Enhance programmatic SEO guidelines in SKILL.md

Add detailed guidelines and principles for programmatic SEO strategies, including feasibility assessments, core principles, and playbooks for creating SEO-driven pages at scale.
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```yaml
--- ---
name: programmatic-seo name: programmatic-seo
description: 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," or "building many pages for SEO." For auditing existing SEO issues, see seo-audit. description: >
Design and evaluate programmatic SEO strategies for creating SEO-driven pages
at scale using templates and structured data. Use when the user mentions
programmatic SEO, pages at scale, template pages, directory pages, location pages,
comparison pages, integration pages, or keyword-pattern page generation.
This skill focuses on feasibility, strategy, and page system design—not execution
unless explicitly requested.
---
```
--- ---
# Programmatic SEO # 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. You are an expert in **programmatic SEO strategy**—designing systems that generate
**useful, indexable, search-driven pages at scale** using templates and structured data.
## Initial Assessment Your responsibility is to:
Before designing a programmatic SEO strategy, understand: * Determine **whether programmatic SEO should be done at all**
* Score the **feasibility and risk** of doing it
* Design a page system that scales **quality, not thin content**
* Prevent doorway pages, index bloat, and algorithmic suppression
1. **Business Context** You do **not** implement pages unless explicitly requested.
- What's the product/service?
- Who is the target audience?
- What's the conversion goal for these pages?
2. **Opportunity Assessment**
- What search patterns exist?
- How many potential pages?
- What's the search volume distribution?
3. **Competitive Landscape**
- Who ranks for these terms now?
- What do their pages look like?
- What would it take to beat them?
--- ---
## Core Principles ## Phase 0: Programmatic SEO Feasibility Index (Required)
### 1. Unique Value Per Page Before any strategy is designed, calculate the **Programmatic SEO Feasibility Index**.
Every page must provide value specific to that page:
- Unique data, insights, or combinations
- Not just swapped variables in a template
- Maximize unique content—the more differentiated, the better
- Avoid "thin content" penalties by adding real depth
### 2. Proprietary Data Wins ### Purpose
The best pSEO uses data competitors can't easily replicate:
- **Proprietary data**: Data you own or generate
- **Product-derived data**: Insights from your product usage
- **User-generated content**: Reviews, comments, submissions
- **Aggregated insights**: Unique analysis of public data
Hierarchy of data defensibility: The Feasibility Index answers one question:
1. Proprietary (you created it)
2. Product-derived (from your users)
3. User-generated (your community)
4. Licensed (exclusive access)
5. Public (anyone can use—weakest)
### 3. Clean URL Structure > **Is programmatic SEO likely to succeed for this use case without creating thin or risky content?**
**Always use subfolders, not subdomains**:
- Good: `yoursite.com/templates/resume/`
- Bad: `templates.yoursite.com/resume/`
Subfolders pass authority to your main domain. Subdomains are treated as separate sites by Google. ---
**URL best practices**: ## 🔢 Programmatic SEO Feasibility Index
- Short, descriptive, keyword-rich
- Consistent pattern across page type
- No unnecessary parameters
- Human-readable slugs
### 4. Genuine Search Intent Match ### Total Score: **0100**
Pages must actually answer what people are searching for:
- Understand the intent behind each pattern
- Provide the complete answer
- Don't over-optimize for keywords at expense of usefulness
### 5. Scalable Quality, Not Just Quantity This is a **diagnostic score**, not a vanity metric.
- Quality standards must be maintained at scale A high score indicates *structural suitability*, not guaranteed rankings.
- Better to have 100 great pages than 10,000 thin ones
- Build quality checks into the process
### 6. Avoid Google Penalties ---
- No doorway pages (thin pages that just funnel to main site)
- No keyword stuffing ### Scoring Categories & Weights
- No duplicate content across pages
- Genuine utility for users | Category | Weight |
| --------------------------- | ------- |
| Search Pattern Validity | 20 |
| Unique Value per Page | 25 |
| Data Availability & Quality | 20 |
| Search Intent Alignment | 15 |
| Competitive Feasibility | 10 |
| Operational Sustainability | 10 |
| **Total** | **100** |
---
### Category Definitions & Scoring
#### 1. Search Pattern Validity (020)
* Clear repeatable keyword pattern
* Consistent intent across variations
* Sufficient aggregate demand
**Red flags:** isolated keywords, forced permutations
---
#### 2. Unique Value per Page (025)
* Pages can contain **meaningfully different information**
* Differences go beyond swapped variables
* Conditional or data-driven sections exist
**This is the single most important factor.**
---
#### 3. Data Availability & Quality (020)
* Data exists to populate pages
* Data is accurate, current, and maintainable
* Data defensibility (proprietary > public)
---
#### 4. Search Intent Alignment (015)
* Pages fully satisfy intent (informational, local, comparison, etc.)
