{"id":23095,"date":"2024-07-13T12:15:20","date_gmt":"2024-07-13T02:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/?p=23095"},"modified":"2026-01-23T00:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:06:07","slug":"programmatic-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/blog\/programmatic-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"Programmatic SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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What is Programmatic SEO?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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So, what is programmatic SEO?<\/p>

Put simply…<\/p>

It\u2019s the process of creating large quantities of pages and or content across thousands of keywords automatically.<\/p>

Now, automatically is a bold term\u2026 it does still take time, strategy and understanding, however it does remove the manual process of developing pages one by one, writing content and designing thousands of pages which could take months to complete.<\/p>

Programmatic SEO would allow you to facilitate this in a matter of days or even hours.<\/p>

How does this work?<\/p>

Programmatic pages are generally created from large databases of data or content, such as products, pricing information, business information, and financial information.<\/p>

Let\u2019s give you some examples of how this works\u2026<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Programmatic SEO Examples<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Example 1: Tripadvisor<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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An example would be a company like Tripadvisor;<\/p>

When you search for \u201cTop hotels in Melbourne\u201d or \u201cBest Melbourne Accommodation\u201d<\/p>

There is already pages \/ content created speaking to these primary search terms\u2026 See example;<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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So this doesn\u2019t mean that the digital team for Trip advisor is developing a location page for every suburbs and location globally to ensure there is a page speaking to each keyterm\u2026 no.<\/p>

This is a process of programmatic SEO \u2013 as new hotels or accommodation is added to their website, pages will be dynamically or (automatically) created if the location isn\u2019t previously generated\u2026 allowing new pages and content to be published based on user input rather than relying on manual creation.<\/p>

This is programmatic SEO.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Example 2: Clutch.co<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Another example for this would be Clutch.co;<\/p>

Working on a similar framework to Trip advisor, as new agencies or businesses are added to the directory within Clutch, location based pages by both service offering and location can be automatically generated into the website.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Use Case Example: If a new agency signs up to Clutch and they are located in Berlin.<\/p>

Clutch\u2019s programmatic coding will create a page listing \u201cagencies in Berlin,\u201d as it now has the ability to list agencies in this location.<\/p>

Along with this, say your agency offers web design & SEO services\u2026<\/p>

Both \u201cweb design agencies in Berlin\u201d & \u201cSEO agencies in Berlin\u201d can also be generated based on this agency being listed.<\/p>

In summary,<\/strong><\/p>

One agency gets listed in a previous category & location not listed, and based on this new listing\u2026 3 new pages are created.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Regular SEO vs. Programmatic SEO<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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While both regular SEO campaigns and programmatic SEO have the same goal\u2026 creating content for users, that search engines will leverage to generate their website more traffic.<\/p>

Goal = Organic Traffic<\/strong><\/p>

The way in which they go about achieving this is what sets them apart\u2026<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Regular SEO<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Regular SEO \u2013 This is a long-term strategy, leveraging page optimisation and the use of high-quality content.<\/p>

Often a key part of a regular SEO campaign is to build landing pages and blog content (manually) and this is often where to two campaigns differ.<\/p>

Manual content creation and creating high quality content to compete with highly competitive keywords with long-form blogs or articles 3000-4000+ words in length\u2026 isn\u2019t generally part of programmatic as its not replicated by automation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Programmatic SEO<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Programmatic SEO \u2013 This is a quicker process to achieve that same goal\u2026 more traffic.<\/p>

It\u2019s a way of generating multiple pages or large-scale content quickly\u2026 ignoring the manual process and using an identical page layout of theme for the content to be distributed to.<\/p>

It allows you to create thousands of pages from a database and leverage a template for the content to be written.<\/p>

Listen to myself (Benjamin Paine) and our Head of SEO break down Programmatic SEO in our recent video;<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The Two Core Pillars of Programmatic SEO<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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There is two core pillars that creates a successful programmatic SEO implementation.<\/p>

Low competition keywords & Search intent.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Low-Competition Keywords<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Programmatic content works by targeting thousands of keywords that are phrase-matched with one single template.<\/p>

So, to ensure a campaign is successful, you have to undertake keyword research to discover the seed keyword that you wish to create thousands of variations.<\/p>

An example of this would be a term such as; \u201chouse prices\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Looking at this example, we have 4.4k keywords in Australia with a national search volume of 40,000 searches per month.<\/p>

Successfully implementing a programmatic SEO campaign with a database of \u201chouse prices\u201d by suburb and location across Australia could generate substantial traffic to your website.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Search Intent<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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From here, you need to uncover what type of content people would be looking for when searching for \u201chouse prices\u201d in each location.<\/p>

One of the easiest ways to understand this is to jump into SERPs yourself and search for some of the keywords you have listed.<\/p>

You\u2019ll start to identify the top-ranking pages and the similarities in the content they are publishing.<\/p>

In this example, websites are displaying median house prices in the suburbs, recent sales and break downs of house costs by size.<\/p>

This gives us an idea of the content or data that we would need from our database to make this programmatic campaign possible.<\/p>

