Google Can Index Adobe Flash Files!

This just in, Google has improved its indexing of Adobe Flash files. If you have a flash website or are planning on creating one, this will greatly affect your search engine visibility.

Google Has Improved Its Flash Indexing Algorithm

According to The Official Google Blog, text in SWF flash files will now show up in search results. It states:

Now that we’ve launched our Flash indexing algorithm, web designers can expect improved visibility of their published Flash content, and you can expect to see better search results and snippets.

More information is available at theGoogle Webmaster Central Blog. In a Q & A format, it states that not only can Google now index textual content from Flash files, but it can also retrieve links as well. This means that Google can now follow links within your flash website and index more pages of your site.

There is still some content that Google can not retrieve. This includes non-textual content such as images or videos. This means that all text that you want crawled should be presented as rich-text, not embedded in an image.

Google & Your Flash Website

If your website is already in Google, the next time Google returns to your website, the flash content will automatically begin to be indexed. This means that you might want to prepare for its return. If you have any content that you don’t want indexed, such as unimportant text, consider converting that text into an image.

Important Limitations

There are some limitations which might prevent content in your flash website from being reindexed.

1. Javascript. If your website uses JavaScript to load the flash file, then your website might not be indexed. Unfortunately, because of browser compatibility concerns and the Eolas issue, many developers use Javascript to load flash. Fortunately, Google developers are currently working on supporting the common JavaScript that web developers use to load flash. But until then, you will need to consider using alternative methods.
2. External Files. Many flash websites load content from external files, such as XML , HTML, or TXT files. These files may be indexed, but they will not be associated with the parent SWF file.
3. Dynamic Content. At this time, dynamic content will not be indexed. If you have a flash website which pulls content directly from a database, that content will not show up in Google. Consider releasing static files or even an RSS file containing your content.
4. Language. Most languages can be indexed from flash files. However, bidirectional languages such as Hebrew or Arabic, cannot be indexed at this time.

Google is working on further improving this new algorithm. To keep up with the latest updates, visit the Official Google Blog or the Google Webmaster Central Blog. Another interesting article on the subject can be found at the Silicon Alley Insider.