Cash App launched in 2013, offering a platform for transferring money between individuals. Two years later, in 2015, service expanded with business transactions.
Today, Cash App is a popular digital wallet with over 57 million users. It targets the lower-income adult demographic with a range of products, from money transfers, debit cards to personal loans.
Continue reading to find all the important Cash App usage stats for 2025.
Cash App Key Stats
Cash App has 57 million monthly active users.
Cash App Card has 25 million transacting users
Cash App generated $3.88 billion in revenue in Q1 2025
Cash App Monthly Active Users
As of Q1 2025, Cash App had 57 million monthly transacting active users, which remained the same compared to Q1 2024.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of Cash App Monthly Active users over time since 2019:
According to the company report, Cash App Card (debit card product) has 25 million monthly transacting users as of Q1 2025, that’s up from 24 million in 2024.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of Cash App Card active user base over time since Q2 2019:
According to the latest estimates, the user base of Cash App on iPhones leans male, and one-third (35.3%) of the total users are between 18 and 24 years old.
Here’s a table with Cash App age demographics:
Note: Demographics data for Cash App iOS app only.
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The meta description summarizes a page’s content and presents it to users in the search results. It’s one of the first things people will likely see when searching for something, so optimizing it is crucial for SEO. It’s your chance to persuade users to click on your result! This post will show you the characteristics of a good meta description and how Yoast SEO can help you get it right.
The meta description is an HTML tag you can set for a post or page of your website. In it, you can use roughly 155 characters to describe what your page is about. If you’re lucky, Google will show it beneath your page’s title in the search results. It allows you to convince search engine users that your page will offer what they are looking for.
In Google’s search results, this is where it can be displayed:
A meta description from yoast.com as seen in the search results
And this is what it looks like in the HTML code of the page:
<meta name="description" content="Your site structure is vital for users and SEO. Our complete guide will guide you through all the steps to create a sound site structure." />
Why set a meta description?
The purpose of a meta description is simple: it needs to get someone searching with a search term on Google to click your link. In other words, meta descriptions are there to generate click-throughs from search engines.
Search engines say there is no direct SEO benefit from the meta description – they don’t use it in their ranking algorithm. But there is an indirect benefit: Google uses click-through rate (CTR) to determine whether you’re a good result. If more people click on your result, Google considers you to be a good result and will, based on your position, move you up the rankings. This is why optimizing your meta description is important, as is optimizing your titles.
Here’s a list of elements you need to write a good meta description:
Keep it up to 155 characters
Use an active voice and make it actionable
Include a call to action
Use your focus keyphrase
Show specifications when needed
Make sure it matches the content of the page
Make it unique
Let’s go over them in detail!
1. Keep it up to 155 characters
The right length doesn’t exist; it depends on the message you want to convey. You should take enough space to convey the message, but keep it short and snappy. However, if you check the search results in Google, you’ll mostly see snippets of 120 to 156 characters, like in the example below. Google says you can make your meta descriptions as long as you want, but there is a limit to what we can see in the SERPs — and that’s around 155 characters; anything longer will get truncated.
This search result from a Yoast SEO user shows a succinct meta description in Google
Unfortunately, you can’t fully control what Google displays in the search results. Sometimes, it shows the meta description, and sometimes, it just grabs some sentences of your copy or generates something itself. Either way, your best bet is to keep it short. That way, if Google does decide to show the description you’ve written, it won’t be cut short.
2. Use active voice and make it actionable
If you see the meta description as an invitation to visit your page, you have to think about your user and their (possible) motivation to visit your page. Ensure your description isn’t dull, difficult, or too cryptic. People need to know what they can expect to find on your page.
The example in the image below is the description you should strive to write. It’s active, speaks to you, and addresses you directly. You know what you’ll get if you click on the link!
Make people want to click your search result
3. Include a call-to-action
“Hello, we have a new product, and you want it. Find out more!” This overlaps with what we said about the active voice, but we wanted to emphasize it again. The meta description is your sales text. In this case, the “product” you are trying to sell is the linked page. Invitations like Learn more, Get it now, Try for free come in handy, and we use them too.
Get people to click on your link
4. Use your focus keyword
If the search keyword matches a part of the text in the meta description, Google will be more inclined to use it and highlight it in the search results. This will make the link to your site even more inviting. Google sometimes even highlights synonyms. In the example below, both the Academy Awards and Oscars are highlighted. Getting your results emphasized like that makes them stand out even more.
A listing for the Academy Awards on Google
5. Show specifications, where possible
If you have a product in your Shopify or WooCommerce store aimed at the tech-savvy, it can be a good idea to focus on the technical specs. For example, you can include the manufacturer, SKU, price, etc. If the visitor specifically seeks that product, you won’t have to convince them. Can the watch help us stay fit? Sign us up; that’s all we need to know. Note that to optimize your result in this manner, you should work on getting rich snippets.
Make it spark
6. Make sure it matches the content of the page
This is an important one. Google will find out if you use meta descriptions to trick visitors into clicking on your results. They might even penalize you if you do it. But besides that, misleading descriptions will also increase your bounce rate. Which will also lower people’s trust in your company. It’s a bad idea for that reason alone. That is why you want the meta description to match the content on the page.
7. Make it unique
Adding the date to the snippet preview
People often ask questions about the date shown in the Google preview of our Yoast SEO plugin. We’ve added this because search engines may display a date with your snippet. So it’s important to factor it in when you decide on the right length of your meta description. Unfortunately, there’s no way to directly control whether this date is shown or not, but you can try to manage the dates they use in the search results.
If your meta description is the same as those for other pages, the user experience in Google will be hampered. Although your page titles might vary, all pages will appear the same because all the descriptions are identical. Instead of creating duplicate meta descriptions, you’d better leave them blank. Google will pick a snippet from the page containing the keyword used in the query. That being said, writing a unique meta description for every page you want to rank is always the best practice.
How Yoast SEO helps you write meta descriptions
Adding a meta description is easy if you’re on WordPress or Shopify and using Yoast SEO. Firstly, you can write it in the Search appearance preview section of Yoast SEO. But Yoast SEO also gives you feedback on it in the SEO analysis. The plugin checks the meta description length and whether you’ve used your focus keyphrase. So, let’s see how the plugin helps you and what you can do with it.
Using AI to generate meta descriptions in Yoast SEO Premium
Yoast SEO Premium has our Yoast AI Generate features, which include AI-powered meta description generation. This meta description generator brings the power of generative AI to your fingertips, producing engaging and SEO-optimized meta descriptions with just one click. Using advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, it generates creative and appealing meta descriptions, captivating your audience while meeting search engine standards.
Creating meta descriptions with a little help from generative AI in Yoast SEO Premium
This feature simplifies your meta description optimization process and fully complies with best SEO practices. It enhances user experience, amplifies your website’s visibility, and effortlessly directs high-quality, organic traffic to your site. With this outstanding AI generator, effortlessly elevate your SEO performance and generate outstanding meta descriptions that set you apart.
You can edit your meta description in Yoast SEO
You can edit your meta description in Yoast SEO for Shopify
What does the keyphrase in meta description assessment in Yoast SEO do?
This check is all about using the keyphrase in the meta description. A focus keyphrase is the search term you want a page to rank for. When people use that term, you want them to find your page. You base your keyphrase on keyword research. After your research, you should end up with a combination of words that most of your audience will likely search for. We’ve already discussed that when you use your keyphrase in the meta description, Google will likely highlight it. That makes it easier for people to see they’ve found what they are looking for.
Yoast SEO checks if and how often you use the words from your focus keyphrase in the meta description text. In addition, if you use Yoast SEO Premium, it also considers the synonyms you enter. If you overdo it, the plugin advises you to limit the use of your focus keyphrase.
What a green bullet looks like in Yoast SEO
What a green bullet looks like in Yoast SEO for Shopify
How to get a green traffic light for the keyphrase in meta description
You’ll get a red traffic light if you don’t mention the keyphrase in the meta description. So, make sure to write one. But don’t stuff your meta description with your keyphrase because that will also get you a red traffic light. And make sure to mention all the words from your keyphrase near each other. Search engines are pretty smart nowadays, but you must clarify what your page is about.
Yoast SEO Premium plugin considers the synonyms you’ve added when it performs its analysis. This allows you to write more naturally, resulting in a more pleasant text. Moreover, it’s easier to score a green traffic light this way. Use it to your advantage!
