{"id":2368,"date":"2023-10-31T11:35:20","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T11:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/programmatic-seo-explained-for-beginners\/"},"modified":"2023-10-31T11:35:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T11:35:20","slug":"programmatic-seo-explained-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/programmatic-seo-explained-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"Programmatic SEO, Explained for Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Programmatic SEO refers to the creation of keyword-targeted pages in an automatic (or near automatic) way.<\/p>\n<p>It provides a way for companies to create thousands of website pages targeted at thousands of keywords\u2014without having to design, write, and publish pages manually. Companies like Zapier, Zillow, and G2 use programmatic SEO to generate millions of pageviews each\u00a0year.<\/p>\n<p>Programmatic pages are usually created from data in a database, like product prices, weather, or location information. To create programmatic content at a large scale, it helps to be a web developer, but there are less technical ways to learn some of the core principles.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll show you\u00a0how.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples of programmatic SEO<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Programmatic SEO is a new term for an old idea. If you\u2019ve ever visited Amazon, Yelp, or TripAdvisor, you\u2019ve visited a programmatic page. In fact, if a company offers thousands of products, or provides services in thousands of locations, a programmatic approach to content creation is virtually necessary.<\/p>\n<p>But you don\u2019t have to be an ecommerce giant to find programmatic content useful.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nomadlist\u2019s location pages<\/h3>\n<p><strong>URL: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nomadlist.com\/chiang-mai\">https:\/\/nomadlist.com<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/nomadlist.com\/chiang-mai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\/chiang-mai<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated pages: <\/strong>25,873<\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated monthly organic traffic: <\/strong>41,200<\/p>\n<p>Nomadlist helps aspiring digital nomads work out which countries and cities to visit. The website has thousands of programmatic pages sharing the same core information\u2014like internet speeds, average temperatures, and common languages\u2014for towns and cities across the\u00a0world.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"941\" height=\"627\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image9-7.jpg\" alt=\"programmatic page on nomadlist.com\" class=\"wp-image-168534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image9-7.jpg 941w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image9-7-638x425.jpg 638w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image9-7-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 941px) 100vw, 941px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Zapier\u2019s app directory<\/h3>\n<p><strong>URL: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/zapier.com\/apps\">https:\/\/zapier.com\/apps<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated pages: <\/strong>800,632<\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated monthly organic traffic: <\/strong>306,000<\/p>\n<p>Zapier is a workflow automation tool that connects different software products together (allowing you to automatically save new emails into a Google Sheet, for example). The company has programmatically created landing pages for each of the thousands of products they integrate with, showing the tools they connect to, and the workflows that can be triggered.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"929\" height=\"727\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6.png\" alt=\"zapier app directory page\" class=\"wp-image-168536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6.png 929w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6-543x425.png 543w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6-768x601.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"929\" height=\"727\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6.png\" alt=\"zapier app directory page\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6.png 929w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6-543x425.png 543w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image12-6-768x601.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Webflow\u2019s website templates<\/h3>\n<p><strong>URL: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/webflow.com\/made-in-webflow\/website\">https:\/\/webflow.com\/made-in-webflow\/website<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated pages: <\/strong>31,516<\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated monthly organic traffic: <\/strong>27,600<\/p>\n<p>Webflow is a no-code website builder. They\u2019ve used programmatic SEO to build unique landing pages for thousands of website templates created by their users. Their strategy generates a good amount of traffic, but also makes it easy for visitors to clone the templates and become a Webflow user.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"935\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6.png\" alt=\"webflow website\" class=\"wp-image-168538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6.png 935w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6-491x425.png 491w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6-768x665.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 935px) 100vw, 935px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"935\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6.png\" alt=\"webflow website\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6.png 935w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6-491x425.png 491w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image7-6-768x665.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 935px) 100vw, 935px\"\/><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wise\u2019s currency conversion pages<\/h3>\n<p><strong>URL: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/wise.com\/us\/currency-converter\/\">https:\/\/wise.com\/us\/currency-converter\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated pages: <\/strong>14,888<\/p>\n<p><strong>Estimated monthly organic traffic: <\/strong>4,667,719<\/p>\n<p>Wise offer international banking services, including currency conversion. They generate millions of monthly pageviews by programmatically creating landing pages to help users convert between different currencies\u2014from US Dollars to Indian Rupees, from Indian Rupees to Mexican Pesos, and so on. Virtually every currency pair has its own unique page.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"891\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8.png\" alt=\"Wise\u2019s currency conversion page\" class=\"wp-image-168540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8.png 891w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8-676x425.png 676w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8-768x483.