banatie-strategy/execution/19-placeholder-seo-sprint.md

Placeholder SEO Sprint

Date Created: January 2, 2026
Status: Active
Priority: HIGH — Immediate execution
Owner: Oleg
Duration: 2 weeks

---

Context

@spy research uncovered a major SEO opportunity:

Metric	Value
Total search volume	31,000+/month
Zero-KD keywords	10+ keywords, 9K+ searches
AI competitors	ZERO
Direct user validation	r/ClaudeAI quote about MCP for placeholders

Strategic approach: "Trojan Horse" — capture placeholder traffic, convert to full generation users.

Source: /banatie-content/research/keywords/placeholder-niche-deep-dive-2026-01-02.md

---

Two Parallel Tracks

Track A: Landing Page /placeholder-images (Primary)

Goal: Capture 14,800+ monthly searches for core placeholder keywords

Target Keywords:

Keyword	Volume	KD	Priority
placeholder image	14,800	18	🥇
image placeholder	14,800	17	🥇
image placeholder dark	4,400	2	🥇
app placeholder image	1,900	2	🥈
placeholder image url	390	21	🥈

Track B: Docs Section /docs/placeholders/ (Secondary)

Goal: Capture long-tail keywords, support conversion journey

Target Keywords:

Keyword	Volume	KD	Priority
profile placeholder image	720	0	🥇
ios placeholder image	590	0	🥇
placeholder image css	720	12	🥈
placeholder image html	320	26	🥈

---

Track A: Landing Page

Page Structure

URL: /placeholder-images
Title: "AI Placeholder Images — Generate Contextual Placeholders Instantly"
H1: "AI Placeholder Images"

Sections:

1. HERO
   ├── H1: "AI Placeholder Images"
   ├── Subhead: "Generate contextual placeholders instantly. Not random stock photos."
   ├── [Interactive demo: prompt input → live result]
   └── CTA: "Try It Free" / "Get API Key"

2. HOW IT WORKS (3 steps)
   ├── Step 1: Describe what you need
   ├── Step 2: Get instant URL
   └── Step 3: Use in your code

3. LIVE URL DEMO
   ├── Code snippet: <img src="...">
   ├── Common sizes selector (avatar, thumbnail, hero, og)
   └── Copy URL buttons

4. COMMON SIZES (interactive grid)
   ├── Avatar (200×200)
   ├── Thumbnail (300×200)  
   ├── Card (400×300)
   ├── Hero (1200×630)
   ├── Product (600×600)
   └── [Click to see example + copy URL]

5. USE CASES
   ├── Development mockups
   ├── Client presentations
   ├── Prototyping
   └── Design systems

6. COMPARISON TABLE
   | Service | Type | Result |
   |---------|------|--------|
   | placehold.co | Gray boxes | Generic |
   | picsum.photos | Random stock | Irrelevant |
   | Banatie | AI-generated | Contextual |

7. PRODUCTION READY (conversion bridge)
   ├── "These aren't just placeholders"
   ├── "Same images work in production"
   ├── "Or upgrade to full generation"
   └── CTA: "Get Started with Full API"

8. FOOTER CTA
   └── Email signup / Get API Key

SEO Requirements

Metadata:

title: "AI Placeholder Images — Generate Contextual Placeholders | Banatie"
description: "Generate AI placeholder images instantly. Not random stock photos — contextual images from your description. Free Live URLs for development."
keywords: [
  "placeholder image",
  "image placeholder", 
  "ai placeholder images",
  "placeholder image generator",
  "placeholder image url",
  "image placeholder dark",
  "app placeholder image"
]

JSON-LD:

• WebPage schema
• HowTo schema (3 steps)
• Product schema (for rich snippets)

Internal Links:

• → /docs/live-urls/
• → /docs/placeholders/ (when created)
• → /docs/generation/

Technical Requirements

Before launch, verify Live URLs support:

• ?width=X&height=Y parameters
• ?aspectRatio=X:Y (already exists)
• Dark mode hint in prompt or parameter
• Common preset sizes

If missing: Priority fix before landing page launch.

Deliverable

MVP Version (Day 1-2):

• Text-only, minimal graphics
• Hero + How It Works + Code Example + CTA
• Working interactive demo (if Live URLs ready)

Enhanced Version (Day 3-5):

• Size grid with examples
• Comparison table
• Better visuals

---

Track B: Docs Section

Structure

/docs/placeholders/           ← Main page (overview)
/docs/placeholders/sizes/     ← Size-specific examples
/docs/placeholders/dark-mode/ ← Dark mode placeholders (4,400 vol, KD 2)
/docs/placeholders/profiles/  ← Avatar/profile placeholders (720 vol, KD 0)

Page 1: /docs/placeholders/ (Overview)

Target: "placeholder image api", "ai placeholder generator"

Content:

# Placeholder Images

Generate contextual placeholder images with a single URL.

## Quick Start
[Live URL example]

## Why AI Placeholders?
- Relevant to your content (not random)
- Production-ready quality
- Instant via URL

## Common Use Cases
- Development mockups
- Client demos
- Design prototypes

## Next Steps
- [Sizes & Dimensions →](/docs/placeholders/sizes/)
- [Dark Mode Placeholders →](/docs/placeholders/dark-mode/)
- [Profile Avatars →](/docs/placeholders/profiles/)

Page 2: /docs/placeholders/dark-mode/

Target: "image placeholder dark" (4,400 vol, KD 2) ← HIGHEST PRIORITY

Content:

# Dark Mode Placeholder Images

Generate placeholders optimized for dark mode interfaces.

