I came across this article about Flash and Blogs, and they do indeed make a few good points over at Performancing. Flash is not something you should use just because - it must have a purpose, and you must think things through thoroughly, or you might end up getting burnt.
But Performancing is completely wrong on one major point, and I’ll show you why and explain how it really works. Here’s an excerpt from their article:
There are a lot of Flash Designers in the world today, and it is a certainty that some of them have blogs, and although pages containing Flash might look fantastic, does it really help a blog or hinder it?
Flash is a great tool, and has many uses from simple animation through to complex cross platform desktop and web applications. But it also can be the sore thumb of content design. Many people rush to put Flash elements on their site, and some even decide to create the whole site in Flash, but rarely does anyone take into consideration that content that is contained within Flash is not indexed by search engines and worst of all is usually not compatible with RSS or ATOM feeds.
So what is the attraction that people have for putting massive amounts of Flash on their page?
Not only does Flash not get indexed, but depending on the content, you may be hurting your revenue line just from the time it takes to load your page. Valuable seconds could be lost in click conversions and you’ll end up watching the amount you earn from pay-per-click affiliate programs spiral out of control to only crash and burn.
My Take on Flash and SEO - How it Really Works
First of all, Performancing is completely wrong stating that Flash does not get indexed. It does.
If you want proof, make a search in Google on this phrase, for example: design filetype:swf
So as you can see, and contrary to what many believe, text inside a flash file does indeed get indexed, but as you cannot not use H1, H2 and the inability to pick up anchor text etc, it does a poor job at ranking flash pages. In other words, depending on the use of flash on a site it can completely cripple your positions in search engines.
So think twice before you add a Flash animation intro on the front page of a website. Unless the animation is of great importance, you really should not waste the most valuable page on your site with an, in the eyes of the search engines, empty page.
Besides from JavaScript menus, Flash menus is probably one of the worst things you can implement on your site. The menu is the main navigation point of your site, and if you deny the spiders access to it, your site will not be indexed.
In the case of menus, it is entirely possible to use HTML lists and style these with CSS and get the exact look and feel as with a JavaScript menu — and quite often as with a Flash menu. Not only do you give the search engine spiders readable links to the rest of your site — by putting the menu in a list, you add weight to your menu as well.
Flash can be great, but use it to enhance your content rather than telling a story. Your content must be text if you want the search engines to find your site.
Read the full article about Flash, Blogs and SEO here.
Sverre Sjøthun
3 Comments so far
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finally someone that i can agree on…flash does can make you look cool and good but in se’s it doesnt mean anything.
By professional web designer on 01.11.06 8:42 am | Permalink
…and besides retro designed sites are the new thing now, especially to SEO’s who design crawlwer friendly sites. I’ll take my CSS navs over some fancy flash buttons any day - I hate flashy, show-off sites with a passion.
By Michael Weir on 01.16.06 11:09 pm | Permalink
Yeah…your site is a great example of how it should be coded…CSS all the way. However, I recommend that your take a look at your meta descriptions again.
Did you know that you can make Google display exactly what your description tag says if you write it correctly and use 148-156 characters including space instead of having it cut off like this?
“Using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and 100% Cisco network, Cbeyond Communications delivers to small business customers (5-24 lines) integrated local …”
Google “online sports betting” and look at #2 and you’ll see what I mean…
Sverre
By Sverre Sjothun on 01.16.06 11:26 pm | Permalink
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