Author here. I've been running programmatic SEO experiments on my own domain
with almost zero backlinks. The setup: 225 pages crossing 15 business models × 15
niches, all targeting "how much do [X] make" queries.
Key findings after 4 weeks of GSC data:
- Hub/category pages indexed at 87%, leaf pages at 18%
- YouTube + Gaming was the top performer (1,309 impressions)
- 6,220 total impressions but only 7 clicks (0.11% CTR)
- Google appears to detect repeated template structure across pages
- Zero backlinks = zero authority = selective indexation
The biggest lesson: Google doesn't mind programmatic content if it doesn't
look programmatic. The pages that got indexed were the ones where the content
happened to diverge most from the template pattern.
I'm now differentiating templates by business model type (5 variations instead
of 1) and enriching hub pages. Will post a follow-up when there's enough data
to compare.
Happy to answer questions about the setup, the data, or pSEO in general.
Isn't this old news? We've known for many years that cross-posting similar content decreases SEO results. And nowadays, with Google becoming less and less important, why even play the SEO game at all? It always was a bit of snake oil anyway.
Besides, if your goal is how to spam content and get eyes on it, well, that sure sounds like you are trying to be part of the problem. Whether or not you can get automated spam in search results, it is exactly what people do not want in their search results.
Besides, if your goal is how to spam content and get eyes on it, well, that sure sounds like you are trying to be part of the problem. Whether or not you can get automated spam in search results, it is exactly what people do not want in their search results.