Unlock all features in Yoast SEO Premium
Save time on your SEO and get access to all of our SEO courses.
What does the meta description length assessment do?
This meta description length assessment measures whether your description is too short (less than 120 characters) or too long (more than 156 characters). You’ll get a green traffic light when your meta description has the right length. If it’s too long or too short, you’ll get an orange traffic light in the SEO analysis of Yoast SEO (or red if you’ve marked your article as cornerstone content).
What the check looks like in the Yoast SEO sidebar
A green bullet in the Yoast SEO for Shopify app
How to write a concise meta description
A good meta description convinces people that your page offers the best result for their query. But, to be the best result, you must know what people seek. What is their search intent? Are they looking for an answer to a question? If they are, try to give them the most complete answer. Are they looking for a product? Write down what makes your product stand out and why they would best buy it in your store. Be concise and convincing!
You get real-time feedback on the meta description length in the Search appearance section in the Yoast SEO sidebar or meta box. Click “Search appearance” in the Yoast SEO sidebar to write a meta description. This will open the snippet editor, and you’ll see input fields for editing the SEO title, the slug, and the meta description. When you start typing in the meta description input field, the snippet preview at the top of the Search appearance editor will immediately show your new text. Underneath the input field, there is a bar. It’s orange when you start typing and will become green when you’ve added enough information. When you add too much text, it will turn orange again.
The bar will change color when your go over the limit
Checking the Google preview in Yoast SEO for Shopify
Writing or editing your meta description in the Yoast SEO meta box underneath your post editor is also possible. Go to the SEO tab in the meta box (if it’s not on this tab by default), and you can start typing in the field under Meta description immediately.
What to do if you need meta descriptions for a lot of pages?
After reading this, do you need to change all your meta descriptions? But are you not sure how to fit that into your schedule? Google has the answer:
“If you don’t have time to create a description for every single page, try to prioritize your content; at the very least, create a description for the critical URLs like your home page and popular pages.“
If you prefer to write a unique description for each page and have much to get through, you can use the Bulk editor tool in Yoast SEO for WordPress. Head to the Tools page, click ‘Bulk editor’, then select the ‘Description’ tab. You’ll be able to see any meta descriptions already set for your pages, and you can quickly add new ones without opening each page individually. However, with this tool, you won’t get warnings if your description is too short/long, or if the focus keyword is missing.
Preventing snippets with Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO provides an easy way to control search result snippets using the nosnippet meta tag feature. This setting lets you prevent Google from displaying any snippet for particular pages, giving you control over what appears in search results. It’s especially useful when you want to prioritize privacy or ensure that content is not shown without its full context. With the nosnippet tag, you have another way to manage snippet creation and to align everything with your content strategy.
Yoast SEO lets you easily add the nosnippets robots tag in the Advanced settings
Meta descriptions for social sharing
Do you have Yoast SEO? Check the Social media appearance in the Yoast SEO sidebar or social tab in the Yoast SEO meta box below your post or page. You can add a separate description for your social media channels there. In Yoast SEO Premium, you even have social previews that show you what your post or page will look like when shared on social media.
Conclusion to meta descriptions
Meta descriptions are a crucial yet often underestimated component of SEO — even if these are not fully in your control. It serves as a brief advertisement for your content in search results, influencing click-through rates and user engagement. Crafting clear, compelling, and keyword-rich meta descriptions can significantly enhance your online visibility. In return, it could attract more targeted traffic to your website. While they may not directly impact rankings, their role in driving clicks and conversions is undeniable.
A well-crafted meta description is not just about SEO; it’s about creating a better user experience by providing searchers with a clear, concise preview of what to expect on your page. Of course, Google might think it knows better than you, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put your best foot forward!
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We hope you’re as excited about Search Central Live Deep Dive APAC
as we are! With just a few weeks to go, we wanted to share an exciting experiment that we’re
planning to run at the event, and introduce our community speakers. Let’s start with the
experiment.
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Optimize your content directly inside Google Docs. Yoast SEO’s new Google Docs add-on provides real-time SEO and readability analyses in your writing environment, eliminating the need for multiple apps or CMS logins. You’ll produce fully optimized content faster, collaborate smoothly, and deliver content your audience and search engines love.
Here’s why you’ll love it:
Speed up your content workflow by collaborating and optimizing seamlessly in your existing Google Docs environment, reducing back-and-forth revisions.
Eliminate unnecessary CMS access, ideal for freelancers and agencies managing multiple client relationships without extra logins.
Easily export WordPress-ready content or quickly copy optimized text to your CMS, instantly ensuring your content is publish-ready. Gain immediate visibility into your content’s performance with clear, actionable insights for SEO and readability, saving you valuable time.
Yoast SEO Google Docs Add-on features:
Alongside the ability to work across multiple accounts on the same document and export in WP-compatible format or copy to your own CMS, you’ll get:
Yoast SEO Analysis:
Yoast SEO analysis helps you easily optimize your content so search engines can understand and rank it better. The Yoast traffic light system scans your texts, providing practical feedback on your keyword usage, content structure, and overall optimization. This gives you actionable insights on optimizing your content for better SEO.
Yoast Readability Analysis:
Yoast Readability analysis ensures you create content that your audience loves. It checks key readability aspects such as sentence length, paragraph structure, use of headings, and more. This gives you a straightforward insight into improving readability, making your content accessible to wider audiences, and keeping your audience engaged and on your page for longer.
You get one free linked Google account! You can directly add a Google account to MyYoast and download the Yoast SEO Google add-on. Learn more at by visiting our help article how to get started with the Google Docs add-on.
Pricing
Yoast SEO Premium includes access to one Google account, with additional accounts available for just $60 per year (or $5 per month) per account.
Activate the Google Docs add-on today and streamline your content optimization instantly.
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During the initial rollout, we discovered a technical issue where unintended classes were being added to content for some users. While these added classes are harmless and do not impact the functionality or appearance of your content, they should not have been added, that’s on us.
We take this seriously, and to maintain the quality you expect, we’ve been actively working on a solution. We’re pleased to share that a fix has now been released, and the issue has been resolved. For users already affected, we are automatically cleaning up the unintended classes as part of the fix, no action is needed on your part.
As part of our commitment to delivering reliable and thoughtful features, we have also temporarily disabled the AI Optimize feature for the Classic Editor. This will give us time to reconsider our approach and develop an improved solution. We’ll keep you updated and reintroduce the feature as soon as we’re confident in its performance.
Please update your Yoast SEO plugins to the latest version where available. Should you have any concerns, feel free to contact our support team.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support.
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We’ve seen it happen so often. You have a great blog or site, and at some point, you decide to go for a new look and feel. There are a couple of things you’ll look at, usually in the order: layout/look and feel, usability, and optionally, room for advertising. If the theme meets your needs in all three of these points, you might download and install it. If that sounds familiar, this post describes how to find the perfect SEO-friendly WordPress theme!
An SEO-friendly theme has quite a few things to take care of, and a lot of themes miss out on these. This overview should help to keep you out of trouble when you’re looking for a new theme. If you’re thinking of installing a new theme, please give the following points some thought. Keep in mind, your new theme should be accessible, compatible, customizable, integrable, and standards-compliant.
Define your needs
Whether you are in the market for a free theme, a premium theme, or want to hire a developer to build one especially for you, the first step is always the same: define your needs. Write down what the theme should do, now and in the future. You might not need an eCommerce option at this time, but what about in a year from now? What should your site look like? Which pages do you need? What types of content are you planning to publish? Once you have a clear picture of the requirements, you have a better chance of finding your dream theme.
Find a trusted reseller or developer. How’s the support?
Should you build a theme yourself? Or will a general free theme do? The discussion on whether a premium theme is better than a free theme continues to rage on. Both sides have their merits. There are loads of crappy free themes, but there are just as many crappy premium themes. What you should do is find a reseller or developer that you trust. Look for social proof; how many reviews does a theme get? Is there an active message board? When did it receive its last update?
While themes on WordPress.org undergo initial scrutiny for safety, it remains crucial to perform your own thorough checks. Also, vetting doesn’t mean they’re awesome. Theme resellers offer loads of premium themes in varying degrees of awesomeness. But just because you pay for them, doesn’t necessarily make them better than free themes. In addition to that, since you only receive the files when you pay for a theme, there’s no way to check the quality upfront. Despite social proof, it’s still a leap in the dark.
