Are Word .doc or .txt files indexed into Search Engines?

[ringstonmedia]

I have a new client that is using Word files on their site, downloadable press releases. They feel that reporters prefer downloading press releases as Word .doc's instead of .pdf's since they can open and edit the content.

Do these files offer any SEO?

[G-Force]

Hi,

The answer to your main question is yes, do a search on google for filetype:doc or filetype:txt and you'll see tons of doc and txt files indexed.

The answer to your second question, if they offer any SEO, is a little more complex. You should try and see if you can get a page to be indexed if it is only linked from doc files.

Judging by my experience, I rarely see doc or txt files in the SERPs and even more rarely click on them if they show up. I'd rather do a HTML version of the page with a link to download the doc file in a directory blocked to spiders to avoid duplicates.

Best regards,
Guillaume Voyer.