Most SEO experts will probably tell you that Flash and SEO simply don’t go.

Yet, have a trawl though the top listings of most sites and you will certainly find a high percentage of flash-enhanced sites sitting well placed, so there is no exclusivity to either when looking for search engine rankings.

This fact highlights the importance of a good, interesting site over one crafted on a scientific or logarithmic basis. A nice looking site with flash-enabled sections coupled with some good SEO copy is the ultimate to entice an audience in and help covert those into customers and sales.

It is important to remember that search engines see content and links. An image with a decent ‘alt’ text is also simple fodder for search engines but Flash is still an area they struggle with. Google has long claimed to be able to index Flash but opinions are still divided. So you need to consider that when designing as flash-filled, highly-creative, site could be invisible to search engines. Even with Flash replacement text, wide-spread cross-linking and an updated blog a flash-heavy site is likely to struggle in battling for top rank in search engines.

Yet, Flash is a tool that should not be disregarded. While building a complete site in Flash might be detrimental to your SEO drive, using it sparingly can actually improve your SEO. While Google and the link may struggle to absorb Flash you can be certain that users love it! Moving images, audio, etc it all makes a site interactive and increases the likelihood that a visitor will bookmark your site and / or pass on the URL to friends. That’s where the magic of Flash comes in – popularity. Google may love keywords and stock search phrases but it also likes links and in particular natural links that shows your site as popular across a diverse range of other sites.

SO the lesson appears to be good content, enhanced with Flash – the odd flash-based game for example – can help your site traffic grow naturally and therefore improve SEO and climb up the search engine rankings. An interesting Flash element can also help raise your brand awareness and achieve the very results that a massive investment in SEO advice was seeking to achieve anyway. So really there is no harm in mixing it up.

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