What to Learn from a Website Deindexed by Google Due to Thin AI Content and Poor Programmatic SEO Practices
Programmatic SEO (pSEO) has emerged as a powerful tool in the hands of modern digital marketers, especially with the rise of AI and automation. However, it’s also become a double-edged sword, as demonstrated by the story of a site that was abruptly deindexed by Google. Shared by the company’s founder on LinkedIn, this cautionary tale sheds light on the fine line between scalable SEO strategies and shortcuts that backfire.
The Rise and Fall: How Programmatic SEO Led to Google Deindexing
The founder of the now-rebranded company “Tailride” revealed that they had implemented a large-scale programmatic SEO strategy to rapidly grow their site’s visibility... Read complete content click link below
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The approach involved generating around 50,000 AI-created web pages targeting various long-tail keyword phrases — the kind that aren’t commonly searched but still hold ranking potential.
Initially, the results were promising: hundreds of clicks, millions of impressions, and a sense of momentum.
But that success was short-lived. Without receiving a manual penalty from Google, the site saw a dramatic drop in traffic as pages began getting deindexed.
The cause? According to the founder, the content quality was too low — essentially thin content that lacked value for users, even if it was technically optimized.
Understanding Programmatic SEO: Powerful but Risky
Programmatic SEO refers to automating content creation and metadata optimization using code or AI tools. It’s widely used for generating landing pages at scale, creating optimized meta descriptions, titles, and even populating image alt texts. When done well, pSEO can provide a competitive advantage — especially in eCommerce and local SEO strategies.
However, as this incident shows, using AI to mass-produce content without proper editorial control can trigger Google’s quality filters. Google’s algorithms have grown smarter, identifying low-value, repetitive, or unoriginal content — regardless of how fast or scalable it was created.
Lessons Learned: Why Thin AI Content Hurts Rankings
In follow-up posts, the company acknowledged that the issue wasn’t necessarily because AI was used — it was because the resulting content was thin and likely duplicated.
Thin content lacks depth, fails to answer search intent, and offers little value to users. It’s often penalized not manually but algorithmically, leading to lost rankings and deindexing.
Digital marketer Rasmus Sørensen pointed out that programmatic SEO has become a buzzword used to justify low-effort content production. He noted, “I’ve seen so much garbage published the last few months under the guise of pSEO. It very rarely works if not done right.”
SEO expert Joe Youngblood echoed this, emphasizing that trends like programmatic SEO can work — but only with proper quality control, user intent targeting, and value-driven execution.
How the Website Bounced Back
To recover, the company rebranded to a new domain — Tailride — and redirected the old domain. More importantly, they shifted their strategy from quantity to quality: fewer pages, more user-centric content. This helped the new domain regain Google’s trust. A simple site: search confirmed that Google had resumed indexing their content.
Key Takeaways: Do’s and Don’ts of Programmatic SEO
Focus on quality, not just scale. Large-scale content creation must still meet user needs and Google’s quality guidelines.
AI is a tool, not a replacement for strategy. Ensure AI-generated content is edited, reviewed, and optimized for humans first.
Monitor indexing status regularly. Sudden drops in indexed pages can signal content or technical quality issues.
Don’t chase short-term wins. Sustainable SEO requires long-term planning, quality control, and content depth.
Programmatic SEO can drive impressive results — but only when executed with care, creativity, and a commitment to providing genuine value. As the Tailride team learned, shortcuts may offer speed but rarely offer sustainability in SEO.
Source: LinkedIn Post by Miquel Palet
