programmatic-seo
The facts
Its 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," "building many pages for SEO," "pSEO," "generate 100 pages," "data-driven pages," "templated landing pages," or "which CMS for pSEO." 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.
The description the agent reads to decide when to use it.
When it starts
The agent reaches for this when someone wants to build many similar SEO pages from a template plus a dataset — location pages, directory pages, integration or comparison pages at scale — or asks how/where to build them. It also fires on pSEO jargon like "pages at scale," "template pages," or "generate 100 pages."
Things a person might say (the model's guesses)
- “We have a database of 2,000 tools — can you help us turn it into programmatic SEO pages?”
- “I want to build '[service] in [city]' pages for 300 cities. Where do we start?”
- “Which CMS should we use if we want to generate a few thousand templated landing pages?”
A model's summary of when it is used.
Files it mentions
references/implementation-platforms.md, references/playbooks.md
Files the text names, such as ones to read or write. Found by matching words, so treat them as pointers.
What it leads to
- calls schema when adding schema markup to page templates line 240
- requires site-architecture when choosing subpath vs subdomain implementation-platforms.md, line 39
- an alternative: content-strategy when planning content strategy line 3
- an alternative: seo-audit when auditing existing SEO issues line 3
Other skills this one hands off to, calls, requires or offers instead, as a model read them.
What leads to it
- reverse-engineer-marketing hands off to this when a page family carries non-brand traffic reverse-engineer-marketing/play-routing.md, line 62
- ai-seo calls this ai-seo/agent-defaults.md, line 30
- marketing-loops calls this marketing-loops/loop-catalog.md, line 23
- marketing-plan calls this marketing-plan, line 280
- seo-audit calls this seo-audit/local-seo.md, line 68
- content-strategy is an alternative to this for programmatic content at scale content-strategy, line 148
Other skills that hand off to this one, call it, require it or offer it instead, as a model read them.
Licence
MIT, from LICENSE
The terms its author shares it under, which let it be shown here.
Other settings
metadata: version: 2.1.1
More settings at the top of the file, shown as written.
Other files in this skill (3) Close
The text
Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.
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.
Raw lines 1 to 11Initial 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?
Raw lines 12 to 35
Core Principles
Raw lines 36 to 371. 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
Prefer subfolders to subdomains. Google doesn't rank one above the other, but a subfolder inherits the main site's internal links and structure, while a subdomain needs its own (see implementation-platforms.md):
- Good:
yoursite.com/templates/resume/ - Bad:
templates.yoursite.com/resume/
4. Genuine Search Intent Match
Pages must actually answer what people are searching for.
Raw lines 56 to 586. Avoid Google Penalties
- No doorway pages
- No keyword stuffing
- No duplicate content
- Genuine utility for users
Raw lines 62 to 69
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
Raw lines 70 to 90
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").
Raw lines 91 to 107
Implementation Framework
Raw lines 108 to 1091. 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
6. Choose the Build Platform
Check that the platform can hold the page count, refresh the data, render server-side HTML, branch on data for conditional sections, and control indexation per page. Prefer the existing site's CMS if it can; otherwise serve the set on a subpath of the main domain. Options and tradeoffs: references/implementation-platforms.md.
Raw lines 162 to 167
Quality Checks
Raw lines 168 to 169Pre-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
Raw lines 193 to 200
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
Raw lines 201 to 210
Output Format
Raw lines 211 to 212Task-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?
Raw lines 226 to 236
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
From coreyhaines31/marketingskills at 88c79f6, 2026-10-30. Skills read by DeepSeek V4.1 Flash on 2026-11-04. Summary and techniques by Claude Opus 5.5 on 2026-11-06.