How flexible is the theme?
A static theme won’t do you any good when you want to change the page layout in a couple of months. Make sure to choose a theme that is flexible in its appearance as well as its functionality. Be sure that it supports blocks so you can use the block editor to fill the design. Don’t choose a design that screams for full-width images when you only need a well-presented place to write your poetry. Check what happens to a theme when you turn off all massive images; does it still function? And is it possible to change colors, fonts, and other visual elements? Many themes, like Total or GeneratePress, come with a number of demo examples that give you an idea of all the different styles they can handle.
Your SEO-friendly WordPress theme should have room for widgets, plus it should support featured images and offer multi-language support. Lots of themes have a page builder on board; these help you construct your bespoke layout. But, this is something you should be careful with because these could generate less than stellar code that hinders your SEO. Do check if your theme works well with site builders like Elementor. Also, modern themes like the Twenty Twenty-Five default theme work with block patterns that let you fine-tune your design.
Make sure your WordPress theme plays nicely with third-party plugins to boost your site’s functionality and SEO. Themes often come with built-in features, but these can sometimes clash with essential plugins. Make sure your chosen theme is flexible and well-coded to work smoothly with popular plugins like Yoast SEO, WooCommerce, and Elementor. This compatibility lets you enhance your site without dealing with conflicts or performance dips. Checking for plugin support makes sure that you can easily add features while keeping your site running securely and efficiently.
Which post and page templates does the theme support?
Another way to keep things flexible is for an SEO-friendly WordPress theme to offer multiple posts and page templates. That way, you could start off using a basic template with a main content area and a left sidebar, but have the flexibility to change to a full-width content area or one of the many other options. If a theme has only two choices, that might become problematic in the future. Pick a theme with enough sensible templates.
Does it function as a parent/child theme?
Parent and child themes are a great combo. If you use any of the theme frameworks like heavy-hitter Genesis, you know how powerful these are compared to regular themes. A child theme gets its functionality from a parent theme. So if you’re making changes to your child theme, the parent won’t see these. You won’t break the parent theme if you make a mistake. The same goes for updates; if you update your parent theme, which happens often, it won’t wipe the changes you’ve made to your theme because it’s a child and doesn’t contain the functionality.
Whether you need a theme framework depends on your needs. Almost all WordPress projects will benefit from a theme framework, but it might be overkill if you only need a tiny amount of its functionality and you know exactly what kind of theme you need.
Watch out for theme bloat
Many themes are bloated, which increases loading time. If the developer of a particular theme included everything but the kitchen sink, you might get a feature-complete product but an extremely complicated one as well. Try to find a theme that offers everything you need instead of everything there is. Your theme should be lean and mean.
Prioritize security
When choosing a WordPress theme, don’t overlook the importance of security. It’s important to select a theme that is well-maintained and regularly updated to fix vulnerabilities. Check if the theme has a solid security reputation by reading user reviews and checking update logs. Make sure it complies with secure coding standards and supports two-factor authentication and other security measures. Using themes directly from the official WordPress repository or trusted marketplaces adds an extra layer of assurance. Always test the theme with security plugins like Sucuri to identify potential issues before going live.
Check site speed and mobile-readiness
Your website should be mobile-friendly from the start. Its theme should load swiftly and provide an excellent page experience, reflected in strong Core Web Vitals scores. Opting for a lightweight, efficient theme could help you achieve this.
Begin by evaluating the theme’s responsiveness. Use tools like the Google Lighthouse to verify compatibility across various devices. Additionally, input the theme’s demo site URL into Google PageSpeed Insights to uncover any loading issues that might affect performance.
Remember, these tests offer a starting point, but they only provide part of the picture. For a complete assessment, test the theme’s speed on your actual server setup, as server performance can significantly influence load times.
Is the theme really SEO-friendly?
While Yoast SEO fixes a lot of WordPress’s SEO issues, a good theme helps a lot. Most WordPress themes will claim that they are SEO-friendly, but make sure to check them. One of the good examples is Twenty Twenty-Five, which offers a clean design that performs really well. Find out if the theme’s code is nice and clean or an intangible mess. Has it been updated recently? And will it be supported in the future? How many JavaScript libraries does the theme depend on? Does it support Schema.org structured data? If you’re eyeing a free theme, make sure there are no hidden links to the developer’s website, as this can hurt your SEO efforts. In general, keep Google’s Search Essentials documentation in mind when hunting for SEO-friendly WordPress themes.
Is the theme’s code valid?
Some theme authors are more designers than coders, and thus, they sometimes hack around until it finally looks the way they want without bothering to check whether the code they’ve written is valid HTML. If it’s not, current or future browsers might have issues rendering the content correctly. You can check whether the code is valid by using the W3C’s validator.
Test, test, and test again
Once you’ve chosen your favorite new SEO-friendly WordPress theme, it’s time to kick it into gear. Start with a development setup to test your new theme through and through. Run every type of test you can think of. This might be a security check with the Sucuri plugin or a theme check with the Theme Check plugin. Load your site with dummy data from wptest.io to see if every element is represented and functioning. Run pagespeed and mobile-friendliness tests to see if problems arise. Fix the issues, or find a new theme.
Bonus checks
That’s just to get you going. There’s a lot of stuff you can check before you install your brand-new theme. Start with these three checks, if you will:
Hooks
WordPress plugins use so-called “hooks” to be able to perform their designated tasks. These hooks allow, for instance, to add extra output, tracking codes, etc. A lot of issues with plugins will arise for you when a theme author forgets to add these hooks. This is how to check for them:
1. In header.php, it should have a small piece of PHP code that looks exactly like this wp_head(); or this do_action('wp_head');, usually just before a piece of HTML that looks like this: </head>.
2. In footer.php, it should have another small piece of PHP like this wp_footer();, or this do_action('wp_footer');
3. In comments.php and/or comments-popup.php, there should be a piece of code like this: <?php do_action('comment_form', $post->ID); ?>, just before the </form> HTML tag.
Template files
Another wise thing to do when you’re changing themes is to compare theme files. If, for instance, your current theme has an author.php file, which contains the template for your author profiles, and your new one doesn’t have that, that might be an unpleasant surprise when you install the theme. The files you should be checking for in your old and new themes:
home.php: the homepage template.
single.php: the template for single posts.
page.php: the template for pages.
category.php: the template for category indexes.
author.php: the author template, used when someone wants to find all posts by a certain author.
date.php: the date template, used when someone tries to look at, for instance, a certain month of posts on your blog.
archive.php: this template is used when either category.php, author.php, or date.php isn’t there.
search.php: used when someone searches on your blog, a very important template to look at if you’re concerned about usability, and whether people can find posts on your blog.
404.php is used when WordPress can’t find a certain post or page. It’s a very important template file to have!
How is your theme handling titles?
It’s essential to modernize how your theme manages page titles. While older practices involve directly altering the <title> tag in header.php, consider utilizing add_theme_support('title-tag'); in your theme’s functions.php. This setup allows WordPress and plugins like Yoast SEO to handle titles optimally, ensuring a flexible and SEO-friendly title structure.
// Add to your theme's functions.php add_action('after_setup_theme', function() { add_theme_support('title-tag'); });
Now, Yoast SEO can take care of all the titles. We have a great article on crafting good titles if you want to learn more.
A guide to finding SEO-friendly WordPress themes
If the theme you are looking at fits your goals and the points made in this article, you should be quite okay. For those of you with more tech skills, it’s also an option to go headless with WordPress if you want more flexibility. Good luck with your new theme!
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Imagine if your website could rank for every single keyword related to your niche.
That’s the promise of programmatic SEO.
It’s how Tripadvisor creates “Things to Do in” pages for countless locations across the globe…
…and ranks for almost 100K keywords featuring the words “things to do in”:
But the reality is more nuanced. It’s not a magic trick that’ll instantly drive traffic.
And we’ve seen programmatic plays go wrong countless times (more on that below).
The real differentiator nowadays isn’t the ability to create thousands of pages. It’s whether those pages actually deserve to rank.
In this guide, I’ll show you when programmatic SEO works, when it doesn’t, and how you can build your own winning programmatic SEO strategy.