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"891\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8.png\" alt=\"Wise\u2019s currency conversion page\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168540\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8.png 891w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8-676x425.png 676w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image8-8-768x483.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Programmatic\u2026 or\u00a0spam?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Before you get too excited about the prospect of publishing thousands of pages, it\u2019s worth considering the words of Google\u2019s John Mueller: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnMu\/status\/1683881977529634816\"><em>Programmatic SEO is often a fancy banner for spam.<\/em><\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I love fire, but also programmatic SEO is often a fancy banner for\u00a0spam.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 I am John &#8211; \u2b50 \u2b50 LIVE \u2b50 \u2b50 (@JohnMu) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnMu\/status\/1683881977529634816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 25,\u00a02023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Any company that publishes a huge number of very similar pages runs the risk of creating <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/thin-content\">thin content<\/a>: content that offers little to no value to the end user. Like any other page, programmatic content needs to satisfy user intent (and not violate Google\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/essentials\/spam-policies\">spam policies<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re wondering what sets \u201cgood\u201d programmatic content apart from bad, the answer often boils down to <em>data <\/em>and <em>relevancy<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Sites like Wise and Zapier can generate millions of pageviews from programmatic content largely because they offer good, product-relevant data in a format that\u2019s useful to the reader:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wise\u2019s currency conversion pages<\/strong> also include historical conversion rate data, rate comparisons with other banks, and the ability to actually <em>send<\/em> money using\u00a0Wise.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Zapier\u2019s app pages <\/strong>are more than basic lists of tools: they show dozens of useful workflows and allow the reader to actually <em>set them up <\/em>for themselves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Today, it\u2019s technically possible to generate huge numbers of website pages with little more than a ChatGPT subscription, a Google Sheet, and a simple script (which ChatGPT can even help you to write). But just because you can, theoretically, put content creation on autopilot, it doesn\u2019t mean that good results will follow.<\/p>\n<p>This type of thin content isn\u2019t likely to generate meaningful traffic for a sustained period of time. Relevant, unique data is usually what makes the difference between helpful content and\u00a0spam.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to get started with programmatic SEO<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>True programmatic content creation can get very complicated, very quickly. Thousands (even <em>millions<\/em>) of data points need to be sourced, synced, and updated. Thousands of URLs need to be indexed, and thousands of internal links need to be built. To create something like Wise or Zapier have built, you need developers.<\/p>\n<p>But not every programmatic project has to be quite so complicated. You can attract plenty of traffic with just a few hundred or a few thousand pages.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a simple no-code process to get started with programmatic SEO. It will help you identify great keywords for programmatic SEO, automatically build prototype pages, and even communicate more effectively with the developers who\u2019ll bring your vision to\u00a0life.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Find keywords that\u00a0scale<\/h3>\n<p>Programmatic content works by targeting thousands of similar keywords with one basic page template. So to get started, you need to find relevant keywords that have hundreds (or even thousands) of similar variations.<\/p>\n<p>Start by entering your seed keywords into Ahrefs\u2019 Keywords Explorer. For a personal finance website, you might use terms like <em>debt management, cost of living<\/em> and <em>expense tracking<\/em>. Then expand your list of possible keywords by selecting the Matching Terms report:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"671\" height=\"530\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image10-7.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs\u2019 Keywords Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-168541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image10-7.png 671w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image10-7-538x425.png 538w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"671\" height=\"530\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image10-7.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs\u2019 Keywords Explorer\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image10-7.png 671w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image10-7-538x425.png 538w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 671px) 100vw, 671px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you\u2019re not confident in your ability to rank for high-competition keywords, it can be useful to filter your results by setting the Keyword Difficulty to &lt;20 and the DR of top-ranking sites to &lt;30. This will show keywords that most websites could rank for\u2014even those without lots of backlinks:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image14-6.png\" alt=\"high-competition keyword filter\" class=\"wp-image-168543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image14-6.png 752w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image14-6-680x102.png 680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image14-6.png\" alt=\"high-competition keyword filter\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168543\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image14-6.png 752w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image14-6-680x102.png 680w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Browse through the keyword list and look for patterns in the keywords. In this case, many of the \u201ccost of living\u201d keywords reference a particular location:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"557\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image6-7.png\" alt=\"keyword list on Ahrefs\" class=\"wp-image-168545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image6-7.png 752w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image6-7-574x425.png 