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Flash and Search Optimization
The first thing to understand is how search engines work. The basic idea is that they have programs which scan your website and decide what the content is about. The key thing to realize is that a search engine spider (the scanning program) only looks at the code behind your site, not what a visitor sees. This is where the gap between optimizing a site and Flash comes in.
Flash websites are often full of content and unique animations, however, the code does not reflect this. Flash works like an interactive movie. The website code can be as short as 8-10 lines, but the Flash movie file is where all the information and content is stored. The example below shows how minimal the code is.
<object>
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" />
<param name="movie" value="main.swf" />
<param name="quality" value="High" />
<param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" />
<embed src="main.swf">
</object>That code looks like nothing to a search engine. Any text besides the flash movie is all the search engine will display. A good example of this is the Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas. Their website is written in Flash, but they have one link that is done with regular HTML. As a result, Google has them listed 7th when searching specifically for their website (search: "palazzo las vegas"). Note the description of their site. It only says "Reservations" because that is the only text the search engine sees.
Finally, how do you overcome this? The most common answer is to not use a full Flash site. You can use Flash for the animations, but keep the majority of page in HTML. This method gives the search engines something to find, allows for the use of content management systems, and lets your user adjust the font size as needed.
08.25.2007
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