What Is Programmatic SEO?
Programmatic SEO, also referred to as pSEO, is the systematic creation of content at scale using templates and data to target thousands (sometimes millions) of related search queries. The goal is to drive traffic and revenue through these automatically generated pages.
Put another way:
You create landing pages at scale to rank in lots of search results.
In traditional content marketing, you create individual articles targeting specific keywords. With programmatic SEO, you automate page creation based on patterns in search behavior.
Each page uses the same template structure, layout, and core elements. The only things that change are the keywords you’re targeting.
You use automation to spin up hundreds or thousands of variations. Each one targets different long-tail keywords with relatively low competition.
The goal is to drive traffic, build authority, and generate revenue for your business — at a volume you couldn’t replicate manually.
4 Successful Programmatic SEO Examples
Use the programmatic SEO examples below to get inspired and understand how to spot patterns that make good candidates for programmatic campaigns.
Note: Some of these sites have millions of pages, and they often run across multiple different types of programmatic SEO efforts. As a result, the number of pages and traffic figures are estimates. But they should still give you a good idea of what is possible when pSEO works well.
1. Wise
Wise is a global financial platform that helps users send, spend, and receive money internationally.
You’ll see Wise as a common example of programmatic SEO in action, generally for their currency converter pages. But most discussions on the topic don’t properly convey the true scale of Wise’s pSEO play.
The total number of currency converter pages across Wise’s domain (including across different global subfolders like /gb/ and /us/) is a whopping 8.5 million.
Not tens of thousands. Millions of pages. That all look like this:
How do I know there are that many?
Because Wise’s main sitemap index contains 170 individual sitemaps for the currency converter pages alone (it starts at “sitemap-0”):
And each of those contains 50K individual URLs (except the last one, which has just under 47K):
All of which are indexable and canonicalized:
That includes the variants for specific currency amounts.
That’s right, Wise has created a bunch of pages for various currencies that are prefilled with common amounts of currency to convert. Like “2,000 Maldivian rufiyaas to New Zealand dollars.”
And they rank:
In fact, Wise ranks for tens of thousands of related keywords, including 36.5K that include the word “convert”:
Wise’s currency conversion pages demonstrate the difference between valuable programmatic content and thin content.
Each page (like USD to EUR) includes real-time rates, interactive calculators, historical charts, bank comparisons, and transactional capabilities. Not just basic templated text with a CTA.
Their pages solve real user problems rather than merely existing to capture keywords.
But that’s not the only way Wise uses programmatic SEO. They also use it for:
SWIFT codes for businesses (1.25 million pages):
Stock tickers (280K+ pages):
And they also have:
Currency exchange pages (~8K)
Account pages (~1K)
“Send money” pages (~16K)
IBAN pages (~10K)
Comparison pages (~38K)
Routing number pages (~45K)
Various landing pages (~6K)
Overall, the Wise website has more than 10 million pages. Combined, they drive 100+ million visits every month.
This isn’t necessarily the most relatable example. It would require extensive resources to pull off this kind of automated page creation.
But it does show the sheer scalability and ranking power of programmatic SEO.
Why this works: Wise has massive amounts of proprietary data about currencies and other financial information. Each page also caters to a very specific user need that is globally relevant.
2. Tripadvisor
Tripadvisor uses programmatic SEO for its location pages.
Search for “things to do in [city]” and you’ll see how they’ve dominated this pattern.
For example, here’s the result for “things to do in Paris”:
And this is the result for “things to do in New York”:
Each page follows the same structure. But each one is populated with location-specific attractions, reviews, and booking options unique to that destination.
These pages collectively drive millions of organic traffic to Tripadvisor.
Bonus note: This is just counting the URLs on Tripadvisor’s .com domain. There are similar pages on its global domains too, like .co.uk.
Why does this work so well?
Because Tripadvisor is able to meet the pain points of users all over the world. Travellers are always looking for things to do in different locations.
And Tripadvisor can cater to this need with its vast array of data on landmarks, sights, and activities. Plus, they have proprietary user data (like reviews) that helps make every programmatically generated page unique and useful.
Why this works: Tripadvisor has an Authority Score of 100. Add to that the fact that its pages cover the global travel market and contain heaps of UGC (like reviews) and you have the ideal candidate for pSEO.
3. Zillow
Zillow uses programmatic SEO to generate thousands of hyper-local pages for every city, neighborhood, and property type to capture long-tail real estate search traffic.
The site transforms raw data (like home value estimates, price trend visualizations, school information, and walkability scores) into context-rich resources that both rank well and help users make important decisions.
And they have A LOT of listings.
I trawled through their sitemaps and found various groups of pages:
Home values by location (173K pages)
Miscellaneous listings (9K pages)
School districts (146K pages)
For sale by agent (1.6M pages)
For sale by owner (26K pages)
New construction (160K pages)
Pending (1.5K pages)
Recently sold (7.5M pages)
For rent (1.2M pages)
Then there are other sitemaps covering buildings, apartments, off-market, other, and “for sale” suggesting tens of millions of pages.
But one sitemap index for off market homes contained 4999 sitemaps, each with seemingly around 23K URLs. This would suggest there are more than 100 million URLs in this category.
Either there is some overlap on the pages (which would be impossible to manually check for) or Zillow lists pretty much every single home in the US on its site.
Regardless, Zillow has millions of pages. And these rely on programmatic SEO.
The result?
243 million organic visits every month.
Why this works: Zillow has massive authority (Authority Score of 97). When you combine that with masses of proprietary data and a nationwide market, you have a brilliant use case for programmatic SEO.
4. Zapier
Zapier is an automation platform that connects different web apps and creates workflows based on these connections.
They generate detailed integration pages for every possible app combination to capture search intent around software integrations. With 590K+ pages, Zapier’s programmatic efforts are impressive.
The /apps/ subfolder that contains these integration pages drives more than 610K organic visits every month:
Each integration page (like “Connect Calendly to Slack”) offers specific use cases via templates…
…along with lists of supported triggers and actions:
Why this works: Zapier’s entire tool works around integrating different tools. So they have proprietary data they can lean on (the lists of templates and triggers) that nobody else can replicate. But the key part is that every one of these pages serves a very specific intent in a detailed way.
When pSEO Makes Sense (And When It Doesn’t)
Not every business can or should use programmatic SEO.
So before you spend resources building a system that cranks out thousands of pages, let’s be brutally honest about when this approach actually works.
Marketplace sites, aggregators, and directories are the perfect candidates for pSEO. Think Zillow (property listings), Tripadvisor (travel destinations), or Zapier (software integrations).
Why do these programmatic SEO sites work so well?
Because each piece of content changes enough to justify its own page. Plus, users genuinely need that specific information or functionality.
Key takeaway: If your data or functionality doesn’t meaningfully change between variations, strongly reconsider whether you should use programmatic SEO.
Simply changing “[City] plumbers” to target 500 locations while offering identical generic text isn’t programmatic SEO — it’s spam.
The Dangers of Programmatic SEO
Programmatic SEO can look a lot like spam if you just create a bunch of thin content.
But even if it doesn’t look like spam, if users have a different intent or there are better sources out there, you’ll struggle to rank.
We’ve seen programmatic efforts have negative consequences with the likes of G2 and ZoomInfo.
ZoomInfo’s databases of companies and people still drive significant traffic:
But nowhere near as much as they used to:
The same goes for G2.
The product review and comparison site used to drive almost 12 million monthly visits back in 2021. But now it gets less than 1 million:
Both sites saw major drops in traffic on at least two occasions:
Between May-August of 2021, coinciding with several major Google updates (including for spam specifically)
In October 2023, again coinciding with major Google updates, and again with one for spam specifically
There are other factors at play too, like the prevalence of AI Overviews in search results, Reddit’s SERP dominance, and more authoritative competition.
But these are two examples of programmatic SEO working very well — until it doesn’t.
How to Know if Programmatic SEO Is Right for You
Before you invest in programmatic SEO, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you have lots of proprietary data, user-generated content, or structured information at your disposal?
Does your site already have rankings and authority?
Will your hypothetical pages each provide real value individually?
Would you be proud to show each individual page to any user?
You should be able to answer “yes” to all of these questions. If not, rethink whether programmatic SEO is worth your investment.
