Tracking PDF downloads from SERP clicks
-
For the longest time, our company policy has always been to put PDFs in a secure folder (hence they are not indexed and do not appear in search results). After evaluating this strategy, there has been clamor in recent months to allow Google to index our whitepapers.
My question: Once PDFs start appearing in search results, what is the best way to start tracking clicks due to these "downloads"?
-
To address the main question (sorry we got a bit off track) - you can set up virtual page-views which fire when links to these PDF URLs are clicked. In some browsers this will trigger a download, in other browsers (like Chrome, which contains a built-in PDF viewer) - unless the site has been coded a certain way, a download may not actually even occur. The PDF may simply open in a new tab, and render as a web page with a full URL
As such I prefer to use virtual page-views piped to Google Analytics when the links to these documents are clicked, to track their views / downloads (which under normal circumstances, you can't distinguish between those two view types). Even when a PDF is being viewed 'as' a page on your site in a new tab, remember that PDF documents don't support the GA tracking script (so views to those PDF URLs get 'lost' from GA). You need to use virtual page-views, to remedy that
-
You can find lots more discussion of pdf optimization here.
-
I forgot to address the tracking question... We used to get server logs and run them through WeblogExpert. You can set it up to track pdf impressions.
We don't do that any more because we turned off server logs because we felt it might take us out of GDPR compliance.
-
This has actually significantly changed my views on PDF optimisation. I didn't know that they held so much optimisation potential. I have always agreed with allowing them to index, but pushed to have them replaced with pages (which contain optional links / buttons to download the original PDF, for users who prefer that)
The sticking point is usually budget. Many clients can't afford the required redesign efforts, so it's good to know that PDFs actually hold (within their native format) some optimisation potential. Thank you EGOL
-
PDFs can pull in tons of traffic if they have high quality content. I agree with allowing Google to index them.
PDFs can be optimized by editing their properties. Editing the document title in properties has the optimization power of a <title>tag.</p> <p>It is probably worth the effort to look at the PDFs and plan how you can use them to drive traffic (through links) to relevant pages of your website. Then if the PDFs get links, some of that power will pass through to the rest of your site. Breadcrumbs in PDFs will weave them into your website architecture.</p> <p>You can also sell ad space in the PDFs or place your own ads in there. You can also place "buy buttons" in PDFs. </p> <p>There are lots of things that can be done with PDFs that most people have not thought of. </p></title>
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google Analytics - Tracking multiple thankyou pages?
Hi Guys, I want to track email opt-ins for multiple thank you pages. The setup is as follows: http://image.prntscr.com/image/57632e05a15f42fda0b8ffec2d176460.png I have not yet built the thank you pages, so i was wondering what the URL should be to make it easy to track them in GA? I'm thinking: domain.com/thankyou-page/page1 Then using regular expression in GA to track /thankyou-page/ Would this be a good way to go about it? Cheers. f6c7r0
Reporting & Analytics | | spyaccounts110 -
Tracking 301 redirect traffic in Google Analytics
if I 301 redirect www.mywebsite.com to go to www.yourwebsite.com, how can I track the traffic in Google Analytics that is coming from mywebsite.com?? I don't think that's a referral traffic, is it?
Reporting & Analytics | | Armen-SEO0 -
When I click an outgoing link from Analytics - why are they all broken?
On one of my websites, if I visit the Behavior > Site Content section of Anayltics any link I try to open is broken. Google Analytics is appending the domain before every URL causing it to open in a popup but as a broken link. Example: Trying to click a link to a page on the website at this URL: http://www.thisisanexample.com/test.html But in the Analytics popup browser this is what it tries to load: www.thisisanexample.comhttp://www.thisisanexample.com/test.html So I can't preview any of the content within Google Analytics. I feel like this is a settings issue somewhere... Any ideas?
Reporting & Analytics | | ShawnW0 -
How do I add subdomain tracking to an existing Google analytics account that was set up to track website only (without the subdomain option)
I know you can track subdomains by just selecting the proper code when you set up the analytics and then create filters for the data in analytics. But how do you add a subdomain for existing analytics website. Is there a way to go back and change to the option to include subdomains and then I assume just replace the tracking code with the new code that Google delivers for this?
Reporting & Analytics | | rhgraves650 -
Improving Search Click through Rate
We are having a problem on our website with click through rates. We are getting between 100-150k impressions through search but we are only getting between 500-1000 clicks to the site. What strategies have you used in the past to help improve your click through rates? Thanks!
Reporting & Analytics | | pdangermond2 -
Adwords Clicks correlating to Analytics Paid Visits
Would appreciate if anyone could clarify for me the correlation between 'clicks' in Google Adwords and visits for paid search in Google Analytics. Currently i see several thousand clicks a day in Adwords, yet our analytics account will only report a few hundred visits so i do not know which data set to use as the most reliable source for analysis. e.g 16th May. Analytics > TrafficSources > Sources > Search > Paid = 208 visits Adwords > All Campaigns, Total Clicks = 1153 i have found a few other questions asking the same thing here and here but dont feel they answer my question. We know our Adwords account is linked to our Analytics account as we got in touch with our PPC account manager originally about this and on reiew they found an error in our setup. Since then we know this is working as search terms and source are showing up and we have auto tagging enabled. Thanks, Tom.
Reporting & Analytics | | Sarbs0 -
Moved Up in SERPS & Traffic, Need Help Converting
Hello, After listening to the advice of many of you on this forum, I have managed to move my site up in the SERPS, close enough to where I want/need to be. My traffic has increased heavily, yet I am still not seeing a large increase in orders being placed. I am positive that I have the lowest prices on these items, and the most information available about them, yet I still can't seem to convert a lot of this traffic into sales. Can you guys please take a look at my site and provide some guidance on what I can/should do to help convert these visitors to customers? my site is : http://goo.gl/JgK1e Thanks
Reporting & Analytics | | Prime850 -
What's the best way to track moble traffic / sales from a subdomain in Google Analytics?
Hello, I've been trying to figure out the best way to track traffic and sales for a subdomain mobile site and would appreciate any feedback or guidance. I've set up an advanced segment but have found that I'm not able to source traffic since the segments get disabled when trying to view top content pages. I've also setup an additional sub-profile under the main domain profile in google analytics and have set up an advanced filter using the following guildelines http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/tracking/gaTrackingSite.html In the Profile Settings page, click the Add Filter link. Choose Add New Filter and provide the filter a name. Choose Custom Filter and select Advanced on the Filter type settings. Under Advanced settings: FieldA should be set to Hostname FieldB should be set to Request URI Set the values for both Field A and Field B to (.*), which is an expression that captures all characters. Set the Output To --> Constructor option to Request URI and provide $A1$B1 as the value for that choice. I'm unsure if I've set up the profile / filter correctly, the traffic stats are different than the segment. The mobile profile is also tracking all ecommerce transactions instead of just mobile. Here's the code I have in place. we're using the Traditional code Thanks, Jamie
Reporting & Analytics | | marketing_zoovy.com0