively achievable.
Difficult keywords often require an intensive SEO approach to deliver the quality that will compete in the SERPs . Choose keywords with lower KD% to target for pSEO.
You will find applicable low KD search terms by doing keyword research .
Run a full keyword analysis
with the keyword summary tool
2. Search intent
Search intent refers to the user’s primary goal when they land on your site.
There are four main types of search intent:
- Navigational: Users are looking for a specific page (e.g. “Gmail login”)
- Informational: Users are trying to learn more about a topic (e.g. “what is Search Console”)
- Commercials: Users do research before making a purchasing decision (e.g. “best programmatic SEO tools”)
- Transactional: Users are attempting to complete a specific action or purchase (e.g., “buy ecommerce domain”)
Programmatic SEO typically involves targeting keywords with transactional or commercial search intent. For example, “amazon kindle paperwhite cover” or “amazon kindle paperwhite review.”
Therefore, programmatic pages work best for those at the bottom of the marketing funnel – those who are ready to buy.
Satisfying search intent at the beginning of your landing page tells readers they’re in the right place, making them more likely to stay on the page.
For example, “best Italian restaurants in London” brings up an article from Time Out:
Users searching for these keywords are ready to eat. And Time Out offers 19 places to do so right away, providing a great user experience.
3. User Experience (UX)
A great user experience will canada cell numbers retain and convert people who land on your page. But the automation that makes landing page scaling possible can impact your UX.
This means you need fast-loading pages with unique and useful content on each one.