Programmatic SEO: A Comprehensive Guide
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- jaro Education
- 27, September 2024
- 6:00 pm
Programmatic SEO has emerged as a game-changer for businesses looking to dominate search results and capture organic traffic at scale, and you can use it to boost your social media strategy. Take Zapier, for example — they drive over 306,000 organic visitors per month with a strategy centered around programmatic SEO. With around 800,000 landing pages targeting related keywords such as “currency converter”, they achieve massive reach using a single content template.
Brands like Wise, Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Zillow are following suit, leveraging thousands of template-based pages to capture an astonishing number of organic visitors across countless search queries. In this blog, we’ll explore how a programmatic SEO course works, why it’s so effective.
What is Programmatic SEO?
Programmatic SEO is a method of automatically creating many web pages using a template, data, and code. It enables you to target thousands of keywords—especially long-tail ones—more or less with no manual input.
Put plainly, the process is like a recipe (template) with certain ingredients (data) being served up as many different dishes (pages) at a time.
How to Get Started With Programmatic SEO?
Creating content programmatically can become complex quite rapidly. Managing and updating thousands (or even millions) of data points, ensuring countless URLs are properly indexed, and establishing numerous internal links all require significant effort. Developing a platform similar to G2 or Zapier typically demands the expertise of skilled developers.
Here’s an easy, no-code approach to jumpstart your programmatic SEO course efforts. This method will help you discover high-potential keywords, automatically generate prototype pages, and improve communication with developers who will help bring your vision to reality.
Step 1: Choose a Topic That Can Be Scaled
Pick a topic where users search using similar patterns. These are called repeating or templated queries.
Programmatic SEO Examples:
“Best [Product] under ₹[Amount]”
“Top [Service] in [City]”
“[Job Role] jobs in [Location]”
“Courses for [Skill] in [Year]”
This step ensures that you have a lot of keyword variations to work with.
Step 2: Do Keyword Research
Use keyword tools to find variations based on your topic. Focus on long-tail keywords—they’re specific, less competitive, and easier to rank for.
Tools to Use:
Google Keyword Planner
Ubersuggest
Ahrefs or SEMrush
AnswerThePublic
Map out your keyword pattern.
For example:
“Best laptops under ₹[amount]” → ₹20,000, ₹30,000, ₹50,000, etc.
Step 3: Collect or Build Structured Data
Now, you need data to fill your web pages. This can be:
- A list of products with prices, features, and reviews
- A table of services with cities and ratings
- A spreadsheet of job roles, locations, and company names
- Use Google Sheets, Excel, or Airtable to store your data.
| Product | Price | Rating | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redmi Note 12 | ₹14,999 | 4.5 ★ | 5G, AMOLED, Fast Charge |
| iPhone SE | ₹49,999 | 4.3 ★ | A15 Bionic, Retina Display |
Step 4: Create a Page Template
Design one content layout (called a template) that can be reused across all pages.
A simple template includes:
- Page Title
- Meta Description
- H1 Tag
- Intro paragraph
- Content section (e.g., product list or reviews)
- FAQs
- CTA (call to action)
You only have to write this once—the data will change automatically.
Step 5: Use Tools to Auto-Generate Pages
No-Code Options (Easy):
- Sheet2Site – turns your Google Sheet into a live site
- Webflow + Airtable – use CMS + data combo
- WordPress + WP All Import – create bulk posts using CSV
Code-Based Options (Advanced):
- Python + Jinja2 templates
- Custom scripts that pull from CSV and create HTML pages
- Choose what works best for your skill level.
Step 6: Upload and Optimize the Pages
Once your pages are generated:
- Upload them to your website
- Create an XML sitemap and submit it to Google
- Internally link the pages
- Add schema markup if possible (for reviews, FAQs, etc.)
Use tools like:
- Google Search Console to monitor indexing
- Google Analytics to track traffic
Step 7: Test, Improve, and Scale
Start small—generate 10 to 20 pages. See how they rank.
Then:
- Add more data
- Improve content quality
- Create better internal linking
- Keep pages updated (like prices, reviews, or availability)
This is where SEO meets automation. You continuously learn and grow.
Programmatic SEO Examples
1. Zapier
*Wikipedia
Zapier provides one of the top programmatic SEO campaigns in the market (the company you are on the blog of today). And it is one of the things that allowed Zapier to grow and make money on organic traffic. One of the selling points of Zapier, which is an AI automation platform, is that people using it are able to connect thousands of apps, namely that they can roll out individual pages to every single app they ever support and every possible combination of apps.
Its potency lies in its ability to connect with users facing a specific problem at the precise moment they are most receptive, allowing for a scalable solution.
Example: Let us have a look.
In case you get curious about all the tools that can be integrated with Google Sheets, you may ask Google search for Google Sheets integrations. And Zapier would probably be in first place or near it. Once you press the link, you will be redirected to a separate app page.
This page aims to allow you to integrate Google Sheets and Notion in a frictionless manner. You have an issue that is about to be solved via the Zapier solution. Since it is programmatic, each type of Google Sheets integration has its page: Google Sheets + Trello, Google Sheets + Slack, and Google Sheets + HubSpot; the list continues.
