{"id":3747,"date":"2023-01-12T10:21:42","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T10:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lowfruits.io\/?p=878"},"modified":"2023-01-12T10:21:42","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T10:21:42","slug":"case-study-2-month-2-our-programmatic-seo-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lowfruits.io\/blog\/case-study-2-month-2-our-programmatic-seo-formula\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study 2, Month 2: Our Programmatic SEO Formula"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hey there, LowFruits fans!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's Dim here to bring you the latest update on our programmatic SEO case study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s hard to believe that we're already into Month 2 of this project. But time flies when you're having fun (and when Google\u2019s keeping you busy with one algorithm update after another).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, we started the process of creating content at scale with programmatic SEO<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as I\u2019m concerned, programmatic SEO is simply a way to get things done. And in our case, that “thing” is creating quality content at a rapid pace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We've made good progress so far, and we\u2019re seeing some early signs of success. But \u2014 as with any project \u2014 there have been a few challenges along the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this update, we'll talk about what we've accomplished and discuss the obstacles we've faced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Month 2: Early Signs We\u2019re Onto Something<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By December 31st, 2022, the case study website had a total of 33 posts generated from 6 templates covering a total of 8 entities from 1 topical cluster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Topical Clusters<\/strong><\/td>1<\/td><\/tr>
Entities Covered<\/strong><\/td>8<\/td><\/tr>
Templates Live<\/strong><\/td>6<\/td><\/tr>
Posts Published<\/strong><\/td>33<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re seeing good indexing<\/strong>, although it could be better:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And some early rankings and traffic:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screenshot<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not bad for a brand-new site!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating content for the website was a slow and tedious process at the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took time to get used to WP All Import and establish a workflow with the backlog, the Google Docs templates, and the Google Sheets database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first couple of templates we wrote had a lot of manually inputted content, and scaling them was difficult and time-consuming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we learned from this and made an effort to create content that was as \u201cprogrammatic\u201d as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do I mean by that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How We Refined Our Programmatic Formula<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first few templates consisted of 50% fixed content in the Google Docs documents and 50% variable content<\/strong> in the Google Sheets spreadsheet. Yes, they took half the time to write because the introduction, conclusion, and part of the content itself were templated, but they weren\u2019t templated enough<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make the content creation process more efficient, we created the next templates differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We included 70-80% fixed content<\/strong> in the Google Docs documents and 20-30% variable content<\/strong> in the Google Sheets spreadsheet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also used Google Sheets formulas<\/strong> to automate the creation of some of the variable content based on the existing inputs in the spreadsheet. This helped streamline the process and reduce the amount of manual work required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how this works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppose you\u2019re creating a programmatic SEO content template for a post about cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your template contains the structure of your post, including the introduction, headings, paragraphs, and conclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some of the content inside that structure \u2014 the part that relates to the specific<\/em><\/strong> <\/strong>entities, such as the brand and model of the vehicle, the type of vehicle, the size of the tires, and so on \u2014 will go into the database and be referenced as variables<\/strong> in the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, instead of typing this into your database and outputting it into your template:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

[The Ford F-150 is one of the most popular and best-selling pickup trucks in the United States. It has been in production for over 70 years and is known for its ruggedness and versatility. Whether you need a pickup truck for work or personal use, the Ford F-150 is an excellent choice.]<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019d only store the parts of the text specific <\/em>to the entity<\/strong> in the database and leave the rest in the template:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The [Ford F-150] is one of the most popular and best-selling [pickup trucks] in the United States. It has been in production [for over 70 years] and is known for [its ruggedness and versatility]. Whether you need a [pickup truck] for work or personal use, the [Ford F-150] is an excellent choice.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And so, a lesson learned: To make the content creation process more efficient, you have to put in the extra time upfront to streamline the templates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This involves drafting and editing them carefully. It may be a lot of work, but it pays off because you will spend less time<\/strong> writing content for the spreadsheet that powers the template in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds obvious, until you start doing the work \u2014 and then it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How We Make Programmatic SEO Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before starting this case study, Yoyao and I tried several different programmatic SEO plugins for WordPress. After testing various options, we settled on WP All Import<\/a> because it offered the flexibility, power, and pricing we were looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WP All Import is a WordPress plugin that allows you to import content from XML and CSV files. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also tested some SaaS tools with their own UIs for creating, editing, and configuring posts before they are imported into WordPress \u2014 but found them limiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the features of WP All Import that I liked the most <\/strong>was its ability to remember, repeat, and edit imports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is essential if you want to create more posts for new entities using an old template, and it's also extremely helpful if you make a mistake and need to run an import again (which, trust me, happens more often than I\u2019d like to admit).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WP All Import also allows you to run custom PHP functions<\/strong> on your imports, which means that your ability to produce programmatic content beyond your regular blog post is limited only by your PHP programming skills and imagination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I\u2019ve been happy with our choice and would definitely recommend it to others looking for a solid programmatic SEO plugin for WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Workflow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Topical Mapping<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In Month 1 of our programmatic SEO project, Yoyao and his team created a comprehensive topical map for the website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This involved researching and identifying the various: <\/p>\n\n\n\n