Flash & Google problem

how can google find a flash sites?

[zardoz]

Hi everyone
i have a big site that i need to promote on google and all the site build in flash i really don't know what i really can do because it's a very hard keywords and i know that google don't give good positions for flash sites. i thought about building a table and to put the flash code in the center and the keywords will be at the bottom and on the top of the pages... what do you thinks? please help me and if someone know a similar site that did something like that it can be very helpful.
thank you

[Marshall Clark]

There's not a whole lot you can do to a Flash site. The latest version of Flash is supposed to have something that makes search engine indexable text but as I recall (not well) it was something like a side table filled with text outputted from the Flash movie.

One thing you can try is putting text in some CSS z-layers and playing around with the relative positioning to put the text behind the Flash movie. Definitely not a perfect solution - but Flash is a pretty big handicap to overcome from an SEO standpoint.

[whoisgregg]

The most effective strategy is to think of your flash movies as a large blank GIF. No matter if the search engine adds the ability to read parts of it in the future, you can't depend on it doing so accurately.

The HTML that holds your flash object and embed code should simply have a descriptive <title> tag and a solid paragraph (4-5 sentences) or two that describe the use or value of the flash movie to the user. Use language similar to what you'd expect a person to type into a search engine if they were looking for what the flash movie provides.

Ensure that any navigation links inside your Flash movie are duplicated with appropriate anchor text in the HTML pages.

Because the paragraph, title, and navigation are relatively short and straightforward, there's no need to hide it from the user -- they'll probably appreciate having something on the page while they're waiting for the flash to load. ;)

[zardoz]

thanks guys, what do you think about my idea with the table? do you see a problem?

[piskie]

You could put the flash pages into a Frameset and use conventinal SEO "No Frames Tag" etc. I have got acceptable (just about) results in the past with this method. Be carefull with 100% frameset though. Use something like 98% and treat the other frame as 2% LH or RH Padding.