Launch Your First pSEO Project: Step-by-Step Guide

Overview

This guide walks you through everything you need to launch your first programmatic SEO project. We'll cover validation, data sourcing, technical setup, content generation, and launch strategy.

Step 1: Validate Your Idea (Week 1)

Find a Keyword Pattern

Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or even Google autocomplete to find repeating patterns:

• "[product] alternatives"
• "[city] [service]"
• "[tool] vs [tool]"
• "best [product] for [use case]"

Validation Criteria

• Aggregate volume: At least 10,000 monthly searches total
• Number of entities: 50+ variations minimum
• Competition: DR 40 or below on page 1
• Intent match: Can you satisfy the search with a template?

Step 2: Source Your Data (Week 2)

Data Requirements

For each entity in your pattern, you need:

• Basic info (name, description, category)
• Differentiating attributes (features, pricing, specs)
• Rich content (images, reviews, comparisons)

Common Sources

1. APIs: Product Hunt, Crunchbase, government data
2. Scraping: G2, Capterra, industry directories
3. Manual: Build your own dataset (most defensible)

Step 3: Design Your Page Template (Week 3)

Core Components

• Hero: Title, meta, primary CTA
• Core content: Main value, key data displays
• Supporting: Related items, FAQs, comparisons
• Conversion: CTAs, trust signals, affiliate links

UX Principles

• Above the fold: Answer the primary question
• Scannable: Headers, bullets, tables
• Mobile-first: 60%+ traffic is mobile

Step 4: Build Your Tech Stack (Week 4)

Recommended Stack

• Framework: Next.js, Astro, or Python + Jinja
• Database: PostgreSQL or Airtable for small projects
• Hosting: Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, or VPS
• Content: AI-assisted with human review

Step 5: Generate Content (Week 5-6)

Content Strategy

1. Create 5-10 pages manually as reference
2. Build prompts that replicate your style
3. Generate in batches, review samples
4. Set up quality gates before publishing

Step 6: Technical SEO Setup (Week 7)

Essentials

• XML sitemap with all pages
• Proper canonical tags
• Schema markup (FAQ, Product, etc.)
• Internal linking system
• Core Web Vitals optimization

Step 7: Launch & Index (Week 8)

Launch Checklist

1. Submit sitemap to Search Console
2. Request indexing for key pages
3. Build initial backlinks (HARO, forums, social)
4. Monitor crawl errors and fix immediately

Step 8: Iterate & Scale

Post-Launch

• Monitor rankings weekly
• Identify winning pages and optimize
• A/B test content variations
• Expand to related patterns
• Build more backlinks to top performers