In this blog, we dive into what programmatic SEO is and share steps on how startups can utilize it to grow website traffic.
Programmatic SEO can help you increase website traffic, and this is not clickbait. Continue reading, and you will learn how programmatic SEO affects website traffic and overall business success. For startups, programmatic SEO is especially important because it can help them level the playing field with larger, more established companies. With limited resources, startups often cannot afford to spend as much money on marketing as their larger competitors. However, by using SEO effectively, startups can compete for the same keywords and attract the same customers. But first, let’s talk about what programmatic SEO is.
Programmatic SEO is a new and innovative approach to SEO that can help startups overcome the challenges of budget constraints. Programmatic SEO uses automation and artificial intelligence to generate pages at scale and streamline many of the tasks while at the same time creating a foundation for successful website promotion.
This short but highly effective 7-step guide will provide startups with an overview of programmatic SEO and how it can be used to achieve growth goals.
If you are new to programmatic SEO, you’d better start by diving into programmatic SEO and its processes. If you have already heard of it, here is a short note as a quick reminder. PSEO is a data-driven approach to search engine optimization that uses automation and algorithms to generate pages and optimize them for search engines.
This automated approach enables businesses to:
Traditional SEO involves a hands-on approach to optimizing websites for search engines. This typically includes tasks such as:
Traditional SEO remains valuable if you are responsible for one website. When it comes to multiple landing pages, traditional SEO and manual work will be time-consuming, labor-intensive, challenging, and hardly possible to scale effectively. Programmatic SEO addresses these limitations by automating and streamlining many of these tasks by grabbing your data and building landing pages. All you have to do is sit back and relax. Just kidding. Regardless of its automated nature, programmatic SEO heavily relies on relevant data, which you should prepare for automation. Fortunately, here too, you will have many techniques and tools to do the work.
Why do you need to consider programmatic SEO as your best friend to scale your business from the startup stage to the growth stage?
Keywords are the cornerstone of any programmatic SEO initiative. The project starts with identifying the language your target audience utilizes when looking for information or products related to your business. Throughout the research, you gather keywords related to users’ search intent to later build the whole strategy. This process, known as keyword identification, involves delving into the minds of your potential customers to understand their search intent.
Tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Semrush, or Ahrefs can provide valuable insights into search volume, keyword competition, and related search terms, allowing you to craft a keyword list tailored to your specific target audience.
Once you have identified a pool of relevant keywords, it’s crucial to assess the competitive landscape for each term. This involves analyzing the websites that currently rank highly for those keywords and identifying their strengths and weaknesses.
The best part of programmatic SEO is giving you access to the pool of lowest-hanging leads who are most specific about their search and are ready to convert. Long-tail keywords are meant to target these users and lead them to your landing pages.
Modifiers are a crucial component of programmatic SEO, enabling the generation of various page versions tailored to specific user needs. They can be categorized into two types: primary and secondary modifiers. This hierarchical structure clearly distinguishes between the main factors influencing page generation and the additional details that enhance content personalization.
For example, let’s consider a scenario where a clothing retailer utilizes programmatic SEO to generate personalized product pages for its customers. For the brand, the primary modifier can be location, and the secondary modifier can be product type and price.
As already said, programmatic SEO is based on long-tail keywords because they are less competitive and easily scalable. You can think of a million phrases with one keyword, and each phrase can be turned into a landing page. This is how programmatic SEO works.
Variables are not simple words; they are meant to resonate with users. By incorporating user data into page templates, variables can tailor content based on preferences, interests, or demographic information. This personalization can significantly improve user engagement, increase conversion rates, and foster brand loyalty.
With variables, algorithms generate content that adapts to the user’s search intent. For instance, variables can be used to display current weather conditions, showcase real-time sports scores, or provide personalized product recommendations based on user browsing history.
The process of generating pages within programmatic SEO has clear steps and guidelines.
Templates form the foundation for page generation using modifiers and variables. These templates act as blueprints, defining the overall structure and layout of the pages with placeholder elements that will be dynamically populated with content generated from modifiers and variables.
When designing the template, take care of:
The use of scripting and automation tools simplifies the process of content creation, saving time and effort.
Common Scripting and Automation Tools:
While programmatic SEO offers significant benefits, it’s essential to maintain SEO best practices to ensure optimal search engine performance.
By following these guidelines, marketers can harness the power of programmatic SEO. If you lack expertise in running successful programmatic SEO, communicate with industry experts who can help you outpace your competitors with increased traffic and conversions.
While programmatic SEO has obvious advantages, it does come with potential pitfalls and challenges to be aware of.
Programmatic SEO can be implemented in virtually any industry, but only in a few cases of niche industries when data is limited and not scalable. Other than that, programmatic SEO with modifiers and variables can be effectively implemented in different domains:
Before leaving this article, think of the challenges you are facing right now: high competition, low traffic, time- and resource-consuming marketing campaigns, lack of expertise, and so on. All can be tackled with programmatic SEO, which is aimed at increasing website performance while at the same time cutting on resources and time.
By following these seven steps, startups can leverage programmatic SEO to achieve their growth goals:
Happy traffic-growing!