Shocking Truth About TPT Search and Your Preview File

I did an experiment to test a theory a lot of TPT sellers have been wondering about.

Does TPT search actually read the preview PDF?

Spoiler: No.

To prove it, I added the longest word in the English language into the preview of the TPT Seller Ultimate Bundle.

Go ahead. Check out the preview. Try to find the word:
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis

Now open a new tab and search that word on TPT.

Does the Ultimate Bundle show up in the search results?

  • If yes, then TPT reads the preview PDF.
  • If no, then TPT doesn’t. And guess what?
    It doesn’t.

Which means:
Flattened or unflattened previews don’t matter for SEO.
(I mean, still flatten your preview if required by clipart licenses. But don’t do it for TPT SEO reasons.)

🎥 I walk through the whole experiment in this week’s video.

But wait. I didn’t stop there.

I also snuck a secret keyword into an actual product download as well.

Download this product and try to find the secret word.

Guess what? That product didn’t show up when searching for the secret word either.
So TPT isn’t scanning our product files for ranking keywords.

What does matter then?
Title.
Snippet.
Description.
And then… sales psychology + mystery metrics.

Yep. TPT tracks units sold. Clicks. Possibly even add to cart or preview opens.
And yes, I was very strategic about asking people to check the preview of the Ultimate Bundle. (How are you getting people to view your previews?)

I went from rank #4 to rank #1 for “TPT seller.”
Could be a coincidence.
Could be a conversion signal.

🤯 The more I learn, the less I know.

But here’s what I do know:
We need to keep testing. Keep tinkering.
Keep following the money.

If you’re in the PRO community, this new Message from Mike video explains how it’s more than just luck.

And if you’re not part of the PRO community yet?
🎥 This week’s YouTube video breaks down the entire experiment step-by-step.
👉 [Watch it here]

Let me know what I’m missing!

Cheers,
Mike

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