What is the cost of producing posts with programmatic SEO? Since October 2022, we have been publishing our BoFu (Bottom of the Funnel) blogs only programmatically.(Btw. In this BOFU post generator – you will find 4 blog post templates x 3 linked databases that will allow you to produce your blog posts almost 8 x cheaper – without making any compromises on quality.) But let’s break down the costs of programmatic SEO content so you can understand why it’s so much cheaper than producing the same posts by hand.
Programmatic SEO cost analysis
Imagine you have 20 competitors, 5 different personas and 10 different use cases you want to write your content about.
That’s 35 variables. 35 database entries.
While writing each post from the following keyword patterns:
- 1. Best [use case] tools for [persona] – 5 x 10 = 50 posts
- 2. Best tools for [Use Case] = 10 posts
- 3. [competitor1] vs [competitor2] = 190 posts
- 4. 10 [tool] alternatives = 20 posts
Total: 270 posts
Considering an average post is costing you ~$500 to write – that’s 270 x $500 = $135,000 worth of content 🤯
If you write it programmatically – you literally have to pay only for each database entry. And you can probably get away with a lot less than $500 per entry, as there’s no formatting, no “filler content” like generic intros/ outros, no fuss – but for the sake of this post, let’s assume you’re paying as much as for the full-blown post: That’s 35 x $500 = $17,500
If you manage to cut it down to $300 per database entry – that’s 35 x $300 = $10,500 = 13x cheaper.
Now, if you throw in two more combination (in progress) – [competitor1] vs [competitor2] for [use case] and [competitor1] vs [competitor2] for persona
That’s 190 x 10 = 1900 + 190 x 5 = 950 = 2850 + 270 = 3120 posts.
Suddenly your 35 database entries worth $10,500 bring you 3120 posts worth $1,560,00 (one million, five hundred thousand sixty dollars!)
Programmatic post cost per template
Given the new information that there are 5 personas, let’s recalculate the combinations for the specified keyword patterns with 20 competitors, 10 use cases, and now 5 personas.
1. Best [use case] tools for [persona]
For this pattern, we have 10 use cases and 5 personas. Each use case can be paired with each persona, so the total combinations for this pattern are:
- Total Combinations: 10 use cases×5 personas10 use cases×5 personas = 50
2. Best tools for [Use Case]
This pattern only involves use cases, and since there are 10 use cases:
- Total Combinations: 10
3. [competitor1] vs [competitor2]
For this pattern, we calculate combinations of competitors where order doesn’t matter:
4. [tool] alternatives
Assuming “[tool]” refers to each of the competitors as a potential tool, and we’re looking for alternatives to each:
- Total Combinations: 20 (one for each competitor)
Total Programmatic SEO Keyword Combinations Across All Patterns
To find the total number of unique combinations across all patterns with the updated information, we add the combinations for each pattern:
- Best [use case] tools for [persona]: 50
- Best tools for [Use Case]: 10
- [competitor1] vs [competitor2]: 190
- [tool] alternatives: 20
Total Unique Combinations = 50 + 10 + 190 + 20 = 270
Therefore, with the inclusion of 5 personas, you can create a total of 270 unique combinations across the four keyword patterns without repetition.
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