The programmatic content will require median house prices, recent sales, etc., by each suburb and location for distribution through to our defined template.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Is Programmatic SEO \"spammy\"<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Programmatic SEO needs to be used cautiously\u2026 any website that is running thousands of content, runs the risk of \u201cThin\u201d content\u2026 something that Google has addressed in its June 2024 Spam update.<\/p>

We want to ensure that the distribution of content isn\u2019t going to violate Google\u2019s spam policies\u2026 requiring the content being distributed to be VALUABLE content to the users searching.<\/p>

So, what makes a GOOD programmatic SEO campaign if so many end up with thin content or against the spam guidelines?
It comes down to both data and the content relevancy\u2026<\/p>

Relevant, unique data that is helpful to your users will win\u2026 and equally be not deemed as spam.<\/p>

The opposite is also true,<\/p>

ChatGPT with a Google sheet script to generate the data and content required\u2026 will, yes, in theory, work.<\/p>

But,<\/p>

It will be replicated content\u2026 not unique and will potentially be penalised in the long term.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The challenges of programmatic SEO<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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So, yes by now you understand there is some challenges in programmatic SEO\u2026 and we\u2019ll if there wasn\u2019t then everyone would be doing it!<\/p>

Here are some additional takeaways to consider with programmatic SEO;<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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It isn\u2019t for everyone!<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Just because you have a website, that doesn\u2019t mean you should be considering programmatic SEO solutions.<\/p>

It should be used only when relevant and makes sense for your business and product that you are offering. It the solution will be helpful to your audience and you can create highly relevant content with the data that you have available\u2026 then go for it!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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AI is changing SEO.<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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With generative AI also emerging and AI overviews being rolled out in Google Search\u2026 there is a good possibility of programmatic \u201cdata\u201d pulling SEO landing pages becoming less relevant and less valuable to SERPs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Stay away from \u201cDoorway pages\u201d<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is a doorway page?<\/p>

Doorways are both sites or pages that are solely created with the intention to rank highly and funnel users to a particular page\u2026<\/p>

This concept is against Google guidelines and if often seen in programmatic SEO when users are trying to leverage high volume search to drive users to a secondary intent through the large volume of content created.<\/p>

Here\u2019s Google\u2019s description on it\u2026<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Ensure your programmatic campaign is in alignment with best practise and Googles guidelines to ensure your complete website isn\u2019t penalised for an implementation.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How to get started with programmatic SEO (pSEO)?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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With all these points covered, by now you are probably wondering if its possible to get started with a programmatic SEO campaign.<\/p>

It\u2019s complicated, and with data points requiring to be sourced, synced and unique\u2026 creating examples such as Trip advisor shown above requires both SEO strategists and web developers combined.<\/p>

Not every project has to be as complex as the examples shown\u2026 think about your target audience and potential data you have as a business already\u2026 this reduces the data sourcing aspect of the campaign.<\/p>

So, to summarise this Programmatic SEO guide<\/span>,<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Here\u2019s a quick 5 step process to get your started\u2026<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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1. Keyword Research:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  • Research & identify your primary terms:<\/strong> These are going to be the categories relevant to your niche (e.g. “hotels”, “property”, “recipes” etc.)<\/li>
  • Find your modifiers:<\/strong> These are the modifiers that will be added to your primary terms in combination to create the target long-tail keywords your programmatic campaign will target.(e.g., “in Sydney,” “under $100,” “vegan”).<\/li>
  • Generate keyword combinations:<\/strong> Use tools, scripts or AI to combine your primary terms with your modifiers to create a large list of potential keywords.<\/li>
  • Validate keywords:<\/strong> Analyse search volume, competition, and relevance to ensure the keywords are worth targeting.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    2. Data Analysis:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    • Search intent:<\/strong> Understand the user’s goal behind each keyword (e.g., informational, transactional, navigational).<\/li>
    • SERP analysis:<\/strong> Analyse the search engines around your primary keyword searches, finding common content practises, relevant content required alongside & additional opportunities.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      3. Crafting Base Content:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      • Template creation:<\/strong> Develop a landing page template with placeholders for dynamic elements (e.g., city name, product name). This is where your content and keywords \/ modified keywords will be mapped into.<\/li>
      • Content guidelines:<\/strong> Define the structure, tone, and style of the content to ensure consistency and quality… And make sure its USER focused, we don’t want doorway pages or thin content.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        4. Content Generation:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        • Automation tools:<\/strong> Utilise web tools, plugins or scripts to generate the scale of landing pages (WP All Import & ACF Advanced Custom Fields is a personal preference on WordPress).<\/li>
        • Quality assurance:<\/strong> Implement checks to ensure the generated content is unique, relevant, and free of errors.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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          5. Post-Deployment Management:<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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          • Monitor performance:<\/strong> Track rankings, traffic, and conversions for your pSEO pages.<\/li>
          • Refine strategy:<\/strong> Analyse data to identify areas for improvement and adjust your keyword targeting or content strategy accordingly.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Programmatic SEO (pSEO) – We have put together a complete guide explaining what it is, how it works & how to get started on a programmatic SEO campaign for your website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":30514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-23095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo","tag-seo"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23095"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40892,"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23095\/revisions\/40892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalnomadshq.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}