Optimize your PDF files for Better Search Traffic

I recently came across a quote from a web marketer saying that people "including documents in PDF format [their websites] do not realize the search engines can not see this text." Fortunately, that's not really the case. I think the real problem is that many people do not take proper care when creating their PDF files. In fact, PDF documents can be a great way to improve your search traffic, as long as you follow some simple rules.

First, make sure that PDF files actually contain the text. Search engines crawl the text of a PDF file as well as scanning a web page. Most graphics programs can add text to images they create - but this is not really "text machine". If the PDF document was originally created in a graphics program, there is a good chance that search engines can not read it. Stick with Word or other word processing programs for the creation of original records.

Make sure your text is optimized, just like a web page. It should contain titles and keywords are important. I did not understand what the keyword density in a PDF file should be yet, but I would suggest focusing 3-6%.

Remember the reduction ratio. Include links to your PDF documents from your web pages and vice versa, and use the appropriate anchor text. Depending on the version of Acrobat you're using, there's a good chance that the links from your document, Word does not automatically convert into links in the PDF document. Do not forget to use the Link tool in Acrobat to restore the hyperlinks.

If you are including graphics in PDF, optimize your images before inserting them in the original document. This will help keep down the size of PDF files - the files are too large may be abandoned by the search engines before the scan is done.

Do not forget to update the document properties. Often, the name given to the original document will be automatically inserted as the title in the properties of the PDF file. The PDF document properties, especially the title tag - meta data are similar to an HTML document. Something like "Report1.doc" is not going to help your search traffic a lot. After the PDF was created, be sure to open it in Acrobat and modify all the properties and add the appropriate keywords.

Do not be an early adopter. No need to upgrade to the latest and greatest version of Acrobat since the functions of search engines are often in less-developed software. Just because Acrobat 8, you can create 3D CAD drawings, does not mean that Google can read. If you have the latest version of Acrobat, save the document to a smaller version (5 or 6).

Optimize the final PDF file. Be sure to use the built in PDF optimizer and optimization options for the web. This will help keep the file size as small as possible and also allow for an interlaced display.

Running time: with PDF documents, is the creation of the original file that is the part that takes time. After all that work is definitely work the extra 10 minutes or so to make a few changes needed in Acrobat .......