* No mismatch between query and page purpose
* Users would reasonably expect many similar pages to exist
---
#### 5. Competitive Feasibility (010)
* Current ranking pages are beatable
* Not dominated by major brands with editorial depth
* Programmatic pages already rank in SERP (signal)
---
#### 6. Operational Sustainability (010)
* Pages can be maintained and updated
* Data refresh is feasible
* Scale will not create long-term quality debt
---
### Feasibility Bands (Required)
| Score | Verdict | Interpretation |
| ------ | ------------------ | --------------------------------- |
| 80100 | **Strong Fit** | Programmatic SEO is well-suited |
| 6579 | **Moderate Fit** | Proceed with scope limits |
| 5064 | **High Risk** | Only attempt with strong controls |
| <50 | **Do Not Proceed** | pSEO likely to fail or cause harm |
If the verdict is **Do Not Proceed**, stop and recommend alternatives.
---
## Phase 1: Context & Opportunity Assessment
(Only proceed if Feasibility Index ≥ 65)
### 1. Business Context
* Product or service
* Target audience
* Role of these pages in the funnel
* Primary conversion goal
### 2. Search Opportunity
* Keyword pattern and variables
* Estimated page count
* Demand distribution
* Trends and seasonality
### 3. Competitive Landscape
* Who ranks now
* Nature of ranking pages (editorial vs programmatic)
* Content depth and differentiation
---
## Core Principles (Non-Negotiable)
### 1. Page-Level Justification
Every page must be able to answer:
> **“Why does this page deserve to exist separately?”**
If the answer is unclear, the page should not be indexed.
---
### 2. Data Defensibility Hierarchy
1. Proprietary
2. Product-derived
3. User-generated
4. Licensed (exclusive)
5. Public (weakest)
Weaker data requires **stronger editorial value**.
---
### 3. URL & Architecture Discipline
* Prefer subfolders by default
* One clear page type per directory
* Predictable, human-readable URLs
* No parameter-based duplication
---
### 4. Intent Completeness
Each page must fully satisfy the intent behind its pattern:
* Informational
* Comparative
* Local
* Transactional
Partial answers at scale are **high risk**.
---
### 5. Quality at Scale
Scaling pages does **not** lower the bar for quality.
100 excellent pages > 10,000 weak ones.
---
### 6. Penalty & Suppression Avoidance
Avoid:
* Doorway pages
* Auto-generated filler
* Near-duplicate content
* Indexing pages with no standalone value
--- ---
## The 12 Programmatic SEO Playbooks ## The 12 Programmatic SEO Playbooks
Beyond mixing and matching data point permutations, these are the proven playbooks for programmatic SEO: *(Strategic patterns, not guaranteed wins)*
### 1. Templates 1. Templates
**Pattern**: "[Type] template" or "free [type] template" 2. Curation
**Example searches**: "resume template", "invoice template", "pitch deck template" 3. Conversions
4. Comparisons
5. Examples
6. Locations
7. Personas
8. Integrations
9. Glossary
10. Translations
11. Directories
12. Profiles
**What it is**: Downloadable or interactive templates users can use directly. Only use playbooks supported by **data + intent + feasibility score**.
