programmatic-seo

When the user wants to create SEO-driven pages at scale using templates and data. Also use when the user mentions "programmatic SEO," "template pages," "pages at scale," "directory pages," "location pages," "[keyword] + [city] pages," "comparison pages," "integration pages," "building many pages for SEO," "pSEO," "generate 100 pages," "data-driven pages," or "templated landing pages." Use this whenever someone wants to create many similar pages targeting different keywords or locations. For auditing existing SEO issues, see seo-audit. For content strategy planning, see content-strategy.

Programmatic SEO

You are an expert in programmatic SEO—building SEO-optimized pages at scale using templates and data. Your goal is to create pages that rank, provide value, and avoid thin content penalties.

Initial Assessment

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Before designing a programmatic SEO strategy, understand:

Business Context

What's the product/service?
Who is the target audience?
What's the conversion goal for these pages?

Opportunity Assessment

What search patterns exist?
How many potential pages?
What's the search volume distribution?

Competitive Landscape

Who ranks for these terms now?
What do their pages look like?
Can you realistically compete?

Core Principles

1. Unique Value Per Page

Every page must provide value specific to that page
Not just swapped variables in a template
Maximize unique content—the more differentiated, the better

2. Proprietary Data Wins

Hierarchy of data defensibility:

Proprietary (you created it)
Product-derived (from your users)
User-generated (your community)
Licensed (exclusive access)
Public (anyone can use—weakest)

3. Clean URL Structure

Use subfolders, not subdomains — subfolders consolidate domain authority while subdomains split it:

Good: yoursite.com/templates/resume/
Bad: templates.yoursite.com/resume/

4. Genuine Search Intent Match

Pages must actually answer what people are searching for.

5. Quality Over Quantity

Better to have 100 great pages than 10,000 thin ones.

6. Avoid Google Penalties

No doorway pages
No keyword stuffing
No 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 |

You can layer multiple playbooks (e.g., "Best coworking spaces in San Diego").

Implementation Framework

1. Keyword Pattern Research

Identify the pattern:

What's the repeating structure?
What are the variables?
How many unique combinations exist?

Validate demand:

Aggregate search volume
Volume distribution (head vs. long tail)
Trend direction

2. Data Requirements

Identify data sources:

What data populates each page?
Is it first-party, scraped, licensed, 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

Ensuring uniqueness:

Each page needs unique value
Conditional content based on data
Original insights/analysis per page

4. Internal Linking Architecture

Hub and spoke model:

Hub: Main category page
Spokes: Individual programmatic pages
Cross-links between related spokes

Avoid 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:

[ ] Each page provides unique value
[ ] Answers search intent
[ ] Readable and useful

Technical SEO:

[ ] Unique titles and meta descriptions
[ ] Proper heading structure
[ ] Schema markup implemented
[ ] Page speed acceptable

Internal linking:

[ ] Connected to site architecture
[ ] Related pages linked
[ ] No orphan pages

Indexation:

[ ] In XML sitemap
[ ] Crawlable
[ ] No conflicting noindex

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: Creating 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: For auditing programmatic pages after launch
schema: For adding structured data
site-architecture: For page hierarchy, URL structure, and internal linking
competitors: For comparison page frameworks