It Must Be the Flash

Imagine if you will, running a search on Yahoo for one of your favorite brands.

There’s your old favorite sitting right at the top of the list. Click the link and you see that ol’ faithful is using some nice Flash effects on the site.

So wait a minute! That must mean that Flash helps get a site to the top of the list on search engines, right? After all, they’re using Flash and there they are, right at number one.

Right?!

Not exactly.

If Flash is used well, it can definitely add to the user experience for a website, give it a certain cool factor, and not cause any problems for search engines. Before we all rush off to the wonders of an all Flash all the time site though, it’s important to break down search a little bit more.

As much as some in the SEM industry might want to argue this point, a search engine is a somewhat intelligent beast. If you search on a brand name, especially a big one, chances are pretty good your search engine knows that brand too (after all, ad agencies have brand intelligence down to a science). Even some questionable SEM practices probably aren’t going to knock the site off the top spot.

*There is even evidence to suggest there’s a good chance your favorite brand isn’t even optimizing content for search engines.

It’s important to realize that Flash in and of itself can’t help a site move up in a search engine. It can, however, keep it from moving at all if it’s not used just right.

Flash is a delicate, powerful tool. With just the right touch, it can put on a dazzling show, and people will even find the site to be able to see the show.