There is a common saying that marketing is as good as the tools at your disposal; the same applies to programmatic SEO. After spending years experimenting with programmatic SEO, we've found that it's almost impossible to rely on one tool to handle all your SEO needs.
For instance, most programmatic SEO software is only good at auto-generating content but lacks keyword research or indexing capability. To make up for these limitations, we have to combine multiple tools.
But what tools do you need?
The answer is it depends.
And that's why we created this guide to provide an overview of the tools that make up most programmatic SEO tech stacks and the function they perform.
TL;DR
- Programmatic SEO tools are key for creating SEO-optimized content and performing fast indexing.
- Essential programmatic SEO software includes SEOmatic, PageFactory, and Typemat, all offering features like content auto-generation and compatibility with various platforms.
- Keyword research tools like Ahrefs, Surfer SEO, and Answer the Public help find broad, long-tail keywords.
- Content Paraphrasers like Jasper, Frase, and Smodin ensure content uniqueness.
- Indexing tools such as Foudroyer, Google's Search Console, and IndexMeNow facilitate quick indexing of pages.
- Analytics tools like Google Analytics, Plausible, and Matomo help measure site metrics.
What Should You Include in Your Programmatic SEO Toolbox?
Programmatic SEO Software
Perhaps the most essential tool in your arsenal, and only a few are out there. The working principle of programmatic SEO is to create 100s or 1000s pages around long-tail keywords with less competition and super easy to rank.
What makes a good programmatic SEO software?
Here are the features to consider before investing in any programmatic SEO software:
Writing and Paraphrasing ability: Help you auto-generate content and rewrite sentences to avoid repetition across multiple pages.
Initiate Fast Page Indexing: Help you index your pages on Google by developing XML sitemaps.
Platform Independent: Supports blog post and landing page creation on multiple web platforms e.g., WordPress, Shopify, Wix, Webflow, etc.
Page Templates: Leverage templates to create SEO-optimized pages on your custom domain in minutes.
Choosing a programmatic SEO software with these features saves you the stress of investing in different tools. Haven considered all the above criteria, here are the tools we consider the best out there:
Keyword Research Tools
The first step in programmatic SEO implementation is identifying the right head terms to target. But don't let the term "head term" scare you. Finding head terms is the same as doing keyword research. Except with programmatic SEO, you're searching for broad keywords that accommodate several modifiers, so it's easier to generate 100s and 1000s pages.
Here's what we mean: If you own a site in the travel niche, an excellent head term to target will be "Hotels to visit in XYZ city" or "Best restaurants in XYZ city."
Why?
Because you can create different variations of this topic for various cities around the world. And merely focusing on the biggest cities in the US alone can help generate close to 500 pages.
What do you need to identify these keywords?
There are several ways to go around it, but SEO tools are the easiest and fastest. Over the years, we've tested tons of SEO software, and here are the ones that stood out:
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the best keyword research tools out there. It offers a complete feature suite that helps you identify long-tail keywords, analyzes ranking potentials, and makes keyword suggestions where necessary.
You also get to analyze competitors and backlink opportunities that will help you rank higher. The issue with Ahrefs is that it might be pricey for site owners on shoestring budgets(Starting at $99/month) and might only be a smart investment if you plan to use it beyond keyword research.
For a low-cost alternative, we recommend Ubersuggest, SERanking, or SeoScout.
Surfer SEO
Surfer SEO provides all the premium features you get from high-end software for a small fee. You get a complete SEO library from Surfer - Keyword planner, AI content writer, content outline generator, site analysis, and audits.
Surfer also offers a free chrome extension that you can use for light keyword research, pending when you have enough to invest in a paid plan ( starts at $59)
Answer the Public
Answer the public offers a new dimension to traditional keyword research by crawling around the online community to detect questions and concerns being raised. Some platforms crawled include forums, social media, or online communities.
For example, when we did a quick search for Programmatic SEO, Answer the public presented us with 242 keyword suggestions (not all were relevant), and 39 were questions our ideal audience asked about the topic.
However, like Ahrefs, Answer the Public starts at $99/month and could be expensive for some.
Note: There are several keyword research tools out there, and we can't cover them here. Here’s a post that compares some of the best SEO tools.
Content Paraphrasers
Most programmatic SEO pages suffer from paragraph and sentence repetitions across multiple pages. The problem is that Google sees it as a red flag and will likely de-rank or refuse to index your content. If you want to avoid Google's penalties for duplicate content, you need to ensure your content is unique.
If you're using programmatic SEO software like SEOmatic, our built-in AI writer will help paraphrase sentences to ensure uniqueness. But if you are on a tool lacking this feature, you will need to augment it by investing in an AI writer.
When it comes to Ai writers, you are spoilt with choices. But here are some of our favorites:
Jasper: Delivers unique, high-quality content pieces in a quarter of the time it takes content writers. Its SEO capability ensures you have SEO-ready content for your blog.
Frase: An expensive option for website owners just starting. But if you can afford it, in exchange, you get software that takes every step of the content creation process off your shoulder: Generate briefs, create outlines, craft content and infuse statistics or data.
Smodin: A free software that rewrites your sentences to avoid repetition. Ensure you pass content through a plagiarism check afterward.
Indexing tools
Slow page indexation is common with programmatic SEO pages. The reason is simple: it’s easier for Google to index a site that publishes 1 page than one than publishes 100s at a go. To increase indexing speed, we recommend taking matters into your own hands by employing some of these faster indexing strategies in programmatic SEO:
Foudroyer: A free no-code software that leverages Google’s indexing API to help you index multiple pages within 24 hours
Google's Search Console: If Google fails to index your page automatically, take it a step further by installing Google’s search console. This tool requires you to request Google to index your site manually. This might bring you some success, but it's time-consuming for sites with thousands of pages waiting to be indexed.
IndexMeNow: Claims to index pages in 24 hours, or you get a refund if your request fails within 10 days of making it. IndexMenow process is simple - Drip feed your content URL, and the tool will render it to Google crawlers on your behalf.
Analytics tools
The last step in every content creation journey is measuring performance on SERPs. A lot of focus should be placed on traffic sources, search query driving site visitors, and bounce rates.
A couple of tools that can help with this include:
Google Analytics: Google's free analytical software measures site traffic, unique visitors, clicks, and bounce rates.
Plausible: Plausible is a worthy alternative to Google analytics. It uses search console integration to analyze search queries leading visitors to your site and where most site visitors are clicking from - Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.
Matomo: Goes a step further than most analytical software by measuring individual behavior on your page. Even better, it provides ethical analysis without compromising private data.
Conclusion
As you can see, your choice of tools contributes to the success of your programmatic SEO campaign. However, you can cut your expenses by cutting your list down to 2 software that combines all the features you need.
For instance, investing in a tool like Ahrefs with built-in analytics and keyword research capabilities saves you the cost of investing in individual analytical software.
While with SEOmatic, you eliminate the need for an AI writer or indexing software since the tool comes with this capability out of the box.
And finally, if you're looking to invest in programmatic SEO software, we recommend you give SEOmatic a chance. Not only can we help you create great content, but we can also help you increase your page ranking. Go here to see how we compare with other products in the market.
You can kickstart your programmatic SEO journey with SEOmatic by signing up for a 14-day free trial.
