01/07/08
Google is enabling Flash searches but no image or video yet
Images and video still aren’t searchable, but in a major cyber-step forward Adobe is now working with Google and Yahoo to make Flash files searchable online.
It’s a significant technology project that will enable searches on Flash content to return text and links, which can then be indexed. Once indexed they’ll be available in search results for users. Flash applications like games or even advertisements will be available to search engines. Pages containing a Flash file (.SWF) will also be returned in a search.
Google has already implemented this feature, while Yahoo will hopefully enable Flash search in a future version of its search engine.
Adobe Systems Incorporated announced their goal in teaming up with Google and Yahoo is to dramatically improve search results of dynamic Web content and rich Internet applications (RIAs).
Adobe will be supplying optimized Adobe® Flash® Player technology to the two companies to allow them to enhance search engine indexing of the Flash file format (SWF) and uncover information that is currently undiscoverable by search engines.
What that means to searchers is more relevant automatic search rankings of the millions of RIAs and other dynamic content that run in Adobe Flash Player. RIA developers and rich Web content producers won’t need to amend existing and future content to make it searchable. The content will be easily found by searchers anywhere in the world.
Although search engines already index static text and links within SWF files, RIAs and dynamic Web content have been generally difficult to fully expose to search engines because of their changing states — a problem also inherent in other RIA technologies.
The openly published SWF specification describes the file format used to deliver rich applications and interactive content via Adobe Flash Player. Flash Player is installed on more than 98 percent of Internet-connected computers.
No luck searching on video or text in images yet however. From Google's own description: "If your Flash files only include images, we will not recognize or index any text that may appear in those images. Similarly, we do not generate any anchor text for Flash buttons which target some URL, but which have no associated text. Also note that we do not index FLV files, such as the videos that play on YouTube, because these files contain no text elements."
There are no plans for other search engines like MSFT's Live.com or Ask.com, - at least none being discussed. Expect them to be enabled at a later date however.
MSFT has its own Flash competitor – Silverlight, so it may take its time making the move and has other reasons for not surfacing Flash files in results.
Fancy e-commerce/transactional info sites who use Flash to develop their shopping site and product pages will benefit as well as a variety of other users like photographers and game sites. Their results will now crop up in the search results – possibly leading to new SEO tricks.
Google has already implemented this feature, while Yahoo will hopefully enable Flash search in a future version of its search engine.
Adobe Systems Incorporated announced their goal in teaming up with Google and Yahoo is to dramatically improve search results of dynamic Web content and rich Internet applications (RIAs).
Adobe will be supplying optimized Adobe® Flash® Player technology to the two companies to allow them to enhance search engine indexing of the Flash file format (SWF) and uncover information that is currently undiscoverable by search engines.
What that means to searchers is more relevant automatic search rankings of the millions of RIAs and other dynamic content that run in Adobe Flash Player. RIA developers and rich Web content producers won’t need to amend existing and future content to make it searchable. The content will be easily found by searchers anywhere in the world.
Although search engines already index static text and links within SWF files, RIAs and dynamic Web content have been generally difficult to fully expose to search engines because of their changing states — a problem also inherent in other RIA technologies.
The openly published SWF specification describes the file format used to deliver rich applications and interactive content via Adobe Flash Player. Flash Player is installed on more than 98 percent of Internet-connected computers.
No luck searching on video or text in images yet however. From Google's own description: "If your Flash files only include images, we will not recognize or index any text that may appear in those images. Similarly, we do not generate any anchor text for Flash buttons which target some URL, but which have no associated text. Also note that we do not index FLV files, such as the videos that play on YouTube, because these files contain no text elements."
There are no plans for other search engines like MSFT's Live.com or Ask.com, - at least none being discussed. Expect them to be enabled at a later date however.
MSFT has its own Flash competitor – Silverlight, so it may take its time making the move and has other reasons for not surfacing Flash files in results.
Fancy e-commerce/transactional info sites who use Flash to develop their shopping site and product pages will benefit as well as a variety of other users like photographers and game sites. Their results will now crop up in the search results – possibly leading to new SEO tricks.
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