programmatic-seo
Verified@coreyhaines
npx machina-cli add skill coreyhaines31/marketingskills/programmatic-seo --openclawProgrammatic 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-context.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md 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-markup: For adding structured data
- site-architecture: For page hierarchy, URL structure, and internal linking
- competitor-alternatives: For comparison page frameworks
Source
git clone https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/programmatic-seoView on GitHub Overview
Programmatic SEO builds SEO-optimized pages at scale using templates and data. It targets many similar pages (like location, directory, or keyword-combined pages) while ensuring each page delivers unique value and avoids thin content penalties.
How This Skill Works
A templated framework is fed with data to generate numerous pages (e.g., [keyword] + [city], comparisons, integrations). Pages must provide genuine value per page, leverage proprietary or product-derived data, and use clean, subfolder URL structures to improve crawlability and authority.
When to Use It
- You need to create many similar pages targeting different keywords or locations (e.g., location pages, [keyword] + [city] pages).
- You want template-driven pages such as 'X templates' or 'Y vs Z' comparisons at scale.
- You’re building data-driven pages using proprietary or product-derived data.
- You’re planning content strategy with templated landing pages or pSEO, including 100+ pages.
- You want to audit or optimize SEO issues with a programmatic approach (see seo-audit).
Quick Start
- Step 1: Define the templates and data sources (e.g., location fields, keywords).
- Step 2: Build a template that guarantees unique value per page and uses clean URLs.
- Step 3: Generate pages at scale, then audit for quality and avoid thin content.
Best Practices
- Ensure every generated page provides unique, valuable content beyond a simple variable swap.
- Prioritize proprietary data or product-derived content as the core differentiator.
- Use clean, hierarchical subfolder URLs (no subdomains) to strengthen crawlability.
- Align pages with genuine search intent and avoid doorway or thin content.
- Quality over quantity: monitor for duplicates and penalties; prune underperforming pages.
Example Use Cases
- 'dentists in Austin' location pages.
- 'webflow vs wordpress' comparison pages.
- 'resume template' pages using a templates playbook.
- 'best website builders' category curation pages.
- 'what is pSEO' glossary pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Skills
email-sequence
coreyhaines31/marketingskills
When the user wants to create or optimize an email sequence, drip campaign, automated email flow, or lifecycle email program. Also use when the user mentions "email sequence," "drip campaign," "nurture sequence," "onboarding emails," "welcome sequence," "re-engagement emails," "email automation," "lifecycle emails," "trigger-based emails," "email funnel," "email workflow," "what emails should I send," "welcome series," or "email cadence." Use this for any multi-email automated flow. For cold outreach emails, see cold-email. For in-app onboarding, see onboarding-cro.
SEO Programmatic
openclaw/skills
Programmatic SEO planning and analysis for pages generated at scale from data sources. Covers template engines, URL patterns, internal linking automation, thin content safeguards, and index bloat prevention.
site-architecture
coreyhaines31/marketingskills
When the user wants to plan, map, or restructure their website's page hierarchy, navigation, URL structure, or internal linking. Also use when the user mentions "sitemap," "site map," "visual sitemap," "site structure," "page hierarchy," "information architecture," "IA," "navigation design," "URL structure," "breadcrumbs," "internal linking strategy," "website planning," "what pages do I need," "how should I organize my site," or "site navigation." Use this whenever someone is planning what pages a website should have and how they connect. NOT for XML sitemaps (that's technical SEO — see seo-audit). For SEO audits, see seo-audit. For structured data, see schema-markup.
ai-seo
coreyhaines31/marketingskills
When the user wants to optimize content for AI search engines, get cited by LLMs, or appear in AI-generated answers. Also use when the user mentions 'AI SEO,' 'AEO,' 'GEO,' 'LLMO,' 'answer engine optimization,' 'generative engine optimization,' 'LLM optimization,' 'AI Overviews,' 'optimize for ChatGPT,' 'optimize for Perplexity,' 'AI citations,' 'AI visibility,' 'zero-click search,' 'how do I show up in AI answers,' 'LLM mentions,' or 'optimize for Claude/Gemini.' Use this whenever someone wants their content to be cited or surfaced by AI assistants and AI search engines. For traditional technical and on-page SEO audits, see seo-audit. For structured data implementation, see schema-markup.
competitor-alternatives
coreyhaines31/marketingskills
When the user wants to create competitor comparison or alternative pages for SEO and sales enablement. Also use when the user mentions 'alternative page,' 'vs page,' 'competitor comparison,' 'comparison page,' '[Product] vs [Product],' '[Product] alternative,' 'competitive landing pages,' 'how do we compare to X,' 'battle card,' or 'competitor teardown.' Use this for any content that positions your product against competitors. Covers four formats: singular alternative, plural alternatives, you vs competitor, and competitor vs competitor. For sales-specific competitor docs, see sales-enablement.
content-strategy
coreyhaines31/marketingskills
When the user wants to plan a content strategy, decide what content to create, or figure out what topics to cover. Also use when the user mentions "content strategy," "what should I write about," "content ideas," "blog strategy," "topic clusters," "content planning," "editorial calendar," "content marketing," "content roadmap," "what content should I create," "blog topics," "content pillars," or "I don't know what to write." Use this whenever someone needs help deciding what content to produce, not just writing it. For writing individual pieces, see copywriting. For SEO-specific audits, see seo-audit. For social media content specifically, see social-content.
