White papers and e-books are among the most effective content marketing tactics for generating leads, and by using these SEO tactics savvy marketers can increase the reach white papers and e-books have with potential clients.

1. 11 SEO Tactics to Optimize White
Papers and E-Books

2. 1. Start with Buyer Personas
• Identify which buyer personas the white paper or e-
book is targeting
• Determine what and how much information that
persona will find value
• Select specifically related keywords and keyword
phrases to incorporate within the content
• Write the actual white paper or e-book content using
keywords and keyword phrases without overdoing it
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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3. 2. Optimize Titles & Text
• Use keyword-rich titles, text, and embedded
links back to targeted landing or conversion
pages
• Place keywords early within titles
• Do this both in the paper and on the web
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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4. 3. Make Use of Linking
• For embedded links, use keywords as anchor
text instead of “read more” or “click here”
• Avoid pronouns in place of descriptive
keyword
• Use keywords when naming the document file
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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5. 4. Optimize Visuals
• Use keywords in the file names for images and graphics
• Tag images and graphics when adding them to the
document
• Use focused keyword phrases in images alt text
• Include a description or caption with the image when
possible
• Text embedded with the image will likely not be read
by search engines
• Avoid stuffing keywords in the above and over-
optimizing
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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6. 5. Optimize the footers
• Use keyword taglines in the footer with a link
back to relevant content or website page
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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7. 6. Have an Executive Summary
• Write an keyword-rich executive summary
• Aim for 250 to 400 words
• Publish all over and often—landing pages,
press releases, social media posts,
newsletters, etc.
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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8. 7. Landing Pages
• If the content targets 2 or more personas create
multiple landing pages with customized and keyword
specific text for each segment
• Include social media share buttons on the page
• Ask for persona data (job title, industry, etc.) on
submission forms to see who is consuming the
content and to adjust keywords if needed
• Use keywords in the landing page URL
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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9. 8. Announce it
• Announce publication with a press release
• Use tagged links in the release to track reach
• If you used cited sources in the content, share
it with those sources so they might share it
too
• Send to niche and industry journalists and
influencers asking them to report on it
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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10. 9. Social Promotion I
• Use embedded social sharing buttons within
the document
• Tag the social sharing URLs to track reach
• Prompt readers to share the material
• Be creative: post as a milestone event on
Facebook, as a photo on Google+, as a
product on your LinkedIn company page, and
as a graphic on Pinterest
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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11. 9. Social Promotion II
• Don’t ignore other social sites like
StumbleUpon and Reddit if that’s where your
audience is at
• Add the white paper or e-book to a
bookmarking site like Delicious
• Consider paid ads targeting demographics of
personas on LinkedIn or Facebook
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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12. 10. Repurpose Content
• Use portions of the white paper or e-book for a blog
post
• Determine if the content can be recreated as an
infographic
• Record a short video introducing or explaining the
topic, then post to video site and optimize there
focusing on same keywords
• Summarize content into a PowerPoint presentation
and then publish on SlideShare
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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13. 11. Content Index
• Create an index page of documents on your
site
• Organize these documents by category using
keywords in the category titles
11 SEO Tactics to Optimize E-Books and White Papers http://www.lyntonweb.com
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