by Jonathan Hochman
http://www.hochmanconsultants.com/articles/seo-friendly-flash.shtml

Flash gets a bad rap, undeserved in my opinion, for harming search engine visibility. Why are search engine optimization (SEO) practitioners concerned about Flash, and how can we SEO Flash content? Flash content is often heavy on images and interactive features, and light on text. As of 2008, the leading search engines are heavily dependant on text to understand the meaning of pages.

The leading web development tool, Adobe Dreamweaver, embeds Flash in web pages with code that fails to provide accessibility for visitors or search spiders who cannot handle Flash. Instead of using the default code, my recommendation is to hand code Flash pages with primary HTML content, and a method of automatically testing for Flash support before attempting to insert the movie. The primary HTML content can be search optimized as if the Flash wasn’t there, while the Flash provides an enhanced user experience for those visitors who have the necessary Flash player.

The April 11, 2006 release of Microsoft’s popular Internet Explorer (IE) browser includes an update (”Eolas”) that prevents ActiveX-based Flash controls from working properly. When the user attempts to interact with the Flash, a tool tip appears, stating, “Click to activate and use this control.” That extra click is an annoyance. In addition to helping search engines, the programming techniques described in this article solve the Flash Eolas problem.

Search Engines and Flash

Search engines have the ability to read Flash files and extract text and links. In particular, Google and Adobe announced a new algorithm for indexing textual Flash content on June 20, 2008. As explained by Rand Fishkin in Flash and SEO - Compelling Reasons Why Search Engines & Flash Still Don’t Mix, and Vanessa Fox in Search-Friendly Flash?, hoping that search engines can decipher you Flash is not a substitute for providing indexable HTML content.

Requirements for Successful Use of Flash

Flash animation is a great way to present complex content because it allows the designer to put more content in a finite space, without wrecking page design. For technology sites, Flash is an ideal way to present a slide show or movie explaining a complex product. At the other end of the spectrum, art and entertainment sites have a real need for multimedia, and Flash is the perfect solution.

When using Flash, we’d like to satisfy each of these objectives:

• Clean design
• Search Engine Optimization
• Accessibility for a wide variety of browsers, including screen readers and mobile phones
• Code validation and standards compliance
• Correct functionality with IE

SEO Flash Programming

My recommended Flash SEO method uses a DIV with search-engine-accessible, primary content, and an open source Javascript function called swfobject() to detect when browsers are capable of viewing Flash. When an appropriate version of Flash player is present, the Javascript manipulates the page’s document object model (DOM) to replace the primary content with the Flash movie. Most search engine spiders can’t handle Flash, so they will elect to view the primary content. The primary content may contain links, headings, styled text, images—anything we can add to an ordinary HTML page. With SEO copyediting and coding skills applied to the primary content, Flash becomes a non-issue.

Flash accessibility programming isn’t spamming, as long as the primary content and the visible movie are essentially the same. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) specifically states that multimedia content should have an alternative representation available. Accessibility programming creates the benefit of presenting visual information without losing the visitors and search engines who depend upon textual content.

to be continued…..

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All online business owners must take the time to learn about search engine optimization if they want their business to strive. As all online business owners should be aware, the higher a business is in the ranking the more traffic will be driven to their site and therefore the better chances they have to increase their profit. When you put in the time and effort you can ensure your business ranks high and that more traffic is driven to your site as a result. With these tips you will be well on your way to improving the ranking of your business and making the most of what SEO has to offer.

The first issue to learn more about if you want to rise in search engine optimization ranking involves keywords. There are certain keywords that you are going to use to present your company and which will help your business in the rankings. Keywords are what Internet users rely on to find what they are looking for when they go through any search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Auto insurance, MP3 and women’s clothing are three examples of very common keywords and which would help you rank higher in a search engine optimization ranking.

It is very important not only to know which keywords to use but also where to use them. You don’t want your site to come off looking cheap so make sure that you are not using keywords to create filler and not having any quality content on the pages. This will make your content appear choppy and hard to read, making potential customers liable to leave your site and go to another like it to get what they need. Keep in mind that most Internet users only take a few seconds before deciding whether or not they are going to stay on a site so you want yours to stand out and to look appealing to make them want to stick around.

