Are White Papers Good for SEO?

[caption id="attachment_3335" align="aligncenter" width="209"] White stripes, white papers...this zebra picture totally belongs here.
Photo credit: Schristia / Foter / CC BY-SA[/caption] A question our clients often ask is, "Are white papers good for SEO?" White papers can definitely have a positive impact on SEO, but they can do a lot more than that. Your primary focus when writing a white paper should be on providing something of value to the user. This gives you an opportunity to show off your expertise, and demonstrate to potential customers how well you understand them and the problems they face.

Do Search Engines Crawl White Papers in PDF Format?

You bet your bippy they do! So don't forget to optimize your white paper just as you would any webpage. Put keywords in H1 and H2 headers, be sure to use keywords for embedded links (not 'click here' or 'read more'), and use keywords to name the file when you save it. (That bit goes for everything you upload onto the web -- PDFs, images and videos should all have keywords in the file name.) If you follow SEO best practices when optimizing your white papers, they will definitely help you improve your SEO.

I Don't Have Time to Write White Papers

We get it. You're busy with other stuff. Plus, writing isn't really your thing. So who's going to write the paper? Ted Ives at Search Engine Land has some excellent thoughts on this topic:

If you have visions of outsourcing your white paper to India or having an intern write it — forget it. When writing a white paper, think in terms of creating a comprehensive resource for a topic that only someone intimately familiar with your industry could have  created. This means either you personally are going to have to write it, one of your company’s thought leaders is going to have to write it, or you’re going to have to pay an extremely high-end professional writer to write it.

At Ecreative, our extremely high-end professionals can write and optimize white papers for you. Because we are SEO experts who understand how to craft value-added content, we can help you integrate white papers into your internet marketing strategy.

Should I Ask For an Email Address?

Putting white papers behind a subscription link or form that captures email addresses can be a good way to build your mailing list. However, if you do that, the white paper won't be able to attract links, which is one way that a white paper can give SEO a bump. Ultimately, you will have to determine what is most important to you. If what you want is to gather email addresses and have a list of potential clients you can email directly, then go with the subscription strategy. If, however, you're working hard on attracting links, improving your site's rank and so forth, you should not put your white papers behind a wall.

Is it OK to Use White Papers for Selling?

No. A white paper should provide information, not serve as an addendum to your marketing materials. If you use white papers to sell, you will turn people off. Instead, remember this mantra: people will remember what you've already given them. Write a good white paper, and people will remember you -- and come back for more.