How to Build Your Programmatic SEO Strategy in 5 Steps
Step 1: Find Scalable Keywords
The foundation of programmatic SEO isn’t finding high-volume keywords. It’s about identifying patterns that you can target systematically.
What Good Programmatic SEO Keywords Look Like
You’re looking for search queries that follow consistent formats but change one or two variables.
Like these examples:
[product] vs [competitor]
best restaurants in [city]
convert [currency] to [currency]
[language] to [language] translation
average salary for [profession]
cheap flights from [location] to [location]
The key is evaluating whether the underlying search intent stays consistent across variations.
For example, let’s take a closer look at Wise’s currency converter pages:
Someone searching “USD to EUR” wants the same core information as someone searching “GBP to JPY.” They just want to convert different currencies.
But these pages aren’t just glorified calculators. They also feature historic conversion charts:
Tables of the highs, lows, averages, and changes:
And a comparison of Wise’s own rates versus competitors:
This is why they dominate these searches: they’re solving the specific problem searchers have with each currency pair. It’s the same intent but with different variables — the right mix for programmatic SEO.
How to Find Your Own pSEO Keywords
Good programmatic SEO keywords consist of two key parts:
Head term: The consistent part that appears in all variations (e.g., “Resume templates”)
Modifier: The variable element that changes with each page (e.g., job titles like “product managers” or “systems engineers”)
Professional modifiers: “for [profession]”, “[skill] for [industry]”, “[tool] for [job]”
Format modifiers: “[topic] template”, “[topic] calculator”, “[topic] checklist”
Question modifiers: “how to [verb] [topic]”, “can [subject] [verb]”, “why does [topic] [verb]”
Statistical modifiers: “average [metric] for [category]”, “[topic] statistics [year]”
Pro tip: Use the asterisk (*) search operator in Google to find even more variations (like “seo tools for *”).
Set the Keyword Difficulty to “(KD) < 30” and use the “Include” filter to narrow down to specific patterns (e.g., include “for” to find “seo tools for [industry]”).
Finally, sort by volume to prioritize higher-traffic opportunities.
Next, check the SERPs for several variations of your pattern and to confirm similar content types appear across variations.
This is an important step. Let’s say you were planning to programmatically create pages that list the top SEO tools for different business types.
Your plan was to create pages that contained a simple list with basic facts and stats about each tool, along with some features and pricing info. You have a database with all this information, and you plug in an AI tool’s API to help create unique content for each page.
But then you check the SERP for some common terms and realize that Google seems to be rewarding more detailed lists.
Lists that feature:
In-depth tool info
Expert takes and opinions
Screenshots that show the writer has used the tool
Do you think your programmatic content will rank alongside these guides?
Probably not.
That’s why checking the SERP and evaluating the search intent is so important.
But once you do have a list of ideal keywords to target, you can export it and group by modifier types (locations, products, features). This organized data will feed directly into your template planning.
Step 2: Collect and Structure Data
Every successful programmatic SEO project thrives because of its data.
Without unique, valuable information, you’re just going to create thin pages Google will eventually demote.
You have three main options for data acquisition:
Proprietary data: Information you own or generate that competitors can’t access is the gold standard. Think Zapier’s integration data or Tripadvisor’s reviews. If you have proprietary data, your programmatic SEO has built-in defensibility.
Public data with added value: You can transform, combine, or present data from public sources in uniquely valuable ways (like from government databases or APIs). Because anyone else can access this data, how you present it is absolutely key.
Scraped data: This is the riskiest option. If you go this route, focus on adding significant value through analysis, visualization, or aggregation. Remember: scraping should be a starting point, not your end product.
If you’re struggling to find data, here are some free datasets for programmatic SEO across different niches (including stocks, salary data, social media, books, and more).
Just remember that anyone can find these data sets. So it’s best to use them for inspiration rather than hinging your pSEO campaign on them.
Step 3: Create Quality Content Templates
Templates are the engine of programmatic SEO. But they’re also where most projects go wrong. It’s easy to generate 100,000 pages. It’s hard to make them genuinely useful.
Start by manually creating 3-5 examples of your target pages. These are your test runs. Use them to validate that your data, structure, and content actually helps users.
Once you’re happy, build your template with the following:
500–1,000+ words of helpful content: Use headings, bullet points, and other visual breaks to improve clarity
Conditional content logic: Use if/then rules to tailor each page’s copy, examples, recommendations, or CTAs to match the specific data or topic
Rich elements like HTML tables, charts, or maps: Visualize your data to make your page interactive and genuinely informative
Internal links: Guide users to related pages, deeper resources, or next steps
Step 4: Technical Setup (Based on Skill Level)
You don’t need to be a developer to launch a programmatic SEO site. But you will need to choose your approach based on your technical comfort and scale requirements.
Here are a few examples of what your setup might look like depending on your skill level:
Level
Pages
Tools
Example Workflow
Best For
Beginner / No-code
1-100 pages
Google Sheets
WordPress or Webflow
WP All Import or similar plugins
Export keyword data to spreadsheet
Write templates using variables
Use formulas/find+replace to populate content
Bulk import via plugin
Non-technical users launching small projects
Intermediate
100-1,000 pages
Airtable / Notion
Webflow CMS
Zapier / Make
Jekyll, Hugo (SSGs with data files)
Build structured data in Airtable
Connect to Webflow CMS via Make
Auto-generate new pages when data is added
Marketers comfortable with no-code automation tools
Advanced
1,000+ pages
Custom apps
Next.js or similar
CMS APIs
Databases with caching
CI/CD pipelines
Develop custom app (e.g., with Node.js)
Fetch data from database (e.g., PostgreSQL)
Generate and deploy pages with frameworks like Next.js via Vercel
Developers or teams with engineering resources
Pro tip: Roll out your programmatic SEO efforts in stages. Don’t push 100K URLs live overnight.
Step 5: Monitor and Improve Your SEO
Like any SEO strategy, programmatic SEO is an ongoing effort. Because you might have hundreds or thousands of pages to manage, staying on top of performance and technical issues is key.
Here are some important things to track, and the best tool(s) to use:
Indexation rate: What percentage of your pages are in Google’s index? (Google Search Console)
Crawl stats: How frequently is Google visiting your pages? (Google Search Console)
Traffic distribution: Are certain variations performing better than others? (Google Analytics)
Conversion patterns: Which page types drive valuable actions? (Google Analytics)
Page-level metrics: What do your loading speeds, bounce rates, and time on page metrics look like? (PageSpeed Insights, Google Analytics)
Cannibalization issues: Are your programmatic pages competing with each other? (Google Search Console, Semrush Position Tracking)
Is Programmatic SEO Really the Way to Go?
It’s hopefully clear by now that programmatic SEO can yield some pretty impressive results.
But it should also be clear that it’s not the right choice for everyone.
Unless you have:
Existing authority
Plenty of resources
Unique data
It’s probably not the right approach for your website (at least not yet).
For now, I recommend focusing on growing your site with quality, not quantity. For more on this, check out our guide to creating high-quality SEO content.
http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png00http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-06-12 12:04:272025-06-12 12:04:27Programmatic SEO: What It Is and When to Use It (+ Examples)
But suddenly…more people are searching for your brand. What’s going on?
Welcome to the invisible influence of LLMs, where your visibility goes up even when traffic goes down.
New research from Semrush reveals a seismic shift happening right now: LLM traffic will completely overtake traditional Google search by 2027.
There’s A LOT to think through here.
The good news?
If you’re already doing quality SEO, you’re 70% of the way there. The next step is to ensure your expertise is recognized by AI systems.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
Why Google rankings are no longer your best growth signal
What LLM visibility actually means
How to track and influence this new layer of search that’s driving brand discovery
Let’s start with what your current analytics are struggling to see.
Your Brand Is Blowing Up in LLMs (You Just Can’t See It)
LLMs are quietly becoming the biggest brand discovery platform on the internet.
Users ask AI about your industry, see your brand mentioned, and then visit you directly later.
The problem is you can’t see this influence in Google Analytics.
What Your Analytics Miss
Almost 90% of ChatGPT’s citations come from search results ranking in positions 21+ — not the top 5 rankings you’re fighting for.
While you optimize for position #1, ChatGPT mines pages 3, 5, and 10 for answers. And users trust those recommendations.
This data focuses on ChatGPT, but similar patterns appear across LLMs.
