First, full disclosure: I am an SEO who happens to enjoy Flash programming. I am aware of all the headaches and hurdles it can bring and understand that it is not to be used all the time or even for any website. I also do hate unsolicited ads scrolling along the screen or my eardrums getting high jacked.
I am by no means stating that the below is the ultimate answer and that I am right and everyone else is wrong. This is just what has worked for my particular case. It might not work for other sites under different conditions. It is just a reminder that we should not think in absolutes and have prejudice against my buddy Flash:-)
Things I have in my favor:
- Direct match between URL and searched term
- 8 year old domain, always with relevant content
- Big legacy of inbound links, with most having real value
- Relatively small/specific market niche
Things I have against me:
- Full-blown Flash site with all content loaded in it as Flash text
- Does not have a site map
- Does not have an html version
- Does have an iFrame where main swf gets loaded
- Does have streaming music
This site currently ranks #1 in Google and other search engines for the main keyword(s) combinations. I believe that besides the things I have in my favor, the way in which the flash files were constructed, and above all, the way in which it loads the content, is of extreme importance for the outcome.
In order to decrease load time and keep file size in check:
- I have many swf files/panels
- All images are loaded through ActionScript on the fly
- Instead of having a dynamic page feeding flash according to user behavior, ALL CONTENT IS STATIC IN .TXT FILES ON THE ROOT
- Each swf panel has a few .txt files to read content from
- Robots have access to these files
- Backend code re-generates all txt files from DB whenever necessary
For my next project, I will be creating a sitemap.txt and will be listing all my txt files. I really hope that this has helped diminish the Flash hatred 🙂
Thank you!
