One of the most common file formats used today is PDF. The widespread adoption of the format as a result of Adobe releasing it as an open standard. The format is used in the medical, legal, and real estate sectors and extensively in colleges & schools, and small businesses. It is widely believed that PDF files are better than Powerpoint, Excel, and Word documents.
PDFs’ expansive popularity is due to their enhanced portability and universal compatibility. Modern browsers and the pre-installed apps with most operating systems can easily open and display PDF documents. However, if you are not a fan of PDFs, you can always convert PDF to word. On Windows, you can convert PDFs by opening the files in Acrobat and clicking export. If you are using a Mac, click here https://setapp.com/how-to/convert-pdf-to-word-on-mac.
Tips to make your PDFs SEO-friendly
Add keyword-rich titles
The title of your document deserves attention, and to make it searchable, and you need to come up with a unique and keyword-rich title.
Search engines use titles the same way they use HTML tags. So, consider the keywords you want your PDF file to rank for when coming up with a title.
When PDFs lack titles, they are indexed and made searchable by their names.
Name the PDF file properly
The file name is essential as it denotes the file’s content, and that’s why you must ensure to select a suitable name for your PDF file. Usually, the file name is the exact title of the text offered when you’re saving the file.
Ensure the name is SEO-optimized, which means the file name must also contain relevant keywords as the title of your PDF document. Keywords are important because people search for topics they’re interested in by writing down specific words or phrases.
When you are writing the file’s name, you can separate the words with underscores or hyphens. Furthermore, you need to capitalize the first letter of each word because the name is included in the file’s URL. Search engines and people see it.
Compress PDF files to decrease the file size
When it comes to getting ranked by search engines, the loading speed plays crucial importance. Load speed is a vital factor in ranking well in the SERPs because Internet users expect PDFs and pages to load quickly.
If your PDF documents contain pictures, the file will load slowly, which is not an excellent sign for SEO. You must optimize the size of your file. For instance, if you need to add images to your document, compress them and then add them to the file. You’ll quickly find tools to compress the pictures.
Add an informative, brief description
The description is another vital thing to consider when optimizing your PDF document for the search engines. It is the one or two lines of text found beneath the title in the SERP, similar to meta descriptions.
Relevant and informative descriptions contribute to optimizing files for the search engines. So, ensure the description contains a few keywords related to your file.
Make use of headings and subheadings
You can’t even imagine the impact and importance of headings and subheadings have on the overall SEO efforts. H1 and H2 tags are typically optimized for search engines themselves. Search engines like Google take the words of these headings and subheadings into consideration when the web is searched. So, here too, you must use keywords.
Furthermore, using headings and subheadings will allow you to break the content of your PDF document and make it reader-friendly. Additionally, you must avoid writing more than three to four sentences per paragraph so users can read it correctly. Also, you can separate the text using bullets and numbered lists.
Add alt text to pictures
If you want to include images in your PDF file alongside the text or have an image-based file, you need to add alt text. The inclusion of alt text allows search engines to comprehend the images used in the file. Moreover, it offers information about the content in your PDF document, like the description and title of the file. That way, it can help your document rank higher through image search.
When using alt text, you need a unique text for each picture in your file. Again, ensure to include proper keywords to make it easier for users to find your file.
So, are you ready to make your PDF file SEO-friendly? These tips will help you to optimize your file and rank in the SERPs quickly.
