Google Begins Indexing Flash Content, Yahoo To Follow
As reported on around the net, Adobe has begun supplying Google and Yahoo with Flash Player technology which will enable the two popular search engines to being indexing Flash’s SWF file format. Adobe describes the technology as an advancement in “rich media search”. Google has apparently begun using the technology, although to what degree is still unknown. Yahoo has received the software makers goods, but is still in the process of testing and implementing it. Microsoft Live Search has not been mentioned as participating in Adobe’s launch of this search initiative.
A step in the right direction? It still remains unclear as to how the technology will work and how it will affect current rankings. I have spoken to people who are on both sides of development and optimization. Some consider this a huge leap forward for Flash and Flash SEO. Previously search engines were unable to crawl, categorize or read Flash websites. That meant that although pretty and shiny, Flash sites were an SEO nightmare. Others believe that the technology will have little affect on rankings, as many flash sites are image heavy and content light. If the software provided to the search engines only reads file names, that could also have negative ramifications for ill organized Flash sites.
I have to believe that Adobe and Google would not be releasing anything that wouldn’t help their users. Both are industry powerhouses who are well respected for the quality of their products. Personally, I question if Adobe isn’t utilizing OCR technology similar to its Acrobat Capture software to capture image text in SWF files and make it searchable. I may be stretching, but I would be disappointed if they didn’t go all out to solve this long overdue problem.
Tags: adobe, flash, google, microsoft, SEO, yahoo