574w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"752\" height=\"557\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image6-7.png\" alt=\"keyword list on Ahrefs\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image6-7.png 752w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image6-7-574x425.png 574w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 752px) 100vw, 752px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>To home in on just these types of keywords, we can use the Include filter to show all keywords that include \u201ccost of living in\u201d:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"697\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image2-8.png\" alt=\"keywords that include \u201ccost of living in\u201d:\" class=\"wp-image-168547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image2-8.png 540w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image2-8-329x425.png 329w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"697\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image2-8.png\" alt=\"keywords that include \u201ccost of living in\u201d:\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image2-8.png 540w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image2-8-329x425.png 329w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Looking at this example, we\u2019ve found 1,143 keywords with a combined monthly search volume of 122,000. Successfully ranking for even a few dozen of these terms could generate substantial traffic for your website.<\/p>\n<p>These keywords are perfect for programmatic SEO. The type of content that would best help someone searching for \u201ccost of living in arizona\u201d is likely to be very similar to the type of content that would help someone searching for \u201ccost of living in california.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The data on each page would need to be different, but the structure and main ideas would be the\u00a0same.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Check search intent<\/h3>\n<p>Next, you need to work out what type of content would help people searching for these keywords. If you look at the SERP for a few of your \u201ccost of living\u201d keywords, many of the search results contain the same types of information:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A cost of living score on a 0\u2013100\u00a0scale<\/li>\n<li>Comparisons with nearby states<\/li>\n<li>Typical costs for major expenses like property, food, and healthcare<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"549\" height=\"605\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-9.png\" alt=\"Article about the cost of living in South Carolina\" class=\"wp-image-168549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-9.png 549w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-9-386x425.png 386w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"549\" height=\"605\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-9.png\" alt=\"Article about the cost of living in South Carolina\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-9.png 549w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image3-9-386x425.png 386w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 549px) 100vw, 549px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>These data points give us an idea of the type of information required to meet the searcher\u2019s intent. Searchers want a way to quickly compare cost of living between states, and beyond that, to see how those costs break out across core categories.<\/p>\n<p>For your programmatic content, you should probably include these data points on every\u00a0page.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Find relevant data<\/h3>\n<p>Next, you need to source that data. There are three types of data you have at our disposal:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Proprietary data:<\/strong> original data that is unique to you, your company, or your product. This is the most desirable data type: you can provide information no one else\u00a0has.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Public data: <\/strong>publicly available data that is licensed for commercial use. This is usually the easiest data to find, but that means that other companies may be using it in a similar context.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Scraped data: <\/strong>data extracted from websites using web scraping tools. This can be useful but may introduce issues with copyright.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Looking at the search results for these keywords, many of the top-ranking articles contain data from the same public data source: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.coli.org\/\">Cost of Living Index<\/a> published by the Council for Community and Economic Research. It\u2019s likely that you\u2019ll be able to use this same data in your programmatic content.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"848\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4.png\" alt=\"article published by the Council for Community and Economic Research\" class=\"wp-image-168551\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4.png 848w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4-680x302.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4-768x341.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 848px) 100vw, 848px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"848\" height=\"376\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4.png\" alt=\"article published by the Council for Community and Economic Research\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168551\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4.png 848w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4-680x302.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image11-4-768x341.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 848px) 100vw, 848px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>If you want to go a step further, you could consider adding new data that other top-ranking articles don\u2019t have. Sites like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaggle.com\/\">Kaggle<\/a> provide data sets for use in training AI and machine learning models, but they can also provide extra data points for your content.<\/p>\n<p>Run a quick search for \u201ccost of living\u201d on Kaggle, and several useful data sets appear. You can order by age to find new data that other companies are unlikely to be\u00a0using:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1069\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5.png\" alt=\"search results on Kaggle\" class=\"wp-image-168553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5.png 1069w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5-680x417.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5-768x471.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1069px) 100vw, 1069px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1069\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5.png\" alt=\"search results on Kaggle\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5.png 1069w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5-680x417.