ONLINE MARKETING: Is your site too flash?(management of internet marketing)

As websites become ever more visually intricate, the software employed to achieve this can often have a negative impact on search-engine rankings. So how are companies are addressing the issue?

Michele Witthaus

It is more important than ever for a business to have a striking website, both for branding and to keep the attention of visitors who are directed to it by search engines. But these two aims are not always compatible. Indeed, sometimes creative work on a website can undermine search-engine marketing.

If the site delivers a dynamic user experience through Flash animation, for example, any search-engine listing will only show the main URL, rather than deeper level content. While this is fine for visitors who want to start at the home page and browse, it works against targeted marketing to active prospects. So where should companies draw the line between interesting graphics and invisible listings? And is it an either-or scenario?

Search-engine optimisation (SEO) companies are increasingly working with businesses to help them boost their ranking. Whenever a major search engine updates some aspect of the software that determines how it looks at Web pages, site rankings rise or fall. SEO firms then study what has changed and advise on…