Juzer Burhani

The JavaScripted SWFObject is a popular way to include Flash files. Recently, Google announced better support for crawling Flash files, and in an update they added to their original post, they now also say: <> On another note, Google adds: <> via Google Blogoscoped

Google announced they improved their handing of Flash files in search results; they say they now have a better ability “to index textual content in SWF files of all kinds,” including buttons, gadgets and so on. Google were already able to find and read Flash files to some extent, but now, to quote them (my emphasis):
<Our algorithm remembers all of the text that it encounters along the way, and that content is then available to be indexed. We can’t tell you all of the proprietary details, but we can tell you that the algorithm’s effectiveness was improved by utilizing Adobe’s new Searchable SWF library.>>
Additionally to finding text, Google says they’re also finding URLs to feed them to their “crawling pipeline.” Apparently, all with a little help from Flash-maker Adobe.

Limitations

Google write they may not be able to execute some types of JavaScript, though, so “if your web page loads a Flash file via JavaScript, Google may not be aware of that Flash file”. Also, external resources loaded into the Flash – say, an XML content file for a cross-language Flash application – while perhaps being separately indexed, will not be considered part of the main Flash content. Google additionally suggests there are some problems at the moment with bidirectional languages used in Flash.
Note that Google’s stated JavaScript limitation may not apply to all types of inclusions. For instance, a search for site:sketchswap.com filetype:swf (replace the domain with your own to check) reveals that Google indexed the Flash file my friend and I included via the popular, JavaScript-based SWFObject library (not to say that this was the route Google took to discover the SWF).

Adobe announced that it provided some its Flash technology to Google and Yahoo in order to improve the indexing of SWF files and especially Flex applications. "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."



To solve this problem, Adobe decided to share Flash Player technology that allows search engines to walk through a SWF file and simulate user interactions. "We've developed an algorithm that explores Flash files in the same way that a person would, by clicking buttons, entering input, and so on. Our algorithm remembers all of the text that it encounters along the way, and that content is then available to be indexed," explains Google's Webmaster Blog. The indexing algorithm, which is already live, has some important limitations: it ignores Flash files loaded using JavaScript and it separately handles external resources loaded by Flash files.



I couldn't find too many Flash sites that are fully indexed by Google, probably because we need to wait until Google updates its index.

Google has been developing a new algorithm for indexing textual content in Flash files of all kinds, from Flash menus, buttons and banners, to self-contained Flash websites. Recently, we've improved the performance of this Flash indexing algorithm by integrating Adobe's Flash Player technology.

In the past, web designers faced challenges if they chose to develop a site in Flash because the content they included was not indexable by search engines. They needed to make extra effort to ensure that their content was also presented in another way that search engines could find.

Now that we've launched our Flash indexing algorithm, web designers can expect improved visibility of their published Flash content, and you can expect to see better search results and snippets. There's more info on the Webmaster Central blog about the Searchable SWF integration.

Recently I stumbled upon an amazing site which uses flash to show the Blue Whale in Life Size.
its here. Check it out. Do wait till the tiles get loaded.