Text vs Image vs Flash-SEO options!!

[loganwolf]

Which 1 should one go for when building a website?
Since i have heard and read a few things about this but i am still working on my SEO side.

I am working on a website now and i want it to look professional so i am thinking of putting lots of things in there(like images,videos etc), now i am also hoping to properly optimize the site for search engines, so what i wanna know is- will putting images and videos affect my SEO? since i have read that Search engine crawlers do not understand jpeg or flash files and they don't index them.

SEO experts' opinion required!

[dburk]

Hi loganwolf,

Search engines will index your web pages based on the text in your pages. Images and videos have no effect. You need to add titles, captions, descriptions and alternative text.

You may also want to consider that "putting lots of things in there" isn't what makes a web page look professional.

[david-forer]

I am not an expert but I think most professional websites are good when the user finds them useful. That is clean and simple with great information. Not busy with all kinds of flash pictures etc. that take away from the educational experience most browsers are looking for. Overdoing it with non essential crap will not make it professional

[loganwolf]

Originally Posted by dburk

Hi loganwolf,

Search engines will index your web pages based on the text in your pages. Images and videos have no effect. You need to add titles, captions, descriptions and alternative text.

You may also want to consider that "putting lots of things in there" isn't what makes a web page look professional.

what i meant was i want my site to be interactive and user friendly+eye catching, and video and images have a bigger impact on a user than plain text, but i am more concerned about the SEO problems
For ex if i want to have a product slideshow(images) on a page with nothing else on it, search engines won't able read it or index it for that matter.
i know that search engine robots only read the title and the alternate text of an image or a video but that doesn't solve the problem here!

any ways, i appreciate you taking your time to answer my query.
All the best!

P.S- The site i am talking about is hypothetical, i just wanna learn a few things.