The PDF file has become one of the important files these days. Billions of people use the PDF format for their work daily. When we are talking about SEO or search engine optimization, then one common question arises, whether the PDF is optimal for SEO or not. Should we use these files on our sites or not. Are the PDF files optimizable or not. We all know that PDFs are crawled and indexed by SEO. By using the tools, PDF files can be compressed.
Everyone who is attached to the SEO word knows that PDF format is indexable via the search engine. In Google SERPs, PDF format can appear along with an authorship-rich snippet. But being an indexed file format does not always mean that it is an ideal approach. What does PDF actually mean? The exact meaning of PDF is within its name. It’s a portable document format. Adobe acrobat has designed the PDF so that it can open with the same content and format across the Operating system. PDF is ideal for those content where the text and the graphics remain in the same place. You can watch it on the hard copy. Adobe has developed the feature of PDF editing. Here we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of PDFs from the perspective of SEO.
It is very easy to create- PDF is helpful for every marketer. This is especially for those small teams. This is easy to make. You just have to save the document in PDF format. The case studies, press releases, all the product data sheets will be converted quickly to the web-ready format. You can publish the PDF to the web-based content quickly.
It contains Links– Like web pages, PDF format also consists of links such as one can Share PDF as a link, and these links are followed by the SEO. These types of links will be contained anchor texts as well.
Indexable content– Not all PDFs are readable. Make sure that the text is readable. It should be created as a text format, not as an image. Create the PDF ideally from the illustrator or word
Authorized applied- HTML pages will show the author list first. So it is important to confirm that the author should be listed first. So it is important to be assured that the PDF should be identified as the contributor in Google plus for the author.
Disadvantages of using PDF
Scarcity of navigation skill- One of the biggest cons of using PDF is relying on the PDF heavily. When you rely on this type of content format, it often offers a lack of website navigation. It means that when the website visitors come to the website, there is no easy way to reach the other page. IF your PDF document ranks well in the organic search, the researcher will find the link and come to the PDF; then how can the visitation get access to your site?
Your document length– Saving the PDF file is very easy. Also, you cannot break the PDF file into parts or into smaller documents. Just, for example, A report or white paper, The PDF can go from minimum pages to hundred pages. This is not ideal for SEO. In some cases, larger documents consist of many topics and many texts. So it means the PDF document, which equates to the URL, may consist of many more contents on that site.
Page organization absence is probably the most non-beneficial point in page association and PDF’s control of the site’s overall executive framework. PDF’s though, may not always function properly if they are called inside the CMS as a page because of the hierarchical parent-child structure, which is usually embedded in it. On the other hand, PDFs work extremely well when designed to be called downloads. This is the reason why, traditionally, PDFs are not shown as page content rather being mostly present as downloads. The only reason why it is because of the sheer lack of control viewpoint and page association features with the PDFs. SEO helps to increase keyword ranking.
When you should use PDF instead of HTML
AS the Thumb rule, HTML can be the better option other than PDF. But when it comes to the SEO or search engine optimization, Many instances are there when PDF is more beneficial than HTML,
- Content should be printed or can be viewed on screen
- When the content consists of some specific symbol, like math
Let say you start from scratch. For example, you have not made the PDF or HTML for your content. We all know that every single situation is unique. When you have a well-designed PDF on the website, then you will get traction. Just to make sure your content should be SEO-friendly.
Is PDF worth the time optimizing it for search engines? It depends on your purposes. But if you decide to go for it you will definitely need a reliable tool capable of performing various operations on a PDF file. It’s not always needed to download software. You can easily use one of online tools like 2pdf.com and save your time. It’s well secured and totally free.