Another helpful tip for you to get your business high in search engine optimization ranking is to understand whether you are optimized or not. Once you have figured out what keywords you are going to use and have worked out your content, it is time to do things that are going to make your site stand out from the others. Content is king, but there are other aspects that will need to be focused on here as well. There may be a saying or logo that you want to use which will stick out, or use Flash animation on the site to really draw people in.

Meta tags are also very important and by paying attention to this you will improve the search engine optimization ranking of your business. The title tag is the most important and must have your keyword included in it for the most success here. With just these tips alone you will see that your business rises significantly in the search engine rankings and it will have been well worth the effort. With these tips even a poorly worked business can improve and make their way up in the ranking.

Many people seem to think that the only search engine worth optimising a website for is Google. However the truth is that if you aim to make your site friendly for the Google search engine then it will also do well in others such as Yahoo and Bing (formerly MSN). In my experience plenty of traffic, and therefore customers, comes from the other search engines so it is worth paying attention to them also.  There are certain basic steps that need to be taken when optimising a website for the search engines and many webdesigners fail to realise just how simple it can be.

On Page Search Engine Optimisation

The most important thing to realise is that a website will not rank well on Google’s SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) if there is no way for the engine to tell what your site or page’s topic is. Google cannot read images, javascript or flash therefore the only way (currently) to let the engine know what the page is about is to do it with words. If these basic ingredients are followed, the chances are that on that basis alone and improvement in your websites rankings will occur. Mainly because so many people don’t bother, so if you do, you’ll be a step ahead.

Page Titles - or Title Tags

Using the main keyword or keyword phrase within your title tags is the first point to check. But remember you want it not only to be found high on the search results but also for real people to actually be inspired to click on your listing. The title is what appears in the search results as the heading for your listing so it is better to make this a compelling headline that people want to click on that contains the main keyword as opposed to merely listing the keywords.

Think about it for a minute - if you were searching for a florist to send flowers to someone for their birthday and you came across the following 2 results - which would you choose?

Flowers-Florist-Flower Deliveries-Florist Sydney

Beautiful Flowers Delivered by Local Florist in Sydney.
In the next post on “Optimising your website for Google” I’ll be discussing the description that shows in the search engine results, how to use it to help with  rankings as well as how to maximise your click through rate.

Want some help with SEO? Contact us at admin@linxhurricane.com.au

By John Black

Search engine optimization or SEO as it has become known by, is an essential ingredient for any website to succeed. However it can be very confusing for website owners particularly for those new to the whole concept of marketing online. There are usually three reactions the whole idea of SEO;

1. some feel that it is a waste of time and that merely the act of putting a website on the internet is enough.

2. Some feel that they can just do it all themselves and that there isn’t much to it.

3. Many feel that it is definitely something that should be delegated to a professional and that their precious time is better spent doing things for their businesses that they excel at.

All three views have merit, for a few businesses just having a website is enough. The type of business that this would work for is one that is unlikely to have people searching for their services online. For example a private Chiropractic practice in a fairly small town.

In slightly larger towns, depending on the amount of competing businesses have websites online, it may well be possible to get great results by doing a small amount of promotion yourself.

For the majority, however, getting it to work well really does require the services of a professional Search Engine Optimization specialist.
Search engine optimisation is a field that is constantly changing and the systems and techniques that need to be used to get good search engine visibility are also an ever changing phenomenon.
The great thing about using SEO to get your website to rank highly in the search engines is that it is advertising that not only is working for you twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. It is a way of bringing in customers that are actively searching for what you are offering.

Consider the traditional types of advertising - newspapers, magazines, tv, local papers or radio. They are all a kind of shotgun approach, sending your advertising far and wide in the hope that your potential customers happen to be reading, watching or listening to them at exactly the right time.

hereas with search engine marketing it is easily possible, with good SEO services and a well set up website, to put your offering directly in front of the people that have purposely looked for your product or service by typing it into a search engine.

Another great thing about using search engine optimisation to boost your business, is that it is measurable. Unlike more traditional forms of advertising, it is entirely possible to track how many people come to your website. Not only that you can tell where in the world they come from, which keyword phrase they used to find you, which search engine they came via and how many came via each of the keywords.

With more traditional advertising not only is it a shotgun approach, in most cases it is not measurable and usually the costs involved are extremely high.

For cutting edge SEO services at a fraction of the cost of other Search Engine Optimization services contact the experts at LinxHurricane today.