Flash SEO, is it possible to Search Engine Optimise a Flash Website?

First off let me say this Flash is GREAT.

There you go I have said it. Flash is not the spawn of the devil, it is not some mad dog roaming the streets frothing at the mouth. It is a well behaved dog, that is ideal for purpose. PURPOSE, that is the keyword where flash is concerned.

A common question across forums and other resources is with regard the way Flash works with optimisation.  put simple flash SEO is it possible?

The answer as with many things SEO related is yep, possibly. The first thing to do is to make a clear distinction between full blown flash websites, and the use of flash as elements within a site. Below are the main considerations.

1. Full blown Flash websites – these are the problem sites. mainly because the flash is in fact a single file, a single page all mangled up in the eyes of google. While google can pull text (depending on how that text has been created within flash), and while Google can discover URLs within said text, What Google can’t do, is make connections and layout semantically what it sees, nor can it pass link juice to those links. Because of this, You will struggle to get any hierarchy in the eyes of Google, and internal architecture and and link structure is a key element of successful SEO.

For this reason, it is best to steer away from Flash as an overall medium for a website. in fact new technology pretty much makes it possible to recreate anything that flash can do. But that is a discussion for a different day.

2. Flash Elements within a website – TJHIS is where flash comes into its own. Flash is brilliant for showcasing, it streams so large files are not a real issue as it buffers and downloads as it plays.  Flash will help make you sales, it will place moving images and sounds onto a page.  But there are certain things you need to ensure if you are to make flash work for you within a website.

• Never build a complete site in flash as stated above.

• Use flash to enhance the site and to take the user along the road to your end goal.

• Don’t place important text information inside a flash movie, that does not appear elsewhere within the site. That is to say that you can add the information as an ADDITION to using it correctly elsewhere on the site.

• Make proper use of the noscript facility to cover what is within the flash movie.

Those simple 4 points above will ensure that Flash helps your online success, rather than hinders it.

I finish with the same line I started with, Flash is great!  Just use it wisely.