A Cautionary Tale of Programmatic SEO

A company founder recently shared their experience with programmatic SEO, a strategy that initially brought them success but ultimately led to their website being deindexed by Google. The founder credited programmatic SEO for their early success but noted that it was a big mistake they won’t repeat. The post, shared on LinkedIn, garnered numerous supportive comments from others in the industry.

What is Programmatic SEO?

Programmatic SEO, also known as pSEO, refers to the use of automation to scale various SEO tactics. This can include automating sitewide meta descriptions, titles, and alt text for images. However, pSEO can also involve using AI automation to create content on a large scale, which is what the company founder did. They created 50,000 pages targeting long-tail phrases, which are phrases that are not commonly searched. Initially, the site received hundreds of clicks and millions of impressions, but this success was short-lived.

According to the company founder, Miquel Palet, "Google flagged our domain. Pages started getting deindexed. Traffic plummeted overnight." Palet acknowledged that they learned a hard lesson about the importance of sustainable scaling and noted that it was a huge mistake. However, they also saw it as a great lesson and one of the reasons they decided to rebrand their company to Tailride.

The Pitfalls of Thin AI Content

A follow-up post from Palet explained that they believe the AI-generated content backfired because it was thin content. Thin content, regardless of how it was created, can be problematic. Palet noted, "We’re not sure, but probably not because AI. It was thin content and probably duplicated." This highlights the importance of ensuring that automated content is of high quality and provides value to users.

Other industry experts, such as Rasmus Sørensen, have also warned about the dangers of using pSEO as a shortcut. Sørensen noted that he has seen many marketers pushing shady practices under the banner of pSEO and that it is rarely a silver bullet. Joe Youngblood also shared his opinion, stating that SEO trends can be abused and that pSEO should only be done under the supervision of a seasoned SEO consultant.

Fixing the Site

So, what did the company do to fix their site? According to Palet, they rebranded their website to a new domain, redirecting the old domain to the new one, and focused on creating higher-quality content that is relevant to users. They took a less-is-more approach, reducing the number of pages and focusing on quality over quantity. As Palet noted, "Less pages + more quality." A site search for their domain shows that Google is now indexing their content, indicating that they are back on track.

Takeaways

The story of Tailride serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of approaching programmatic SEO with caution. While automation can be useful, it is essential to ensure that the content created is of high quality and provides value to users. By understanding the potential pitfalls of pSEO and taking a sustainable approach, companies can avoid the mistakes of the past and create a successful online presence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, programmatic SEO can be a powerful tool when used correctly. However, it is crucial to approach it with caution and ensure that the content created is of high quality. By learning from the mistakes of others and taking a sustainable approach, companies can harness the power of pSEO to improve their online presence and drive success. Ultimately, the key to success lies in finding a balance between automation and quality, and ensuring that the content created provides value to users.