The term “electronic document optimization” refers to the process by which companies are able to maximize the performance of their PDF-based content. In other words, the goal of optimization is to produce electronic documents that effectively and efficiently achieve specific business goals.

A company seeking to optimize its electronic documents must be able to measure how readers use and interact with these documents. Analyzing the resulting data will reveal which elements of style and content engage readers most successfully. The company can then adjust its documents to emphasize effective elements and abandon ineffective ones.

Measuring reader behaviour

The term “reader behavior” refers to how readers consume and interact with content. By monitoring this activity closely, a company that distributes electronic documents can build up a picture of how effectively its content is engaging readers. Detailed reader engagement metrics are essential to the document optimization process.

These reader engagement metrics are likely to include details of behaviour such as

  • How far into a document readers go
  • How many readers are opening the document more than once
  • How often readers are sharing the document with friends and colleagues

Optimizing document performance

There are a number of ways that content providers can use engagement metrics to optimize documents. For instance, they can “split test” content by issuing multiple versions of a document and comparing reader behaviour in each. This also helps to create a set of “baseline metrics” against which all future documents can be judged.

Example:

A computer networking company issues a data sheet in two versions. In version A, the text is arranged in standard paragraph blocks. In version B a bullet-point format is used.

The company discovers that readers who receive version B read more of the content than those that receive version A. After making this discovery, the company only makes version B of the document available and all of its other data sheets are issued in bullet-point format.

The more closely a company monitors reader behaviour and engagement, the more precisely it is able to optimize its documents. The company in the example above may find that the effectiveness of bullet-point formatting varies according to reader demographics. It may also discover that this format is not effective in all types of content.

The networking company finds that, while readers in private companies read more of data sheet B, those in governmental organizations read more of version A. In future, it sends version A to the public sector and version B to private enterprises.

The company issues a white paper in bullet-point format. After finding that most readers only look at the first page of this document, the company re-issues the white paper in paragraph-block format. This proves to be more effective, so future white papers are issued in paragraph-block format.

Document optimization technology

The vast majority of electronic documents are issued as PDF files. Unfortunately, the standard PDF technology does not have any features that help content providers to measure reader behaviour. Without technology that allows the collection and analysis of reader engagement data, document optimization is practically impossible.