Optimising PDF Documents
PDF documents have the ability to rank highly within search engines. In essence they are viewed identically to a web page.
For file names we need to utilise a hyphen, for example if a document is based around Power Over Ethernet the file name needs to read something like this - power-over-ethernet-2014.pdf. We avoid the use of underscores as they are not viewed as word separators.
The next task is to add a keyword rich, descriptive title. This needs to be carried out before uploading a document. Simply click on File > Properties. In here we can add title details as well as information on – Author, Subject and Keywords. Remember a search engine friendly document should be produced in a natural manner, not over engineered by keyword stuffing.
On the document itself we can follow general rules, the same as we do when producing a search engine friendly page.
- A descriptive title containing a reference to the targeted keyword
- Natural placement of targeted keywords throughout the document
Remember it’s important to add hyperlinks within a PDF document; these should point to relevant places within the site. To keep the natural flow, we don’t overdo the amount of hyperlinks, 3 or 4 will be sufficient.
By producing searching engine friendly PDF documents you will see an increase in the amount of referral traffic being sent to your site. Currently some PDF’s are ranking very well. If you type ‘tender writing’ into Google UK you will see what I mean. This is down to the amount of quality content displayed on a PDF document, when compared to that of a web page.
Often the optimisation of documents and videos is weak area for webmasters. It’s something we are looking to improve within our client base.
Hopefully you found this article of interest.
By: Peter Arkwright
Date Written: Sat, Feb 15th 2014