A client of ours recently added a new PDF to his website. A month passed and he noticed that it still wasn’t being found by Google or in the website’s search box when he typed in keywords and phrases from the document. He was able to locate the file itself (via the title), but the contents of the PDF had not been indexed.

Q: How can I get my PDF indexed by Google?

A: If Google isn’t indexing your PDF automatically, you can make your PDF more discoverable by adding the document to your Sitemap. ASitemapis an XML file that lists pages on your website and includes information about your webpages, such as when they were most recently updated, how frequently they change, and how important they are in relation to each other.

This “On-Demand” indexing takes up to 24 hours to completely index your Sitemap, and it may take longer for PDF content. The documents indexed may not appear in Google search results until Google indexing takes place for these documents.

The Checkerboard team of web specialists is ready to answer your toughest questions! Email me at alicia@checkerboard.com to submit a question to the team.