Flash and Search Engine Optimization
Many web pages nowadays are embellished with flash animation products, offered by Adobe. Flash technology allows, in a very simple manner, to insert small animated, vector-based drawings into your web pages.
Of course, these animations have some influence on the way your site is "seen" and indexed by the search engines. The problem of Flash Search Engine Optimization arises, which is a very serious matter in terms of conversion and web site profitability.
What Are Flash Animations?
When you create an animation, you get a file, named, for example, banner.fla. The ".fla" represents the Flash format extension. In order to display this file in a web page, you need to export it in Shockwave Format (extension .swf). It is this file, once exported, that you will be using for your web site.
Any text that you include in the animation probably won't be indexed by the search engine as they rarely give attention to these formats. In spite of this there are search engines (Google, dir.com etc) that are able to read the text in these animations. The result is that any site or webpage that is built entirely in Flash will be invisible to the search engines which index only text content in html format.
Why Use Flash for Sites?
It is not a secret for anyone that search engines don't really like sites that are built using Flash exclusively. These sites rarely contain enough relevant text to allow a good indexing. Above that, not all spiders can read the content of a .swf file. Flash is used though every now and then for mini-sites or for campaign sites.
Flash is interesting for at least two reasons:
The impact of animation is maximized with flash and this improves the web's interactive and visual environment.
Flash combines well with other technologies like php, mysql, xml, video, sound etc. This makes it possible to include flash in a completely dynamic website.
Pros
It allows the designer to put more content in a small-sized space without damaging the layout.
It is an easier way to present slide shows or movies.
It is a great tool to create banners and ads, and even Flash videos.
It's a good instrument for creating great visual impact and drawing attention to specific points of interest on a web site.
Cons
Flash requires quite a lot of bandwidth and take a long time to load.
Most search engines don't like and don't index Flash.
Modifying Flash websites can be costly if you use third party developers. This is because they may code the project in such a way that it will be difficult to make changes on your own. To get your changes made you will more than likely need to pay an extra fee.
The "Back" button is usually disabled for flash websites and also Google's AdWords won't approve pages that have the Back button disabled. So, beware of this if you intend to promote your web site by using a PPC campaign.
Flash doesn't care about the visitors' needs - movies that seem endless- sounds that you cannot turn off they will drive your visitors away.
Splash Pages don't favor your visibility - they lack the text that contains the keywords identified as pertinent to your services / products.
Optimizing Flash for the so-demanding search engines is not an easy task. The effort that must be done and the amount of energy that must be spent on SEO for Flash are far greater than for the optimization of a HTML site.
Of course, these animations have some influence on the way your site is "seen" and indexed by the search engines. The problem of Flash Search Engine Optimization arises, which is a very serious matter in terms of conversion and web site profitability.
What Are Flash Animations?
When you create an animation, you get a file, named, for example, banner.fla. The ".fla" represents the Flash format extension. In order to display this file in a web page, you need to export it in Shockwave Format (extension .swf). It is this file, once exported, that you will be using for your web site.
Any text that you include in the animation probably won't be indexed by the search engine as they rarely give attention to these formats. In spite of this there are search engines (Google, dir.com etc) that are able to read the text in these animations. The result is that any site or webpage that is built entirely in Flash will be invisible to the search engines which index only text content in html format.
Why Use Flash for Sites?
It is not a secret for anyone that search engines don't really like sites that are built using Flash exclusively. These sites rarely contain enough relevant text to allow a good indexing. Above that, not all spiders can read the content of a .swf file. Flash is used though every now and then for mini-sites or for campaign sites.
Flash is interesting for at least two reasons:
The impact of animation is maximized with flash and this improves the web's interactive and visual environment.
Flash combines well with other technologies like php, mysql, xml, video, sound etc. This makes it possible to include flash in a completely dynamic website.
Pros
It allows the designer to put more content in a small-sized space without damaging the layout.
It is an easier way to present slide shows or movies.
It is a great tool to create banners and ads, and even Flash videos.
It's a good instrument for creating great visual impact and drawing attention to specific points of interest on a web site.
Cons
Flash requires quite a lot of bandwidth and take a long time to load.
Most search engines don't like and don't index Flash.
Modifying Flash websites can be costly if you use third party developers. This is because they may code the project in such a way that it will be difficult to make changes on your own. To get your changes made you will more than likely need to pay an extra fee.
The "Back" button is usually disabled for flash websites and also Google's AdWords won't approve pages that have the Back button disabled. So, beware of this if you intend to promote your web site by using a PPC campaign.
Flash doesn't care about the visitors' needs - movies that seem endless- sounds that you cannot turn off they will drive your visitors away.
Splash Pages don't favor your visibility - they lack the text that contains the keywords identified as pertinent to your services / products.
Optimizing Flash for the so-demanding search engines is not an easy task. The effort that must be done and the amount of energy that must be spent on SEO for Flash are far greater than for the optimization of a HTML site.