Gemini also favors long-tail sources, and Perplexity shows comparable citation behaviors across the ecosystem.
Looking forward: Google’s massive reach through AI Overviews and the AI Mode rollout positions them as the long-term leader, even as ChatGPT dominates current conversations.
How Discovery Has Changed
Discovery is fundamentally changing:
Old way: Google → Click → Explore → Decide
New way: Ask AI → See mention → Visit directly later
And different generations use LLMs differently.
College students treat ChatGPT as an “operating system.”
Users in their 20s-30s use it as a “life advisor.”
Older users see it as a Google replacement.
Still, each interaction creates invisible brand impressions.
When someone discovers you through an LLM and visits later, it appears as:
Direct traffic (typed your URL)
Branded search (Googled your name)
Untagged referral (bookmarked and returned)
There’s zero attribution to the LLM mention.
So you have to get creative.
4 Signs Your LLM Visibility Is Growing
Your analytics might be telling a story of decline, while your brand influence is actually exploding.
This exact pattern is happening to Backlinko.
Our clicks dropped 15% while impressions surged 54% over the past three months.
More people are seeing our content in search results, but fewer are clicking through.
They’re likely discovering us through AI responses, then searching for us directly later.
Here are four signs that LLM visibility might be driving invisible growth for your brand:
Declining organic traffic + stable branded searches: People are discovering you elsewhere first, then searching for your brand directly.
Sales calls mentioning “found you through AI”: Direct evidence of LLM-driven discovery that never shows up in analytics.
Direct traffic holding steady despite fewer Google clicks: Users are bypassing search entirely after AI discovery.
Competitors gaining share with weaker traditional SEO: They’re likely winning LLM visibility while you focus on rankings. (More on what that looks like later.)
How LLMs Find and Cite Content
Historically, SEO has been fairly straightforward. For the most part, it’s predictable cause and effect.
Optimize for keyword X, build Y backlinks, get position Z.
LLM visibility operates differently. It’s probabilistic and contextual.
This emerging discipline is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). It’s the practice of optimizing for AI-powered search systems.
While this guide focuses on measuring LLM visibility specifically, it’s part of the broader GEO strategy.
With that said, think of GEO as an extension of SEO rather than replacing it, as many of the skills overlap.
The fundamental difference:
SEO: Deterministic rankings drive traffic
GEO: Probabilistic mentions build influence
Why Rankings Don’t Predict LLM Citations
Different LLMs prioritize different authority signals, creating multiple opportunities for visibility.
For example, when you search “best SEO blogs in 2025,” Google’s AI Overview cites established brands.
It mentions Backlinko alongside Search Engine Land, Semrush, and other recognized industry leaders.
Open the top three cited posts in the AIO, and they all mention the same blogs.
Ask ChatGPT the same question (logged out in a private browser), you get a similar list.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
When I asked ChatGPT the same question, logged in, I got a completely different answer.
Instead of citing the usual suspects, it focuses on finding diverse, current perspectives across different platforms. It recommends everything from premium newsletters to X/Twitter accounts worth following.
All based on the context of my chat history.
So, Google AI values co-citation patterns, but ChatGPT rewards fresh perspectives and contextual coverage.
This is why your 2023 comparison post might never appear in AI Overviews, but could become ChatGPT’s go-to citation for explaining complex topics.
What LLMs Actually Prioritize
Early testing suggests that query fan-out and semantic chunk matching are big drivers of LLM behaviour.
LLMs often create several related sub-queries from your original question, especially for complex topics. They pull the best matches from the web.
LLMs focus on identifying the most relevant content chunks, rather than the highest-ranking pages.
The result?
While strong Google rankings often correlate with LLM citations, the relationship isn’t perfectly linear.
Content ranking lower in traditional search can still get cited by AI systems when it provides the most relevant, specific answer to what users are asking.
To win this transition, continue building comprehensive topical authority. It’s the same principle that has driven SEO success, but now even more critical for LLM visibility.
Prompt: “How do I build high-quality backlinks to my website?”
ChatGPT Response:Building quality backlinks requires strategic outreach and valuable content creation. The Skyscraper Technique, popularized by Brian Dean from Backlinko, involves finding top-performing content in your niche, creating something better, then reaching out to sites that linked to the original. Other effective methods include guest posting on relevant blogs…
What happens next: The user doesn’t click anywhere. They continue asking about outreach templates and timeline expectations, then later search “Backlinko Skyscraper Technique” or navigate directly to backlinko.com.
The invisibility factor: Branding just influenced a purchase decision, but you’ll never see it in referral traffic.
LLMs present information with or without links. Both drive discovery.
Here’s an example of a Perplexity response with a link:
Trends show that citations without links often feel more trustworthy because users don’t sense they’re being “sold to.”
Note: In these examples, we’re referring to RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). It’s where the model often conducts additional web searches (query fan-out, etc.) for complex queries.
Why Your Analytics Are Blind to LLM Growth (And How to Fix It)
Your current measurement tools can’t see the biggest growth opportunity in search, but there are ways to track what actually matters.
What Your Dashboard Misses
When someone discovers you through an LLM and visits later, it appears as:
Direct traffic (typed your URL or clicked a link that didn’t pass referrer data)
Branded search (Googled your name)
Unknown or untagged referral (bookmarked and returned)
It’s worth repeating, there’s often zero attribution to the LLM mention.
Why Traditional Metrics Fail
Google Analytics and Google Search Console were designed for a click-based world.
Old customer journey: See result → Click → Convert (trackable)
New customer journey: See AI mention → Research brand → Visit directly later (invisible)
It’s a measurement paradox. Your most effective discovery channel is completely hidden.
Quick rant:
Google isn’t adding access to traffic data for AI Mode or AI Overviews.
I believe it’s because it’ll reveal just how little traffic both are actually driving to external websites.
Maybe the tide will turn, and eventually, they’ll add the data to their tools. Time will tell.
How to Track Your LLM Visibility
It’s worth acknowledging that LLM visibility tools are new and evolving.
I’ve been using Semrush’s AI Toolkit as it provides insights into how your brand compares to competitors in LLMs.
For Backlinko, I added four competitors, and here’s what the report looks like for ChatGPT visibility.
Semrush leads with a 33% market share, followed by Ahrefs at 25%. Unfortunately, we’re sitting at 5%.
Caveat: we’re not a product company, and we have much smaller brand demand than Semrush and Ahrefs.
This matters because LLM visibility may correlate with brand awareness and search volume. Brands with more online discussion and search demand typically have more content and mentions for LLMs to discover and cite.
Yes, how often you’re being mentioned in LLMs is crucial. But how you get mentioned matters just as much.
Back to the Semrush AI Toolkit, Brand & Marketing dashboard shows shifts in sentiment among LLMs.
Backlinko consistently has a high favorable sentiment share.
The Strategic Opportunities section shows where the gaps are and helps you prioritize the execution by timeframe.
So, instead of fighting for the same top rankings, you can build authority in overlooked niches where LLMs need better sources.
Track these metrics monthly:
Visibility score changes across different LLM models
Branded search correlation in Google Search Console
Market share shifts vs competitors
Semrush’s Enterprise AIO offers even more powerful ways to monitor brand visibility in LLMs.
Pro tip: When you see visibility increases, correlate them with branded search spikes in GSC to estimate real business impact.
The Measurement Mindset Shift
Traditional SEO measurement focuses on traffic and tracked conversions.
LLM visibility measurement focuses on influence created.
Instead of asking “How many clicks did we get?” ask “How much authority did we build?”
The businesses that adopt this measurement philosophy first will have a massive advantage in AI-driven search.
Building Authority That AI Actually Recognizes
Here’s the good news:
Building authority for LLM visibility isn’t about throwing out everything you know about SEO.
What makes content trustworthy for people — like clear structure, real expertise, and thorough coverage — also helps AI systems see it as authoritative.
But there are some nuances worth understanding.
Why SEO Authority Still Matters (Mostly)
Again, your existing SEO work isn’t wasted.
LLMs mine the same content ecosystem as search engines, but they have different priorities.
We’re at a critical inflection point where everyone is moving fast and low-quality content is becoming rampant.
Google search used to be messy. I mean, it’s not perfect now, but it’s vastly better than pre-2010.
For LLMs to succeed long-term, they need to maintain and develop ways to promote real authority and trustworthy sources, not just those who cheaply game the system.