This is duplicated in each of the instruments that Zapier has to work with, and this comes to thousands and thousands of programmatic pages.
2. Nomad List
*Andy Sto
Nomad List has taken the art of programmatic SEO to the next level by writing in-depth city pages covering thousands of cities worldwide. I have used it to organize trips to Thailand, Europe, and the U.S. several times. On the pages of the cities, there will be a combination of various data points, such as:
- Cost of living
- Internet speed
- Weather data
- Safety scores
- Air quality
- Reviews on Digital Nomads and much more
Their decision to merge real-time information with user-contributed materials makes their approach so effective. In other words, each of their pages (like the pages of Chiang Mai) fetches current temperature, air quality, and even availability of co-working spaces, all without losing historical information or community reviews.
3. Nerdwallet-Credit Cards and Finance Comparisons
*PCMag
What They Do:
NerdWallet has the following pages:
- The article is titled “Best Travel Credit Cards among Students”
- Best family Cashback Credit Cards
The way it works is Programmatic:
- They work with tabular information concerned with cards (fees, rewards, and ratings)
- The usage of the audience and the type of the card differ on each page
- Every page is of the same format
4. TripAdvisor location-based Travel Pages
What They Do:
TripAdvisor has such pages as:
- Top 10 Mumbai Activities
- Best Places of Attraction in Paris
- Goan restaurants
Why Is It Programmatic SEO?
- Information such as venue, the type of attraction, and scores is input into templates
- The structure of thousands of cities and categories is built in the same way
Key Considerations for Programmatic SEO
When it comes to SEO that involves automation and technical processes, there are certain risks to be mindful of. Programmatic SEO (pSEO) requires careful attention, as even a small error can significantly impact your website’s organic traffic and take months to recover.
Here are the two most critical aspects to watch out for when launching and managing a programmatic SEO campaign:
- Avoid Doorway Pages
Google defines doorway pages as those created to rank for specific, often similar keywords, with the primary purpose of redirecting users to a different page. These pages do not provide valuable content and merely serve to funnel traffic elsewhere.
- Optimize Your Internal Linking Strategy
Effective internal linking is vital for achieving success in programmatic SEO. Since obtaining backlinks for every landing page can be challenging and may appear unnatural, strategically using internal links is your best option. This approach allows you to distribute link equity from relevant pages to your targeted landing pages.
- Valuable Programmatic content
Publishing a large number of nearly identical pages can lead to what is known as thin content—content that provides minimal value to users. Just like any other type of content, programmatically generated pages must meet user intent and adhere to Google’s spam guidelines.
The difference between high-quality and low-quality programmatic content often comes down to data and relevance. Platforms such as Wise and Zapier attract millions of page views from their programmatic content because they present meaningful, product-related information in a way that benefits the reader.
Best Programmatic SEO Tools
Programmatic SEO tools streamline the process of generating SEO-optimized content, enabling websites to expand their keyword-targeted pages more effectively. These tools leverage AI to produce dynamic content and integrate seamlessly with different CMS platforms. Here are the best programmatic SEO tools to optimize your pSEO strategy:
- Engyne ($200/month): Engyne is a comprehensive platform designed for Programmatic SEO. It streamlines the process of keyword research, guides content development, and assists in creating a dynamic SEO collection. You can utilize a single-page template with customizable variables that adjust based on the page title.
- Bardeen AI (Free): Bardeen is a powerful data scraping tool that requires no coding skills. You can effortlessly scrape links, text, and images from web pages by simply clicking on the desired data, and it will automatically identify similar elements across the page. This feature is particularly beneficial when dealing with pages that have infinite scrolling or pagination.
- Byword.ai ($99/month): Byword.ai is an essential tool for automating content creation and enhancing your SEO efforts. It quickly generates thousands of SEO-optimized pages by leveraging natural language processing, ensuring high-quality content tailored to your SEO strategy.
- Ahrefs ($249/month): Ahrefs is a well-regarded tool in the SEO community, known for its robust feature set. It offers invaluable resources for keyword research, backlink analysis, and site audits, making it an essential component for any successful programmatic SEO approach.
How Jaro Education Helps?
Jaro Education is a perfect guide and support for any aspiring candidate looking to boost their career opportunities. By moulding industry-linked courses with individualised mentorship and accessible learning, Jaro ensures that the student holds everything in knowledge, skill, and confidence to do well in a highly competitive job market. Jaro is committed to career counselling, networking activities, and exposure to the global environment, a perfect platform for a student to fulfil their aspirations in career opportunities, whether the student wants to progress in their current job or is planning a brand new career path.
Conclusion
While SEO is inherently challenging, requiring constant vigilance and adaptation to ever-changing trends and search engine updates, programmatic SEO takes this complexity to another level. It demands not only a solid foundation in SEO principles but also technical prowess, extensive market research, and a nuanced understanding of Google’s evolving guidelines.
The stakes are high—one misstep can lead to penalties and a significant loss of traffic. However, for brands that master programmatic SEO, the rewards are immense, offering substantial ROI and a powerful edge over competitors. Embracing programmatic SEO might seem daunting, but with the right strategy and expertise, it can become a game-changer for your online presence.
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