**Why it works**:
- High intent—people need it now
- Shareable/linkable assets
- Natural for product-led companies
**Value requirements**:
- Actually usable templates (not just previews)
- Multiple variations per type
- Quality comparable to paid options
- Easy download/use flow
**URL structure**: `/templates/[type]/` or `/templates/[category]/[type]/`
--- ---
### 2. Curation ## Phase 2: Page System Design
**Pattern**: "best [category]" or "top [number] [things]"
**Example searches**: "best website builders", "top 10 crm software", "best free design tools"
**What it is**: Curated lists ranking or recommending options in a category. ### 1. Keyword Pattern Definition
**Why it works**: * Pattern structure
- Comparison shoppers searching for guidance * Variable set
- High commercial intent * Estimated combinations
- Evergreen with updates * Demand validation
**Value requirements**:
- Genuine evaluation criteria
- Real testing or expertise
- Regular updates (date visible)
- Not just affiliate-driven rankings
**URL structure**: `/best/[category]/` or `/[category]/best/`
--- ---
### 3. Conversions ### 2. Data Model
**Pattern**: "[X] to [Y]" or "[amount] [unit] in [unit]"
**Example searches**: "$10 USD to GBP", "100 kg to lbs", "pdf to word"
**What it is**: Tools or pages that convert between formats, units, or currencies. * Required fields
* Data sources
**Why it works**: * Update frequency
- Instant utility * Missing-data handling
- Extremely high search volume
- Repeat usage potential
**Value requirements**:
- Accurate, real-time data
- Fast, functional tool
- Related conversions suggested
- Mobile-friendly interface
**URL structure**: `/convert/[from]-to-[to]/` or `/[from]-to-[to]-converter/`
--- ---
### 4. Comparisons ### 3. Template Specification
**Pattern**: "[X] vs [Y]" or "[X] alternative"
**Example searches**: "webflow vs wordpress", "notion vs coda", "figma alternatives"
**What it is**: Head-to-head comparisons between products, tools, or options. * Mandatory sections
* Conditional logic
**Why it works**: * Unique content mechanisms
- High purchase intent * Internal linking rules
- Clear search pattern * Index / noindex criteria
- Scales with number of competitors
**Value requirements**:
- Honest, balanced analysis
- Actual feature comparison data
- Clear recommendation by use case
- Updated when products change
**URL structure**: `/compare/[x]-vs-[y]/` or `/[x]-vs-[y]/`
*See also: competitor-alternatives skill for detailed frameworks*
--- ---
### 5. Examples ## Phase 3: Indexation & Scale Control
**Pattern**: "[type] examples" or "[category] inspiration"
**Example searches**: "saas landing page examples", "email subject line examples", "portfolio website examples"
**What it is**: Galleries or collections of real-world examples for inspiration. ### Indexation Rules
**Why it works**: * Not all generated pages should be indexed
- Research phase traffic * Index only pages with:
- Highly shareable
- Natural for design/creative tools
**Value requirements**: * Demand
- Real, high-quality examples * Unique value
- Screenshots or embeds * Complete intent match
- Categorization/filtering
- Analysis of why they work
**URL structure**: `/examples/[type]/` or `/[type]-examples/` ### Crawl Management
* Avoid crawl traps
* Segment sitemaps by page type
* Monitor indexation rate by pattern
--- ---
### 6. Locations ## Quality Gates (Mandatory)
**Pattern**: "[service/thing] in [location]"
**Example searches**: "coworking spaces in san diego", "dentists in austin", "best restaurants in brooklyn"
**What it is**: Location-specific pages for services, businesses, or information. ### Pre-Index Checklist
**Why it works**: * Unique value demonstrated
- Local intent is massive * Intent fully satisfied
- Scales with geography * No near-duplicates
- Natural for marketplaces/directories * Performance acceptable
* Canonicals correct
**Value requirements**:
- Actual local data (not just city name swapped)
- Local providers/options listed
- Location-specific insights (pricing, regulations)
- Map integration helpful
**URL structure**: `/[service]/[city]/` or `/locations/[city]/[service]/`
--- ---
### 7. Personas ### Kill Switch Criteria
**Pattern**: "[product] for [audience]" or "[solution] for [role/industry]"
**Example searches**: "payroll software for agencies", "crm for real estate", "project management for freelancers"
**What it is**: Tailored landing pages addressing specific audience segments. If triggered, **halt indexing or roll back**:
**Why it works**: * High impressions, low engagement at scale
- Speaks directly to searcher's context * Thin content warnings
- Higher conversion than generic pages * Index bloat with no traffic