The overlap between traditional SEO authority and LLM visibility is significant:
Content depth and expertise matter to both systems
Clear information architecture helps both humans and AI navigate your content
Consistent topic coverage builds authority across platforms
Original insights and data get cited by both search engines and LLMs
Where things diverge is in the details. And those details create opportunities.
Expertise Depth Over Keyword Coverage
You’ve probably heard SEO advice that creates a false choice between keyword optimization and content quality.
But if you’ve been following sound SEO principles, you already know that keywords are simply demand signals.
They’re data points that help you understand what your audience wants to learn and prioritize your content efforts.
LLMs have made this quality-first approach non-negotiable.
The citation analysis shows that AI systems consistently favor sources that demonstrate genuine expertise. Content that covers edge cases, recognises complexity, and shares insights from real experience.
Surface-level content aggregation used to rank well just by optimizing keywords. Now, it gets fewer mentions in AI responses.
This isn’t because LLMs dislike keywords. It’s because they’re better at recognizing and rewarding authentic expertise.
This means sharing process details, insightful nuances, and clear methods that both people and AI see as trustworthy.
Include the details that only practitioners would know.
Acknowledge when approaches don’t work and explain why.
Be clear and precise in your explanations. This helps both humans and AI systems understand your expertise accurately.
LLMs have simply made the stakes higher for thin content while rewarding the approach that quality-focused practitioners have always advocated.
The Strategic Citation Playbook
If you’ve been building quality backlinks, you’re already 70% of the way to LLM citation success.
The research reveals that citation-worthy content follows similar principles to link-worthy content, with a few critical differences in how citations actually work.
How to Get Cited Alongside Competitors
The research shows a clear pattern among top-cited brands. They consistently appear alongside other authorities in expert clusters.
When industry publications discuss “best practices for X,” they cite multiple experts.
Your goal is to be part of that conversation.
Practical focus:
Guest post on publications that already cite your competitors
Participate in expert roundups where your insights add genuine value
Comment thoughtfully on high-authority industry content with detailed expertise
Citations vs. Links: What’s Different
LLM citation patterns mirror what quality-focused SEOs have always known: authoritative sources carry more weight than weak ones.
But there are key differences from traditional link building.
Citations don’t require links: A thoughtful Reddit comment or YouTube video description can carry citation weight without clickable links back to your site.
Content depth beats ranking position: LLMs evaluate expertise independently of SERP rankings. Your detailed comparison post ranking on page 6 can become your most-cited asset.
To win LLM visibility, strategically place your expertise where AI systems recognize genuine authority.
Why Your Small Brand Can Compete in LLMs
The LLM visibility shift creates the biggest opportunity for smaller brands since the early days of SEO.
While established competitors fight for the same top rankings, you can build authority in the spaces they’re ignoring.
Remember: Almost 90% of ChatGPT citations come from long-tail results.
Your niche expertise on “B2B SaaS customer onboarding analytics” has the same citation potential as a Fortune 500 company’s homepage about “business software.”
Speed Beats Scale
Big brands move slowly. Committee approvals, legal reviews, and corporate messaging requirements create lag time.
You can capitalize on emerging trends, respond to breaking news in your industry, and share real-time insights that LLMs value for currency and relevance.
When a new platform launches or regulations change, you can publish authoritative analysis within hours while competitors are still scheduling meetings.
The Community Multiplier Effect
Your engaged audience amplifies LLM visibility in ways traditional SEO can’t measure.
When customers share your insights in Slack channels, Discord servers, or LinkedIn comments, they’re creating citation pathways that LLMs discover and value.
A single detailed Reddit comment from a satisfied customer can carry more LLM authority than a generic press release.
Start Small, Win Big
Pick one sub-topic where you have genuine expertise. Become THE authoritative voice on that specific area.
Instead of competing for “project management software,” own “project management for creative agencies with remote teams.”
Target long-tail prompts where competition is lighter and your specific experience matters most.
Track your progress with tools like Semrush’s AI Toolkit and Enterprise AIO to see your authority build across conversations that matter to your business.
Lastly, be wary of anyone definitively selling you GEO, AI Search Optimization, or whatever term they’re using.
We’re in a fluid and developing environment, but the fundamentals remain key.
Focus on building a brand and think about how to create the right content that will stand up over time.
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As part of our ongoing efforts to
simplify the Google Search results page, we will be phasing out support for a few structured data features in
Search. We regularly evaluate the usefulness of Search features, both for users and website owners.
HTML links (also called hyperlinks) are some of the most important functions of the internet. Google literally relies on them to find, crawl, index, and rank pages.
Links have a lot of power, both in terms of user experience and your site’s SEO.
So, understanding how to code HTML links properly is key if you want to create links that help (not hinder) your website’s performance.
The Components of an HTML Link
You create an HTML link using the anchor element: .
You then use attributes and values to change how the link functions.
Here’s what the complete HTML code for a clickable link looks like:
<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Example.com for more info.</a>
Let’s break that down:
The anchor tag (<a>) is the foundation of every link. It tells browsers “this is a clickable link.”
The href attribute defines where your link goes. This can be a web address, a file path, or even a specific section on the current page.
The target attribute controls how the link opens. The default is to open in the same window, but _blank makes it open in a new tab.
The rel attribute defines the relationship between the linking page and the linked page. It’s particularly important for SEO (more on that in the best practices section).
The anchor text is what users see and click. In the example above, it’s “Visit Example.com for more info.”
The closing tag (<a>) indicates where the link ends.
I’ll talk more about the role these elements play later in this guide. For now, let’s look at some of the most common ways to add HTML links.
How to Add Links with HTML Code
The basic method of adding links with HTML code involves placing the URL you want to link to within a link anchor tag. Just like the example above.
But here are a few of the most common use cases for adding links in HTML:
Text Links
Text links are the most common type of hyperlink you’ll create. You can use them to link to other pages on your site (internal links) or on other sites (external links).
This transforms the entire image into a clickable link that navigates to the specified URL.
The “img src” attribute specifies the location of the image file. While the “alt” attribute specifies alternative text for the image.
For image links to be accessible and SEO-friendly, you should include descriptive alt text. Like this:
<a href="/product/camera">
<img src="camera.jpg" alt="Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera">
</a>
The alt text serves two critical purposes:
Screen readers will read it aloud for visually impaired users to understand the image’s content
It helps search engines understand the content of your image (which may help you rank in image search results)
You should only make your images clickable if they actually take the user somewhere useful. Like to the image’s source website.
It’s worth noting that for image links and a few of the other types below, you might implement them in different ways.
For example, here’s how we implement some image links here on Backlinko (using CSS classes):
But here’s an image link on The Spruce:
In this case, the image link is still contained within an <a> tag. But there are other elements (like <div>) and classes (like img-placeholder) as well.
How exactly you implement image links largely depends on your website setup. If you use WordPress, your theme and plugins will likely dictate how you code your image links.
This pre-fills the subject line with “Product Inquiry” and adds initial text to the email body that says “I’m interested in learning more.”
(Note that you need to encode spaces and special characters, like %20 for a space.)
Pro tip: Make it clear what will happen when a user clicks the link with descriptive anchor text. This way, they won’t be confused when their email client opens.
When a user taps this link on their mobile device, it opens the phone dialer with the number ready to call.
For international phone numbers, always include the country code with a plus sign:
<a href="tel:+442071234567">Call our London office: +44 20 7123 4567</a>
You can also use the “sms” value to open up a text message:
<a href="sms:+442071234567">Send us a text</a>
As with email links, be clear in your anchor text for phone and SMS links about what will happen when the user taps the link.
Jump Links (Anchor Links) for Internal Page Navigation
Jump links, also known as anchor links, help users navigate to specific sections within the same page. They’re especially useful for long-form content.
If your site uses a table of contents (like this site does), it works using jump links in this way.
The basic structure requires two parts:
An element with an id attribute that serves as the target
A link that points to that id using a hash (#) symbol
For example, in our article on keyword mapping, which is a step-by-step list, we use jump links to make it easier for users to navigate.
First, we added “id” tags to the headings, like this:
<h3 id="add-keywords">3. Add the Keywords to Your Map</h3>
You don’t see this id attribute on the page, but it’s in the site’s code:
Then, in the second step of the list, which some users might not need to follow, we include a link to skip ahead to the third step (which has the id “add-keywords”).
