SEO FYI: Google indexes text in Flash

Google can now discover and index text content in SWF files of all kinds, including self-contained Flash websites and Flash gadgets such as buttons or menus. This includes all textual content visible to the user. Google supports common JavaScript techniques.

In addition, Google can now find and follow URLs embedded in Flash files. The search engine will crawl and index this content in the same way that it crawls and indexes other content on your site,— you will not need to take any special action. However, Google does not guarantee that it will crawl or index all the content, Flash or otherwise.

“The ability to index all text including links in Flash is a huge break-through for a web designer. It opens the door wide again for designing great-looking websites with interaction and functionality that can only be accomplished with Flash,” says Brian Sheppard, interactive creative director of MLT Creative. “I’m sure we’ll begin to see, in the near future, a trend back towards flash-based B2B sites, as was the case years ago, before SEO became the driving force behind web design and designers shied away from it.”