To Flash or Not to Flash

This post is excerpted from an upcoming issue of Identity Marketing magazine

In a keyword-centric universe, interactive or animated content like Flash can be problematic. We generally don’t recommend that companies who are selling online and competing for keywords build their sites in Flash. Although Adobe recently announced full support for keywords in Flash, it’s unclear how much re-authoring of content is required to make this happen.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use Flash at all. Flash is very effective in an embedded format, when it is simply another element on a page. Many of our customers use Flash banners on their homepages or other areas of their sites to highlight products or specials, or to show a product in a more attractive, animated presentation. Embedding other multimedia content, such as product videos or interactive features, can also be a very effective way to keep audiences engaged. If the content is strong, you shouldn’t worry about the impact on your keywords. Just make sure the rest of the page and the site is built with keyword content in mind.