The HTML link code looks like this:
<a href="#add-keywords">step 3</a>
And the link on the page looks like this:
When a user clicks the link, the browser will instantly scroll to the element with the matching id (in this case, step 3). It’ll also update the URL in the address bar:
Jump links are perfect for:
Tables of contents at the top of articles
“Back to top” links at the end of sections
FAQ pages where users want to jump to specific questions
Product pages with multiple information sections
Button Links for Calls to Action
HTML links over buttons combine the functionality of an <a> tag with the appearance of a button.
They’re perfect for calls to action that need to stand out and attract clicks.
The key difference between a button-style link and a regular link is that you’ll typically code HTML button links with CSS:
It’s worth noting that in a lot of cases, you won’t need to code button links yourself. If you’re using a CMS like WordPress, for example, you might use button templates of some kind.
Or perhaps, your developer will use CSS classes to create buttons rather than using HTML link codes.
Download Links
Download links let your users easily save files from your website to their devices.
The basic HTML for a download link uses the download attribute:
<a href="report.pdf" download>Download PDF Report</a>
For files that browsers typically display rather than download (like PDFs), the download attribute ensures they’re saved instead of opened.
Many browsers will download other file types by default, without the need for a separate download attribute. This is often true for things like Excel and Word documents.
Note: Sometimes your server configuration will dictate whether a file will open or download by default. If you’re not sure, speak to your developer.
Other Important HTML Link Code for SEO
There are a few HTML link attributes you should be aware of for your site’s SEO. These don’t create hyperlinks, but they do go inside an HTML link element in the <head> portion of your page’s code.
This element looks like <link> rather than <a>.
Canonical Tags
Canonical tags (technically attributes) tell search engines which version of a page is the “primary” one when you have similar or duplicate content across multiple URLs. They help prevent duplicate content issues that can hurt your SEO.
But it’s good practice to implement them on all of your pages.
You implement canonical tags using a <link> element in the <head> section of your HTML:
This effectively tells search engines: “This page is a copy or variation of the page at the specified URL. Please attribute all ranking signals to that URL instead.”
Canonicalization can help when you have URL parameters for tracking, filtering, or sorting (e.g., ?source=email or ?sort=price).
Hreflang
The hreflang HTML link attribute helps search engines understand the language and regional targeting of your pages. This helps them understand which version of your page to display to users in search results.
As with canonical tags, you implement it using link elements in the <head> section of your HTML:
This page is available in English (US), Spanish, and French
The default version (for users speaking other languages) is at the root URL
The hreflang attribute uses language codes (like “en” for English) and optional region codes (like “us” for the United States).
Hreflang tags are only an issue for sites with different language versions and an international presence. They can be tricky to get right, so for more detailed info, check out our dedicated guide to hreflang tags.
HTML Link Code Best Practices
Following these best practices will ensure your links are effective, secure, and accessible to all users. And it’ll help improve your SEO too.
Syntax
Here’s the correct syntax for an HTML link:
<a href="url">Anchor Text</a>
Here are a few syntax rules to remember:
Always include the opening <a> and closing </a> tags
Add the href attribute along with a value (your URL)
Enclose attribute values in quotation marks
Don’t use spaces between the attribute, equals sign, and value
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable text of your link. It’s the words users actually see and click on. It plays a crucial role in both user experience and SEO.
Good anchor text clearly tells users what to expect when they click a link. It also provided
The second example gives users (and search engines) clear information about where the link will take them.
When writing anchor text, follow these guidelines:
Make it descriptive and relevant to the destination
Keep it concise (typically 2-5 words)
Avoid generic phrases like “click here” or “read more”
Use keywords naturally, but don’t stuff them in
Title Attributes
There’s also a “title” attribute you can add to links. But you generally don’t need this if you use descriptive anchor text.
In fact, using it can reduce readability and accessibility if it just repeats the anchor text. Screen readers usually won’t read it out, and users hovering over the link will see a tooltip that may just block other content on the screen. Plus, it won’t display on mobile devices at all.
So, unless you can meaningfully add important information about the link, don’t use the title attribute. And instead just make your anchor text descriptive.
Aria Labels
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) labels enhance accessibility by providing additional context for screen readers and other assistive technologies.
The aria-label attribute provides an accessible name for a link when the visible text isn’t descriptive enough, or for links over icons rather than text:
<a href="https://yourdomain.com/settings" aria-label="Go to settings">
<svg><!-- settings icon --></svg>
</a>
In this example, a screen reader would announce “Go to settings” but the site would only visually display a settings icon.
Target
The target attribute determines how your link opens when a user clicks on it.
The default link behavior opens the link in the same tab (i.e., you go from the current page to the linked page).
The default value is “_self” but you don’t need to specify that.
If you want to open the link in a new tab, use the “_blank” target value:
You used to need to add rel=“noopener” to links with a blank target value for security reasons. But you no longer need to do this. (More on noopener below.)
Opening your link in a new tab is particularly useful when:
Linking to external websites
Providing reference material that users might want to check while staying on your page
Linking to downloads or resources that would disrupt the user’s current activity
Opinions vary on whether this is best for accessibility. Some believe this creates a disruptive user experience, especially on mobile and for those using assistive technologies (like screen readers).
For internal links that are part of the natural navigation flow, it’s usually best to stick with the default behavior (opening in the same tab).
Note: There used to be other target values (_parent and _top), but these are deprecated in HTML5.
Relationships (rel=)
The rel attribute defines the relationship between your current page and the page you’re linking to. It’s an important attribute that affects both security and SEO.
The default behavior is to not add any rel values. But here are a few of the most common ones:
Sponsored Links
You use the sponsored rel value when another brand has paid to have a link on your site.
For example, let’s say you have an affiliate link to a product you promote.
This is a form of paid or sponsored link, because you might earn money from purchases users make through that link. Google recommends you use the “sponsored” attribute for paid link placements:
Here’s an example of this on WireCutter, a popular product comparison website:
You would also use this attribute for links other companies have explicitly paid you to include on your site.
UGC Links
Use the user-generated content rel value on links in comments and forum posts. These are links you don’t necessarily control, and this tells Google that you don’t endorse them.
<a href="https://example.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc">External site you haven’t verified</a>
Nofollow Links
Use nofollow when none of the other rel values apply and you don’t want Google to associate your site with the one you’re linking to. Or when you don’t want Google to crawl the page you’re linking to.
<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Link to a site you don’t endorse</a>
Let’s say you’re not the one creating the links on your site so you can’t verify them before they go live. Maybe you have a team of writers, or you’re accepting guest posts.
But you know the links are not sponsored or in user-generated content. In this case, you’d use nofollow.
What About “noopener” and “noreferrer”?
The “noopener” rel value tells your browser to go to the target link without giving the new location access to the page with the link.
If you’re using target=“_blank” then modern browsers will essentially treat it as if you have added noopener. But you can also use it on other links you don’t necessarily trust but aren’t using the _blank target value for. Like those you’re also adding nofollow to.
Using the “noreferrer” value hides the origin of any traffic sent through that link in the analytics of the site you’re linking to.
You can combine multiple rel values by separating them with spaces:
When creating an HTML link, you need to decide whether to use an absolute or relative URL in the href attribute. Each has specific use cases and advantages.
Absolute URLs include the complete web address, starting with the protocol:
Relative URLs are shorter and reference locations relative to the current page:
<a href="/products/item1">Product page</a>
Generally, I’d recommend you use absolute URLs in most cases.
Using relative URLs can speed up production if you’re working with lots of them. Plus, if you move pages or domains but keep the same URL structure, your internal URLs should all continue working without you having to change them all to the new domain.
But honestly, unless you’re planning a major website migration at the time you’re setting up your site (unlikely), you aren’t likely to foresee and then benefit from this relatively minor advantage.
You might want to use relative URLs when working with a staging site that’s on a different domain from the site you’re developing.
In this case, it can avoid you or your developers having to rewrite all the internal links when you push your site live.
How to Check Your Site’s HTML Links
You can manually check the code of an HTML link in your browser with the inspect tool. Just right-click over the link you want to check and select “Inspect” to open up the developer console:
This is handy for quickly verifying your attributes and rel values.
But what if you want to check your links at scale?
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