Jul 2nd, 2008
Jul 2nd, 2008
On Monday, Google announced that Googlebot can better index Flash files. But don’t go too crazy - Googlebot still has significant limitations when crawling Flash files. For example, if your website loads a Flash movie using JavaScript, you’re out of luck because, in the words of Google programmers, “Googlebot does not execute some types of JavaScript.”
Photographers, architects, and designers are particularly fond of all-Flash sites - and are often dismayed when SEO folks caution that the content of all-Flash sites is invisible to search engines. At Geary, we often recommend that clients build an HTML mirror of all content contained in the Flash - both for search engine spiders and for Web users who are blind or don’t have Flash enabled in their browsers.
However, this innovation - despite its significant limitations - could diminish the importance of building an HTML version of Flash sites or using other coding tricks to make Flash files readable to search engine spiders. It’s good news for those who love the slick, cinematic quality of Flash.
