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Flash and Search Engine Optimization by ATAK Interactive

Flash and Search Engines

"I want flash, but isn't that bad for search engines" asks 90% of ATAK's customers.

This answer is not a simple one.

A Flash web site is indeed much more difficult to optimize so the search engines can index. The first problem is Google, Yahoo!, and other engines rarely comment on their indexing techniques sp building a Flash site if Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is considered an online marketing priority may not be a wise decision. Flash indeed has obstacles to having your site spidered and an even larger obstacle to rank well for keyword search results. These sites typically lack much of the "indexable" content search engines require, and they also often employ redirects from "Splash pages" considered spam by many search engines.

These challenges are considerable, but optimizing Flash sites can be achieved under certain circumstances. Here are a few:

1. Do not create a site as a single page with a giant flash movie. Many Flash sites are single page sites with one entry point and a single flash movie, whereas most sites have multiple entry points. One should optimize each movie and page with appropriate titles and content. Make sure all pages have Meta tags and split the site into separate pages.

2. Do not make your entire site in Flash if not necessary. Flash can often be used only on parts of a site and still "WOW" users. One should use flash movies whenever appropriate within the HTML pages that contain text for the search engines to index and a navigation the search engines can crawl. We can run a "how does it work" Flash presentation inside as a link and upon click will pop up the movie or perhaps that movie plays from one location within the html page.

3. One can also create two versions of a site, one in Flash and one in HTML. From the home page, visitors can select their preference but make sure that there is content on that page so it is not considered a "splash page." Keyword rich text for the search engines is critical. So is a link to a site map and an option to view the Flash and the HTML. Analytic software will tell a site owner about visitor preferences and if the majority of visitors are using the flash site, keep it. If visitors prefer the HTML, you know not to format the site entirely in flash.

In conclusion, aesthetics are important and everybody knows that. Before building a Flash site, one should review his or her web site analytics and utilize focus groups. Findings may show that the audience's ideas are different than the designer's ideas.