Can I use Flash in a way that won't interfere with my SEO strategy?

Flash has long been considered an obstacle for effective SEO. Since Flash is actually its own running program hosted on a web site, it's impossible for the search engine crawlers to digest content within it, since they are designed to read and process static content. It can even end up being an obstacle keeping the crawlers from accessing the content on your page that is static. However, Flash does offer users an interesting and attractive way to interact with websites, and as its use grows more popular, the need for combining its use with good search engine optimization is becoming more prevalent. Luckily, there are ways to integrate Flash with SEO marketing, unlike many web optimizers though in the past.

One of the ways to best prime your site so that the search engines can handle your content is Flash is to avoid the default codes used by programs like Adobe Dreamweaver. Instead, hand code the Flash with your primary HTML content, and build in a way for your site to test is Flash is available for the user or crawler visiting your site before it displays the movie. This will allow your optimized content to still connect with the search engine crawlers, and will still deliver Flash content to those users and browsers that support it.

This is the best way to combine Flash with search engine marketing. Since the crawlers cannot handle Flash, they will choose the primary HTML content, which will have all the same keyword rich content, meta tags and links that a normal page would have. Essentially this involves delivering the crawlers one version of your content and users another, but since the content is essentially the same, it is not considered cloaking.

This will allow you to use all the normal SEO tools you would in HTMl, while still using Flash and providing users with a unique web experience.