1 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
1 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Is the use of swfobject considered cloaking?

by seamy82
1 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi,

I was wondering if the use of swfobject is considered cloaking. I'm currently using it on a website to present the user with alternative content if their browser does not support flash. My rankings fell about ten pages after making the changes, could it be because of this? If so what are the alternatives?

Cheers,
Seamy
#cloaking #considered #swfobject
  • Profile picture of the author TheContentAuthority
    Seamy82,

    I would say no it would not be considered cloaking. This is a very common practice and promotes a good user experience. By definition, cloaking is showing one set of content to users and another set to search engine bots. Google can still crawl a site and see an swfobject and it isn’t as if you are hiding anything from a bot, you are just determining what to show based on software a visitor has available on their browser.

    Just to be safe, you can include descriptive text for search engines to let them know a flash file is present. More on how to do that here,
    Hidden text and links - Webmaster Tools Help

    Best,

    Shawn
    Signature
    Outsource to the experts...

    We customize your Blog, eBook, Press Release and Sale Copy content with your message.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7707833].message }}

Trending Topics