FREE GUIDE · UPDATED JUNE 2026
The 12 programmatic SEO playbooks
Use this page as a decision guide: find the search pattern that fits your product, skim the examples, map your URLs - then scale. And because rankings alone aren't the game anymore, playbook 13 covers getting cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini.
Match a playbook to your strongest asset
| You have… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Proprietary data | Directory, Profiles |
| Product with integrations | Integrations |
| Design / creative product | Templates, Examples |
| Multi-segment audience | Personas |
| Local presence | Locations |
| Tool or utility product | Conversions |
| Content / expertise | Glossary, Curation |
| International potential | Translations |
| Competitor landscape | Comparisons |
All 12 playbooks
01
Templates
"[Type] template" or "free [type] template"
Downloadable or interactive templates users can use directly. High intent - people need it now.
Examples: resume template, invoice template, pitch deck template
- High intent - people need it now
- Shareable, linkable assets
- Natural for product-led companies
/templates/[type]/
02
Curation
"best [category]" or "top [number] [things]"
Curated lists ranking or recommending options in a category. Comparison shoppers searching for guidance.
Examples: best website builders, top 10 CRM software, best free design tools
- Comparison shoppers searching for guidance
- High commercial intent
- Evergreen with regular updates
/best/[category]/
03
Conversions
"[X] to [Y]" or "[amount] [unit] in [unit]"
Tools or pages that convert between formats, units, or currencies. Instant utility with massive search volume.
Examples: $10 USD to GBP, 100 kg to lbs, PDF to Word
- Instant utility
- Extremely high search volume
- Repeat usage potential
/convert/[from]-to-[to]/
04
Comparisons
"[X] vs [Y]" or "[X] alternative"
Head-to-head comparisons between products, tools, or options. Scales with your competitor landscape.
Examples: Webflow vs WordPress, Notion vs Coda, Figma alternatives
- High purchase intent
- Clear, repeatable search pattern
- Scales with number of competitors
/compare/[x]-vs-[y]/
05
Examples
"[type] examples" or "[category] inspiration"
Galleries or collections of real-world examples for inspiration. Highly shareable research-phase content.
Examples: SaaS landing page examples, email subject line examples, portfolio website examples
- Research phase traffic
- Highly shareable
- Natural for design/creative tools
/examples/[type]/
06
Locations
"[service/thing] in [location]"
Location-specific pages for services, businesses, or information. Local intent is massive and scales with geography.
Examples: coworking spaces in San Diego, dentists in Austin, best restaurants in Brooklyn
- Local intent is massive
- Scales with geography
- Natural for marketplaces and directories
/[service]/[city]/
07
Personas
"[product] for [audience]" or "[solution] for [role/industry]"
Tailored landing pages addressing specific audience segments. Speaks directly to the searcher's context.
Examples: payroll software for agencies, CRM for real estate, project management for freelancers
- Speaks directly to searcher's context
- Higher conversion than generic pages
- Scales with personas
/for/[persona]/
08
Integrations
"[your product] [other product] integration"
Pages explaining how your product works with other tools. Captures users of other products with high intent.
Examples: Slack Asana integration, Zapier Airtable, HubSpot Salesforce sync
- Captures users of other products
- High intent - they want the solution
- Scales with integration ecosystem
/integrations/[product]/
09
Glossary
"what is [term]" or "[term] definition"
Educational definitions of industry terms and concepts. Top-of-funnel awareness that establishes expertise.
Examples: what is pSEO, API definition, what does CRM stand for
- Top-of-funnel awareness
- Establishes expertise and authority
- Natural internal linking opportunities
/glossary/[term]/
10
Translations
Same content in multiple languages
Your content translated and localized for other language markets. Opens entirely new markets with lower competition.
Examples: Content localized for /es/, /de/, /ja/ markets
- Opens entirely new markets
- Lower competition in many languages
- Multiplies your content reach
/[lang]/[page]/
11
Directory
"[category] tools" or "[type] software"
Comprehensive directories listing options in a category. Research-phase capture and natural link-building magnet.
Examples: AI copywriting tools, email marketing software, CRM companies
- Research phase capture
- Link building magnet
- Natural for aggregators and reviewers
/directory/[category]/
12
Profiles
"[person/company name]" or "[entity] + [attribute]"
Profile pages about notable people, companies, or entities. Builds topical authority with informational traffic.
Examples: Stripe CEO, Airbnb founding story, Elon Musk companies
- Informational intent traffic
- Builds topical authority
- Natural for B2B, news, and research
/people/[name]/
Powerful combinations
| Mix | Example query it captures |
|---|---|
| Locations + Personas | Marketing agencies for startups in Austin |
| Curation + Locations | Best coworking spaces in San Diego |
| Integrations + Personas | Slack for sales teams |
| Glossary + Translations | Multi-language educational content |
Playbook 13 - AI search visibility
Every playbook above produces pages. Whether those pages get cited by AI engines is a second game with its own rules. The condensed version:
Make machines able to read you. Allow GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot and Google-Extended in robots.txt, ship a sitemap.xml and an llms.txt, keep content in the HTML (not behind JavaScript), and add FAQPage + Article schema. The free instant audit scores all of it in 30 seconds.
Exist on the pages AI already cites. Ask Perplexity and Gemini your buyer questions and note every source they quote - directories, comparison posts, community threads. Get listed there. That citation graph matters more to answer engines than your domain rating.
Write quotable specifics. “250,000 icons, free, no signup” gets quoted; vague marketing copy doesn't. Lead every page with a two-sentence direct answer, use question-shaped H2s, and back claims with numbers.
Measure the answer surface weekly. Track 20–50 buyer questions across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini: mentioned or not, at what rank, with which sources cited. Protect what's winning, fix what's missing. TrustSEO runs this loop automatically every day - including the competitor matrix and cited-source reports.
Frequently asked questions
What is a programmatic SEO playbook?
A repeatable page pattern - like "[X] vs [Y]" or "[service] in [city]" - that you can scale across hundreds of keywords with one template. Each of the 12 playbooks on this page is a proven pattern with its search intent, examples and URL structure.
Which playbook should I start with?
Match your strongest asset: competitors → Comparisons; integrations → Integrations; local presence → Locations; expertise → Glossary and Curation. Start with one playbook, prove it ranks, then layer a second.
Do these playbooks work for AI search too?
Yes - comparison pages, curated lists and glossaries are exactly the formats ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini cite most. Playbook 13 below covers the extra layer: making the pages machine-readable and tracking whether AI actually recommends you.
Pick a playbook, then check the machine layer
Run the free instant audit to see whether search and AI crawlers can actually read what you're about to build - every failed check comes with a fix.