How to Optimize Flash for Search Engines

A common dilemma is how to do SEO on a Flash-based site. The Official Google Webmaster Blog recently commented on the subject:

Images, flash, and other multimedia make for pretty web pages, but make sure your core messages are in text or use ALT text to provide textual descriptions of your multimedia. This is great for search engines, which are based on text: searchers enter search queries as word, after all. But it's also great for visitors, who may have images or Flash turned off in their browsers or might be using screen readers or mobile devices. You can also provide HTML versions of your multimedia-based pages (if you do that, be sure to block the multimedia versions from being indexed using a robots.txt file).

It looks like they are recommending alternate HTML versions of Flash pages while blocking the Flash with a robots.txt file. Very interesting.

(UPDATE: see also Yahoo's tips about using Flash on Web sites.)

Accessibility and SEO

Google's advice is related to the concept that things that make a web site "accessible" are also good for SEO. Search engines and screen readers are both text-based.

W3.org has a good section on providing alternative content for auditory and visual content in web pages. It is part of a slideshow on a Curriculum for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

W3.org has some quick tips for accessibility, as well as the main Web Accessibility Initiative page. Although not entirely SEO-related, there is a good accessibility checklist here.

The W3C HTML Specifications are also a good reference on how HTML is supposed to be used. Learn how to use HTML correctly will help with improving your search engine results.