Flash and Search Engines

Flash suffers from under optimization, and is perceived as harming search engine rankings. . .

Why are search engine optimization (SEO) practitioners concerned about Flash, and how can we SEO Flash content? The main problem with Flash is that search engines don’t yet understand it, and probably won’t in the near future. Flash includes logic and can take input from the visitor, but search engines are designed to handle static content. Flash is actually a compiled program, so it’s much harder to analyze than plain HTML code.

The leading web development tool, Adobe Dreamweaver, embeds Flash in web pages with code that fails to provide accessibility for visitors or search spiders who cannot handle Flash. Instead of using the default code, my recommendation is to hand code Flash pages with primary HTML content, and a method of automatically testing for Flash support before attempting to insert the movie.

If a site only has a few, noncompetitive keywords, optimizing the Flash site can work. But before actually creating the Flash site, heed this: Do not create the Web site as a single page with a giant Flash movie.

On the surface, it may seem a Flash site consists of many separate pages. This assumption may be incorrect. Many Flash sites consist of a single Web page with a single Flash movie. Most sites have multiple entry points. A Flash site often has only one entry point.

The usual optimization strategies apply to Flash sites. Optimize each movie and page with appropriate titles and content. In the absence of indexable content, make sure all pages have appropriate meta tags.

Unless your Flash site has a few targeted keyword phrases, split it into separate pages. It will help your optimization efforts.

The primary HTML content can be search optimized as if the Flash wasn’t there, while the Flash provides an enhanced user experience for those visitors who have the necessary Flash player.

• Clean design
• Code validation and standards compliance
• Correct functionality with IE