## How to Request Dark Mode
[URL with dark mode hint]

## Examples
[Grid of dark mode examples]

## Tips for Dark UI
- Use darker backgrounds
- Mention "dark theme" in prompt
- Avoid bright colors

Page 3: /docs/placeholders/profiles/

Target: "profile placeholder image" (720 vol, KD 0) ← ZERO DIFFICULTY

Content:

# Profile & Avatar Placeholders

Generate realistic avatar placeholders for user profiles.

## Standard Sizes
- 48×48 (small)
- 96×96 (medium)
- 200×200 (large)

## Examples
[Avatar examples]

## Diversity
Describe demographics in prompt for variety.

Page 4: /docs/placeholders/sizes/

Target: "200x200 placeholder image", "placeholder image 600x400"

Content:

# Placeholder Image Sizes

Common sizes and how to request them.

## Size Reference
| Use Case | Size | URL Parameter |
|----------|------|---------------|
| Avatar | 200×200 | ?width=200&height=200 |
| Thumbnail | 300×200 | ?width=300&height=200 |
| Card | 400×300 | ?aspectRatio=4:3 |
| Hero | 1200×630 | ?aspectRatio=1200:630 |

## Custom Sizes
[How to specify any size]

---

Track C: Homepage Quick Wins

Current State

Homepage at banatie.app is indexed. PromptUrlsSection already showcases Live URLs — perfect fit for placeholder messaging.

Recommended Changes

1. Add keywords to metadata:

keywords: [
  'API-first image generation',
  'AI image API',
  'image generation for developers',
  'prompt to image API',
  'CDN image delivery',
  // ADD THESE:
  'placeholder images',
  'ai placeholder generator',
  'placeholder image api',
],

2. Update PromptUrlsSection subtitle:

Current:

"Perfect for static sites, prototypes, and AI coding agents that generate HTML."

Proposed:

"Perfect for placeholder images, prototypes, static sites, and AI coding agents."

3. Add internal link to placeholder page:

In PromptUrlsSection, add link:

"See more: AI Placeholder Images →"

Implementation

These are 10-minute changes. Do together with docs deployment.

---

Timeline

Week 1

Day	Track A (Landing)	Track B (Docs)	Track C (Homepage)
1	Verify Live URLs params	—	Add keywords + update subtitle
1-2	Create MVP landing page	—	—
3	Deploy, submit to GSC	Create /docs/placeholders/	—
4-5	Enhance with visuals	Create dark-mode page	—

Week 2

Day	Track A	Track B
6-7	Monitor GSC, iterate copy	Create profiles page
8-10	A/B test CTAs if traffic	Create sizes page

---

Success Metrics

Week 1 (Immediate)

• /placeholder-images live and indexed
• /docs/placeholders/ section live (at least overview + dark-mode)
• Homepage keywords updated
• All pages in GSC

Month 1

• GSC shows impressions for placeholder keywords
• First organic clicks from placeholder searches
• At least one signup attributed to placeholder content

Month 3

• Top 20 for "placeholder image" (14,800 vol)
• Top 10 for "image placeholder dark" (4,400 vol, KD 2)
• Top 5 for zero-KD keywords

---

Technical Checklist

Before Landing Page Launch

• Live URLs support ?width=X&height=Y
• Live URLs support ?aspectRatio=X:Y (verify)
• Test dark mode prompts produce dark images
• CDN caching works for Live URLs
• No rate limit issues for demo

SEO Checklist

• Canonical URLs set
• OG image created or use default
• JSON-LD schemas added
• Internal links from homepage
• Internal links from docs
• sitemap.xml updated
• GSC submission

---

Risk Mitigation

Risk	Mitigation
Live URLs not ready	Launch docs first, landing page waits
Low conversion to full API	Add clear upgrade path messaging
Competitors copy quickly	Speed — be first, build authority
Placeholder users expect free	Set expectations early, free tier limits

---

Conversion Strategy

Key Message Throughout:

"Start with placeholders. Ship with production-ready images."

Upgrade Triggers:

1. Hit free tier limit → upgrade prompt
2. Need consistency across images → show references feature
3. Want higher quality → show production generation
4. Need API integration → show full API docs

Placement:

• End of every placeholder doc page
• Bottom of landing page
• In-app after X free generations

---

Files to Create

Landing

• apps/landing/src/app/(landings)/placeholder-images/page.tsx

Docs

• apps/landing/src/app/(apps)/docs/placeholders/page.tsx
• apps/landing/src/app/(apps)/docs/placeholders/dark-mode/page.tsx
• apps/landing/src/app/(apps)/docs/placeholders/profiles/page.tsx
• apps/landing/src/app/(apps)/docs/placeholders/sizes/page.tsx

Config Updates

• src/config/docs-seo.ts — add placeholder pages
• src/config/docs-schema.ts — add schemas if needed
• src/app/sitemap.ts — add new URLs

---

Reference Documents

• Research: /banatie-content/research/keywords/placeholder-niche-deep-dive-2026-01-02.md
• Content brief: /banatie-content/0-inbox/placeholder-ai-images.md
• Docs SEO task: /banatie-service/docs-seo-task.md

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Document Owner: @men
Last Updated: January 2, 2026
Next Review: End of Week 1
Status: Ready for execution