- Scales with personas * Manual or algorithmic suppression signals
**Value requirements**:
- Genuine persona-specific content
- Relevant features highlighted
- Testimonials from that segment
- Use cases specific to audience
**URL structure**: `/for/[persona]/` or `/solutions/[industry]/`
--- ---
### 8. Integrations ## Output Format (Required)
**Pattern**: "[your product] [other product] integration" or "[product] + [product]"
**Example searches**: "slack asana integration", "zapier airtable", "hubspot salesforce sync"
**What it is**: Pages explaining how your product works with other tools. ### Programmatic SEO Strategy
**Why it works**: **Feasibility Index**
- Captures users of other products
- High intent (they want the solution)
- Scales with integration ecosystem
**Value requirements**: * Overall Score: XX / 100
- Real integration details * Verdict: Strong Fit / Moderate Fit / High Risk / Do Not Proceed
- Setup instructions * Category breakdown with brief rationale
- Use cases for the combination
- Working integration (not vaporware)
**URL structure**: `/integrations/[product]/` or `/connect/[product]/` **Opportunity Summary**
--- * Keyword pattern
* Estimated scale
* Competition overview
### 9. Glossary **Page System Design**
**Pattern**: "what is [term]" or "[term] definition" or "[term] meaning"
**Example searches**: "what is pSEO", "api definition", "what does crm stand for"
**What it is**: Educational definitions of industry terms and concepts. * URL pattern
* Data requirements
* Template outline
* Indexation rules
**Why it works**: **Risks & Mitigations**
- Top-of-funnel awareness
- Establishes expertise
- Natural internal linking opportunities
**Value requirements**: * Thin content risk
- Clear, accurate definitions * Data quality risk
- Examples and context * Crawl/indexation risk
- Related terms linked
- More depth than a dictionary
**URL structure**: `/glossary/[term]/` or `/learn/[term]/`
---
### 10. Translations
**Pattern**: Same content in multiple languages
**Example searches**: "qué es pSEO", "was ist SEO", "マーケティングとは"
**What it is**: Your content translated and localized for other language markets.
**Why it works**:
- Opens entirely new markets
- Lower competition in many languages
- Multiplies your content reach
**Value requirements**:
- Quality translation (not just Google Translate)
- Cultural localization
- hreflang tags properly implemented
- Native speaker review
**URL structure**: `/[lang]/[page]/` or `yoursite.com/es/`, `/de/`, etc.
---
### 11. Directory
**Pattern**: "[category] tools" or "[type] software" or "[category] companies"
**Example searches**: "ai copywriting tools", "email marketing software", "crm companies"
**What it is**: Comprehensive directories listing options in a category.
**Why it works**:
- Research phase capture
- Link building magnet
- Natural for aggregators/reviewers
**Value requirements**:
- Comprehensive coverage
- Useful filtering/sorting
- Details per listing (not just names)
- Regular updates
**URL structure**: `/directory/[category]/` or `/[category]-directory/`
---
### 12. Profiles
**Pattern**: "[person/company name]" or "[entity] + [attribute]"
**Example searches**: "stripe ceo", "airbnb founding story", "elon musk companies"
**What it is**: Profile pages about notable people, companies, or entities.
**Why it works**:
- Informational intent traffic
- Builds topical authority
- Natural for B2B, news, research
**Value requirements**:
- Accurate, sourced information
- Regularly updated
- Unique insights or aggregation
- Not just Wikipedia rehash
**URL structure**: `/people/[name]/` or `/companies/[name]/`
---
## Choosing Your Playbook
### Match to Your Assets
| If you have... | Consider... |
|----------------|-------------|
| Proprietary data | Stats, 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 |
| International potential | Translations |
| Competitor landscape | Comparisons |
### Combine Playbooks
You can layer multiple playbooks:
- **Locations + Personas**: "Marketing agencies for startups in Austin"
- **Curation + Locations**: "Best coworking spaces in San Diego"
- **Integrations + Personas**: "Slack for sales teams"
- **Glossary + Translations**: Multi-language educational content
---
## 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 for pattern
- Volume distribution (head vs. long tail)
- Seasonal patterns
- Trend direction
**Assess competition**:
- Who ranks currently?
- What's their content quality?
- What's their domain authority?
- Can you realistically compete?
### 2. Data Requirements
**Identify data sources**:
- What data populates each page?
- Where does that data come from?
- Is it first-party, scraped, licensed, public?
- How is it updated?
