Aug 15, 2008
When it comes to the different types of websites and search engine optimization, flash websites mix with SEO like a square peg in a round hole. They just don’t fit together. The reason why is because in flash all of he code of the website is embedded so a search engine crawler cannot see all of the code. It can only see the top part.
When a flash website loads it has to load the whole website before it will show up on the screen. It is like a movie that must play. In html websites the first page can load and show up while some of the other pages are still loading.
Because of this it is not as easy to edit and modify a flash website making it very hard to optimize and adjust for search engine optimization. Flash websites do have a big appeal to web designers because they look very flashy and cool with clean and crisp graphics. Plus on flash websites there is also more movement that can be happening in pictures that will draw the eye.
However when it comes to search engines they can’t see pictures and graphics. The crawlers can only see the actual code of a website. If a search engine spider cannot crawl the code of a flash website then there is nothing there for a search engine to see. So the flash website is good for looks and for the appeal to internet users, but not good for ranking high in search engines for specific keyword queries.
Flash websites are good for what is called business card websites where ranking high in search engines is not a priority. A lot of companies will use a flash website for showing off their logo and what services they offer.
All internet marketers that do search engine optimization stay away from flash built websites because there is nothing to do to optimize the site. All of the work must be done off page to get the website exposure online in various advertising mediums.
If you are a company that is looking to have a big online presence in the search engines I highly advise to build your website in html so that it can be optimized and so the search engine crawlers can move through your site and properly index it.
Web design companies need to keep this in mind when optimizing a site. As an intern for a web design company this is all very helpful to me. I understand SEO, however, before this I had no idea flash sites couldn’t be optimized. Thanks for this blog!