Add option for any .pdf downloadable resource to have a direct link to file be added to sitemap

[bzcomputers]

Google currently indexes hundreds of millions of .pdfs.

It appears the way .pdfs are currently stored and linked in Xenforo 2.x even if they are accessible to the public for download there is no way for Google link to, access, scan and index the actual full-named.pdf file directly.

It would be beneficial if an option could be added for individual .pdf resources, that don't have limited download permissions, the ability to place a direct link to the full-named.pdf resource file in the sitemap.

Many PDFs contain a ton of rich content that Google can read and index. Google also looks at internal and external links within the document and even weighs the file name (and in turn creates it's search engine's direct link back url). All of these SEO possibilities are currently being missed.

 

[bzcomputers]

I can reconfirm this issue. I have dozens of .pdfs and not a single one is being indexed by Google (which they were with my previous forum software). The only thing showing in Google Search now is the thread I have automatically created announcing the availability of the resource.

Seems like such a option packed add-on like the XenForo Resource Manager should do better at getting resources into search engines. It wouldn't take much to make this a much better product for getting more traffic. Just add the ability for direct links to files (.pdf).

The more I use XenForo 2 the more weaknesses I see as far as overall sitemap integration. Yes, Google is great at finding content in basic websites, but if you place the data in highly structured and advanced templates and it will not do all that well unless you spell it out for them in the sitemap. Not to mention it typically gets indexed and updated much quicker.

 

[Donny]

How many do you have that you can't add them to their own sitemap and submit that to Google in your search console?
Can you make a thread, and link to them all (inc the download) and let Google find them that way?

I don't think it's just a case of having 1,000 PDF's on your site, and google will find and index them.

The ones that ARE indexed, are neatly linked-to without a "Download" button. They'll be actual guides related to the content on somebodys website, that kind of thing perhaps?

No point copying content already on a web page, into a PDF, and then expecting Google to give you some kind of extra love for doing so.

Maybe?. Not sure.

 

[bzcomputers]

How many do you have that you can't add them to their own sitemap and submit that to Google in your search console?

The current way XenForo Resource Manager works there is no way to directly access any .pdf url. In turn no way Google will ever index them or their content.

Can you make a thread, and link to them all (inc the download) and let Google find them that way?

...again with Xenforo RM there is no way to access a .pdf url directly no way to add a link to a thread. Are you inferring that I should manually create another way to access the .pdfs? Yes, that could be done but when I've already spent money on an add-on that could be modified and improved to include such a feature I thought the best thing to do was to point it out and make a suggestion. Seems like improving the add-on with this ability would help not only me but others that would like their pdf content searched and indexed also. So that is why I originally made this suggestion.

I don't think it's just a case of having 1,000 PDF's on your site, and google will find and index them.

Previously it was that easy. Google indexed new pdfs just as quickly as a new page as long as it was submitted in the sitemap and was accessible directly by url (www.site.com/sample.pdf).

The ones that ARE indexed, are neatly linked-to without a "Download" button. They'll be actual guides related to the content on somebodys website, that kind of thing perhaps?

Not sure exactly what you're asking/saying here. The pdfs I have greatly differ in content. My pdfs are just portable formats for content I offer making it easier for my users to take with them so it can be referenced, shared, searched and read when offline.

No point copying content already on a web page, into a PDF, and then expecting Google to give you some kind of extra love for doing so.

Maybe?. Not sure.

None of the content within the pdfs on my site is duplicated anywhere else on the site. It is all new content which currently is not being indexed. Google, if it can access the .pdf can read within the pdf and accurately index it based on its' content. This is not currently possible using XenForo RM which I hope it will be in the future.

 

[bzcomputers]

@DragonByte Tech after moving from vB4 and using your vBDownloads add-on to Xenforo and it's Resource Manager my downloads have literally dropped off over 90% and not recovered at all (going on 5 months).

Nearly all my files are .pdf's. I'm not sure where Resource Manager is lacking compared to what I had previously with vB Downloads but something has to change and I need help.

I thought I would see an initial drop in downloads when initially switching over but it's been 5 months now and I can still count daily downloads on one or two hands when before it was an active section of my website with dozens of downloads and reactions/comments daily.

Files are exactly the same, descriptions are identical but SEO must of changed significantly in a negative way (in comparison).

Let me know your thoughts and if DBTech may look into an add-on to rectify these short comings in Resource Manager I'm personally seeing.

 

[DragonByte Tech]

@DragonByte Tech after moving from vB4 and using your vBDownloads add-on to Xenforo and it's Resource Manager my downloads have literally dropped off over 90% and not recovered at all (going on 5 months).

Nearly all my files are .pdf's. I'm not sure where Resource Manager is lacking compared to what I had previously with vB Downloads but something has to change and I need help.

I thought I would see an initial drop in downloads when initially switching over but it's been 5 months now and I can still count daily downloads on one or two hands when before it was an active section of my website with dozens of downloads and reactions/comments daily.

Files are exactly the same, descriptions are identical but SEO must of changed significantly in a negative way (in comparison).

Let me know your thoughts and if DBTech may look into an add-on to rectify these short comings in Resource Manager I'm personally seeing.

I would recommend talking with your users, as they would know more than I ever could tell you.

@ DBTech, I haven’t used vBDownloads since the early 2010s, and I certainly am not using XFRM now. I also don’t know if anyone else who has made the switch.

For those reasons, as much as I would like to help, I don’t have even the slightest idea why this would be occurring for you, sorry.

 

[bzcomputers]

I would recommend talking with your users, as they would know more than I ever could tell you.

@ DBTech, I haven’t used vBDownloads since the early 2010s, and I certainly am not using XFRM now. I also don’t know if anyone else who has made the switch.

For those reasons, as much as I would like to help, I don’t have even the slightest idea why this would be occurring for you, sorry.

The main issue revolves around all resource pages are not currently being indexed by search engines. With vBDownloads I was getting not only a download page ranking well, but also a direct link to the .pdf to rank. Right now with Resource Manager I'm not getting any resource page to rank and currently direct .pdf links are hidden which eliminates the possibility of that to rank. All my resources are automatically being submitted in .xml but still none are ranking. Thought you may have a some ideas or a possible add-on you could create to increase SEO for resources to get them to rank. I assume if I'm having an issue using an unmodified Resource Manager add-on that others probably are too and may just not know it.

 

[DragonByte Tech]

currently direct .pdf links are hidden which eliminates the possibility of that to rank

Have you checked to make sure guests can download the resource? Maybe that's the reason?

 

[bzcomputers]

Have you checked to make sure guests can download the resource? Maybe that's the reason?

I do require users to be logged in to download any resources, which I have always required but that shouldn't affect the pages not being ranked. The issue with no direct download links for .pdf's is something that resource manager does for all downloads whether you are logged in or not, possibly to prevent hot-linking, where no actual download file url is ever exposed and the download buttons are linked to the actual file through javascript so search engines currently have no access to them and in turn can not index them which they normally would for files with the .pdf extension.