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image13-5-768x471.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1069px) 100vw, 1069px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Armed with your data sources, you can combine all of your desired data points together in a single place.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Build your\u00a0pages<\/h3>\n<p>Next, you need to map your data sources to relevant parts of your page. At this point, it would be helpful to enlist a web developer\u2014but we\u2019ll show a simplified example using Google Sheets as a basic database.<\/p>\n<p>In the first tab of the spreadsheet, we have our keyword data, which you can use to build page titles and URLs. In the next tab, we have our cost of living data.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"869\" height=\"446\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs Programmatic Content Example\" class=\"wp-image-168555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7.png 869w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7-680x349.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7-768x394.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"869\" height=\"446\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs Programmatic Content Example\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168555\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7.png 869w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7-680x349.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image5-7-768x394.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Based on our intent analysis, we want each page to include three \u201cbuckets\u201d of information:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cost of living score<\/li>\n<li>Comparison with other US states<\/li>\n<li>Breakdown of costs across key categories<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So in the third tab, we\u2019ve created a formula that pulls relevant data from our different sheets into a simple page template.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"277\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6.png\" alt=\"page formula\" class=\"wp-image-168557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6.png 788w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6-680x239.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6-768x270.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"788\" height=\"277\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6.png\" alt=\"page formula\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168557\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6.png 788w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6-680x239.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image4-6-768x270.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 788px) 100vw, 788px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"sidenote\">\n<p>Sidenote.<\/p>\n<p> If you aren\u2019t very familiar with Google Sheets formulas, in the fourth tab we\u2019ve included a ChatGPT prompt that can do this for\u00a0you.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>This body copy correctly references data from the cost of living sheet, showing the cost of living score, ranking it relative to the other 49 states, determining whether a state is cheap, mid-priced, or expensive, and sharing cost indices across six major categories.<\/p>\n<p>If you add additional states to the list by dragging down the formula in column A, new URLs, page titles, and body copy are automatically generated. By combining your data sources with a single page template, you can create 50 different pages with the drag of a\u00a0mouse.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"994\" height=\"689\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7.png\" alt=\"List of states\" class=\"wp-image-168559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7.png 994w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7-613x425.png 613w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7-768x532.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 994px) 100vw, 994px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"994\" height=\"689\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7.png\" alt=\"List of states\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-168559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7.png 994w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7-613x425.png 613w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/image1-7-768x532.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 994px) 100vw, 994px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Crucially, the content we\u2019ve generated here is the definition of \u201cthin\u201d, containing lots of duplicated text and non-original data. But if you were to add unique data, create helpful data visualizations, and provide unique written context, then these pages might stand a fighting chance at helping readers and ranking for their target keywords.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Publish content to your website<\/h3>\n<p>The final step is to publish your newly created content to your website. Depending on the content management system you use, there are a few no-code tools that can help with this process:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you already use WordPress for your website, try <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpallimport.com\/\">WP All Import<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>If you use Webflow CMS, set up a <a href=\"https:\/\/zapier.com\/apps\/google-sheets\/integrations\/webflow\">Zapier integration<\/a> to connect to your spreadsheet.<\/li>\n<li>If you want to build a website straight from your spreadsheet, try <a href=\"https:\/\/www.softr.io\/\">Softr<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once configured, each of these tools will automatically publish a new website page whenever a new row of data is added to your spreadsheet.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Programmatic SEO is not money for nothing. Managing data and pages at large scales is deceptively complicated. In order for your content to rank\u2014and actually help people\u2014you\u2019ll need relevant, interesting data to share. (And it helps to be a web developer.)<\/p>\n<p>But the combination of \u201cscalable\u201d keywords and great data is a force to be reckoned with. With a little know-how, it\u2019s possible to generate thousands (even <em>millions<\/em>) of pageviews from a single page template. Pretty cool.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/programmatic-seo\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Programmatic SEO refers to the creation of keyword-targeted pages in an automatic (or near automatic) way. It provides a way for companies to create thousands of website pages targeted at thousands of keywords\u2014without having to design, write, and publish pages manually. Companies like Zapier, Zillow, and G2 use programmatic SEO to generate millions of pageviews [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}