Google Can Now Better Index Flash Content
Google has announced it can now better index Flash content.
In the Webmaster Central Blog on June 30th Google announced it can better index Flash content with the aide of Adobe’s updates to the new Searchable SWF library. Our position on Flash does not change - use it sparingly. Don’t build an entire site in Flash.
I encourage you to read the entire press release as there are some really great questions answered. In particular - Google cannot index text within images that are embedded in your Flash Video, nor will they index external content loaded through seperate text, or html files. It does not mentioned databaes content though.
So for the time being - let’s wait and see what happens with Flash based sites and the Google Index. If this really does work then we’ll begin to see a bit of a shift in thinking around Flash for some people. In our opinion though it does not affect the usability issues associated with Flash - but it will mean that our banners can now have content that will be indexed!
July 4th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Google might index it, but I’m still unlikely to stick around and watch most of it!
You’re right…Use it sparingly. Not only for SEO reasons, but because it generally stinks for the user who doesn’t really need cool flash as much as s/he needs informative/entertaining content.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:26 am
I wouldn’t trust that if I was you. My site, Schmoozii, had a javascript redirect on the landing page. Google says they can crawl javascript, but when their bots came it they couldn’t. I had a robots.txt and sitemap on the page telling the bot what to do and it just couldn’t do it. When I removed the javascript redirect it crawled the next day. Also, none of the other search engines could crawl the site.
If you want your site to be SEO friendly, I wouldn’t recommend putting flash or javascript on the homepage.
July 7th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
@’business networking
I agree. I’m having the same ‘problem’. I’m looking forward to see the first real meaningfull results in the Google SERP’s.
Text in mine SWF files is still not indexed.
Of topic: why didn’t Adobe developed this feature? It seems to me a huge opening in the market: selling the possibility to get your flash site indexed by Google
July 7th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Hey Ron!
Well - Adobe actually did. They produced the API which is allowing Google to index the contents of the Flash files. Yahoo apparently is supporting it as well. I suspect MS will come along shortly too!
Cheers,
Chris
July 8th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Rye, that’s why I think that a site that is completely in flash should also have a HTML version of it.
July 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am
This is great news. I always stayed away from flash completely, for SEO reasons. I agree with everyone else that it should be very limited for users sake, but adding a little flash can sure spice up a website.