Flash and Search engines - I want the unspun truth of the matter!

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Hi folks I feel like having a tea party for Flash!

I have been a developer and more of a designer that has been given a bad taste in my mouth by many jealous developers who have nay-sayed Flash because of the obvious problems of Search Engines moving towards minimalistic engagements with bandwidth and content while flash players are less engaged in this direction.

So I stand to believe you can have the best of both worlds and that we all have the ability to provide users with limitations and SE’s with what they want and high end users with what they want too.

My first question reflects on the scare that flash players or animation files are going to trip Googles bandwidth meter and get you banned. I use a back end optimized HTML file for SE’s and a front end player for graphics.

What I want to know is can you write code so that SE’s won’t even read the flash file and get bogged down? Does the no script tag approach make swf files invisible to SE’s?

If you love flash say AMEN or calabunga!

If flash was unloveable then it would have never been created!

Go Flash!

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I am curious…

I have observed the use of no script tags, like here:

But what is this really doing? Is it applying no script to the html? I thought you wanted to apply no script to the player? I am a bit confused…

Any help appreciated!

Go Flash team!

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I imagine if you use your own javascript div replacement technique similar to what swfobject does then the swf won’t be read by google, however google have stated that they will follow and spider swfs embedded using the Swfobject library in particular.

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East Coast… Hey Man!

Yeah so what do you suggest to make the Flash Files unreadable? Do you have any techniques you would share?

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I have been told that Flash site is not good for SEO optimization then I hear that this is OK
can anybody explain pls

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Flash files are largely problematic and bulky for Search Engines but build an HTML Core Site under your player makes optimization a breeze.

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Well made flash files are smaller than most header images.

Flash is a problem for SE because the content can not be read. If you Select-All on this page, anything highlighted is considered static text. This is what SEs read. Tags, metas, text, links, etc. In flash there is no ‘static text’ Even using the ‘static text’ in flash is unreadable. Flash wraps its content inside itself. The best example of a ‘Flash site with SEO’ that I can share: You Tube.

There is a way to make flash readable in SE but its not simple, fast or cheap. Here is the secret***
‘Use flash, in part.’

Now pay it forward and kiss your mother.

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Maybe add both flash and non-flash pages inside the site, and pdf files are helpful too.

And see this for reference: :slight_smile:

http://www.wow.gr/acceleratesuccess/2010/07/seo-flash/

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Not true.

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I’ll give an AMEN!

I love Flash and hate the way it now seems to be trendy to put it down. Let’s be clear here: it’s not Flash that they have a problem with, merely poor use thereof.