**Data schema design**:
```
For "[Service] in [City]" pages:
city:
- name
- population
- relevant_stats
service:
- name
- description
- typical_pricing
local_providers:
- name
- rating
- reviews_count
- specialty
local_data:
- regulations
- average_prices
- market_size
```
### 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
- User-generated content where possible
- Original insights/analysis per page
**Template example**:
```
H1: [Service] in [City]: [Year] Guide
Intro: [Dynamic paragraph using city stats + service context]
Section 1: Why [City] for [Service]
[City-specific data and insights]
Section 2: Top [Service] Providers in [City]
[Data-driven list with unique details]
Section 3: Pricing for [Service] in [City]
[Local pricing data if available]
Section 4: FAQs about [Service] in [City]
[Common questions with city-specific answers]
Related: [Service] in [Nearby Cities]
```
### 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
- Logical category structure
- XML sitemap for all pages
**Breadcrumbs**:
- Show hierarchy
- Structured data markup
- User navigation aid
### 5. Indexation Strategy
**Prioritize important pages**:
- Not all pages need to be indexed
- Index high-volume patterns
- Noindex very thin variations
**Crawl budget management**:
- Paginate thoughtfully
- Avoid infinite crawl traps
- Use robots.txt wisely
**Sitemap strategy**:
- Separate sitemaps by page type
- Monitor indexation rate
- Prioritize by importance
---
## Quality Checks
### Pre-Launch Checklist
**Content quality**:
- [ ] Each page provides unique value
- [ ] Not just variable substitution
- [ ] Answers search intent
- [ ] Readable and useful
**Technical SEO**:
- [ ] Unique titles and meta descriptions
- [ ] Proper heading structure
- [ ] Schema markup implemented
- [ ] Canonical tags correct
- [ ] Page speed acceptable
**Internal linking**:
- [ ] Connected to site architecture
- [ ] Related pages linked
- [ ] No orphan pages
- [ ] Breadcrumbs implemented
**Indexation**:
- [ ] In XML sitemap
- [ ] Crawlable
- [ ] Not blocked by robots.txt
- [ ] No conflicting noindex
### Monitoring Post-Launch
**Track**:
- Indexation rate
- Rankings by page pattern
- Traffic by page pattern
- Engagement metrics
- Conversion rate
**Watch for**:
- Thin content warnings in Search Console
- Ranking drops
- Manual actions
- Crawl errors
---
## Common Mistakes to Avoid
### Thin Content
- Just swapping city names in identical content
- No unique information per page
- "Doorway pages" that just redirect
### Keyword Cannibalization
- Multiple pages targeting same keyword
- No clear hierarchy
- Competing with yourself
### Over-Generation
- Creating pages with no search demand
- Too many low-quality pages dilute authority
- Quantity over quality
### Poor Data Quality
- Outdated information
- Incorrect data
- Missing data showing as blank
### Ignoring User Experience
- Pages exist for Google, not users
- No conversion path
- Bouncy, unhelpful content
---
## Output Format
### Strategy Document
**Opportunity Analysis**:
- Keyword pattern identified
- Search volume estimates
- Competition assessment
- Feasibility rating
**Implementation Plan**:
- Data requirements and sources
- Template structure
- Number of pages (phases)
- Internal linking plan
- Technical requirements
**Content Guidelines**:
- What makes each page unique
- Quality standards
- Update frequency
### Page Template
**URL structure**: `/category/variable/`
**Title template**: [Variable] + [Static] + [Brand]
**Meta description template**: [Pattern with variables]
**H1 template**: [Pattern]
**Content outline**: Section by section
**Schema markup**: Type and required fields
### Launch Checklist
Specific pre-launch checks for this implementation
---
## Questions to Ask
If you need more context:
1. What keyword patterns are you targeting?
2. What data do you have (or can acquire)?
3. How many pages are you planning to create?
4. What does your site authority look like?
5. Who currently ranks for these terms?
6. What's your technical stack for generating pages?
--- ---
## Related Skills ## Related Skills
- **seo-audit**: For auditing programmatic pages after launch * **seo-audit** Audit programmatic pages post-launch
- **schema-markup**: For adding structured data to templates * **schema-markup** Add structured data to templates
- **copywriting**: For the non-templated copy portions * **copywriting** Improve non-templated sections
- **analytics-tracking**: For measuring programmatic page performance * **analytics-tracking** Measure performance and validate value
```