PDFs and SEO

[adamxj2]

Hello Fellow Mozers!

Just curious... can or does Google read PDFs linked on sites? I always assumed they would be "read" much like images are...that is, the bots can't "see" the image they just read the link and title tag. I am doing SEO for a site that has many PDF forms and it just occurred to me that I have no idea about the relationship between PDFs and SEO

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[KevinBudzynski]

Yes, the content is indexed (specifically if the spider can read the text--ie not embedded text inside an image). However, they are not optimal for a variety of reasons. Alex Fusman had a blog post on this a few years ago where he summarized optimizing pdf's for search. Here is his checklist:

Checklist for PDF Optimization:

• Search-friendly filenames
• Keyword-optimized titles
• Informative, concise descriptions
• Company name in "Author" field
• Use several relevant keywords in "Keyword" field
• Make sure to fill out all available fields - there is an option to view "Additional Metadata" (in Adobe Acrobat)
• Add tags to and accessibility options to your document
• Don't forget about Alt tags for images
• Add links back to relevant pages on the main website
• Write-protect the document
• Offer HTML version of the document

[adamxj2]

What do you mean by "they are not optimal for a variety of reasons"?

[MonicaOConnor]

It is better to have the content on page as opposed to in a link that has to be clicked to get to. If there are a lot of people who have the same PDF on their site, it is duplicate content and not doing any good anyway.

[adamxj2]

The PDFs are printable order forms so it's not just random content. No one else has the same PDFs since they are custom made by the company

[MonicaOConnor]

Do you also have the PDF available as a form they can fill out on the site and submit without printing it or anything like that? I would create the online form with the option to download a printable version.

[adamxj2]

No. Mainly because the site isn't set up to receive payments and the company prefers to be sent checks along with the order form.

What's the benefit of also having a form on the site if the PDF is going to be there anyway?

[MonicaOConnor]

It is easier for the user mainly. Secondly, it offers better tracking for analytical purposes.

[O2C]

If you can cut and past the text then as a rule Google can index it.

Check out this link for more information right from the horses mouth. http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/pdfs-in-google-search-results.html