I constantly hear comments like “Don’t use Flash on your site because it will really hurt you in the search engines.”

I would lump this in with a growing number of unsubstantiated theories thrown out by armchair SEO experts that are more conjecture than substance.

There is no question that if you have a Flash-only site and you want to have any exposure in organic search engine listings, you really have your work cut out for you. But there are many creative ways to work keyword-rich text into a page that makes strong use of Flash content.

And there is more. As of Fall ‘08, Google is starting to index content that is contained within Flash objects. Very cool stuff.

Here are a few great sources:

Google Webmaster Central

Brian Ussery – Beu Blog

Flash indexing does look to be a work in progress, but the progress should come quickly in ‘09 as search engines strive to support sites with rich content.

Our recommendations for January ‘09 are as follows:

1. If top search engine placement is one of your prime objectives for your site, minimize your use of Flash unless you have expertise with SEO.

2. If integration of Flash is important to you – either to enhance your marketing message or to add functionality, go for it. Just make sure you include alternate text content on your pages that incorporate Flash.

3. Let me qualify point #2. If you have an ecommerce site and your use of Flash consists of a large, cheesey animation on your home page, you would be better off ditching the flash and making some better use of your valuable screen real  estate.

4. Keep yourself up-to-date with the new developments in Flash indexing or align yourself with someone who has this knowledge.

5. Don’t forget about general accessibility issues. Flash can present some issues for users with disabilities. Don’t leave these users in the dark.

Readers of this blog know that I’ve always been a big fan of John Jantsch and his Duct Tape Marketing Blog. I think John is a great resource for small business owners looking for an expert for resources and ideas. I’ve written about him before, regarding his tips for shortcuts to content creation on your website or blog, using RSS feeds to automatically add content through bookmarking, and strategies for clarifying your business identity.

John has a community for small business owners and marketers that he calls the Workbench. It’s a place where members can go to get ideas and tips and share their ideas with others. Recently on John’s blog, he asked his readers to share their business stories through video or audio, which he would then upload to the Workbench. A lot of business owners have joined John ’s Workbench and added their videos and podcasts, article marketing tips and ideas to their community.

This seemed like an idea worth sharing with our blog readers, and especially our MightyMerchant customers, as I know so many of you have very interesting stories behind your businesses and have a lot of personal interests that drive your success. Check out some of the other business inspiration videos and consider adding yours to the site.

Your video doesn’t have to be fancy. You can just point the camera at yourself and start talking! Share your story, ideas, or your passions and John will upload it to his Workbench so that others can view it. You’ll get some video you can use elsewhere on your site or blog, post to YouTube perhaps, and get a little traffic from the folks who drop by John’s Workbench.

Tags: business, story, video, business, ideas, tips, upload, video, host, video

Adding video to your site doesn’t have to be a difficult proposition. In fact, it isn’t! I have written about adding video before: in a recent blog post about adding multimedia, and in an article in MightyMerchant’s October 2006 newsletter, SiteBeat, about adding streaming video content.

To those of you who have never utilized the services of Google Video or YouTube, the process might seem intimidating. I’m here to tell you that it’s actually quite easy, so if you have ever had the idea to add some video content to your website or blog, there should be nothing holding you back. Let’s take a look at how the process works and why you might want to use video.

Adding Streaming Media

Streaming video or audio files are sent in compressed form over the Internet. The file is played as it arrives, in almost real time. With the advent in recent years of large web content providers such as YouTube and Google Video, the equipment and infrastructure necessary to serve huge quantities of video and audio at little or no cost is in place and provided free for the general public to use in almost any way they like. [Note-As I write this, I just learned via TechCrunch today that Yahoo has relaunched Yahoo Video with some changes to the service. Instead of offering only user-generated content, Yahoo Video is now displaying videos from other Yahoo properties music, movies, TV, news and sports.]

Here is how the process works:

1. Set up an account with a streaming media provider, such as Google Video, Yahoo! Video, or YouTube.
2. Create a video, using basic video recording equipment. For marketing purposes, the video should be of as high a quality as you can afford.
3. Upload your video to your account, using the service’s terms of use. There will be instructions to guide you through the upload process. It’s usually just a click or two, no different than uploading a jpeg image.
4. The service provider will typically review the video for appropriate content, resulting in a short delay before the video is made available to you to post publicly.
5. Some services allow the videos to be set to ‘private,’ so only users you invite can view the videos. In order to post your video on your website or blog, you must allow the video to be public, to be shared, or to be ‘embedded.’
6. The streaming media provider will generate a code or URL to display your video stream. This code can be pasted right into your WordPress blog through the ‘upload video’ feature, or added to your website for other uses.
7. There is a little bit of setup work involved on our end to include the video stream on your website, but typically, it can be accomplished in less than 30 minutes

One of our clients, DenLorsTools.com, sells automotive tools and supplies and mechanics equipment. They created a series of videos which are viewable on YouTube and on their site. Over the past 6 months, their video “Bench Bleeding a Master Cylinder” has been viewed more than 6,000 times. Check it out for yourself by going to YouTube.com and doing a search for “DenLors Tools.” Other videos include Volt Tester Tool, and Using the Robinair 34700 A/C Machine.

On DenLorsTools.com, the videos are placed in the “Tech Articles” category, where one of the most-watched videos is “Honda and Acura Timing Belt Tips, Crank Pulley Tool.”

Marketing benefits of video

Obviously, the primary benefit is free advertising! Each time someone views DenLors’ videos, they’re getting a message like, “Free shipping $99 and up at DenLors Tools.com.” or information about the various products they sell and pricing. This is permission-based marketing at its best. The people viewing his videos are choosing to watch them, they’re interested in the subject already, and all DenLors Tools owner Dennis has to do is put the message in front of them.

Dennis explained some of the benefits he has seen from including video: “Customers do mention the videos when they call and we have noticed an increase in sales on some of the products featured in the videos. We even had a salesman from the manufacturer of the Honda crank pulley tool (Powerbuilt) contact us to say he saw it on YouTube and that it was a great idea.”

Ideas for integrating video into your site’s content

The popularity of video sites like YouTube can’t be underestimated. People turn to videos for entertainment and information. There are lots of ‘how to’ type videos on YouTube already, so it’s natural that people would check there for ‘how to’ information on auto repair and tools, like what Dennis has created.

What can you offer? A tour of your facility? The making of a hand-crafted object? How to use or install one of your products? Before and after project images?

The possibilities really are endless.

Chances are you’re aware that even print publications like newspapers and magazines utilize audio and video on their websites. Search for “New York Times” and their website returns the title, “The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia.” So, when serving only written content isn’t enough for even a print publication, maybe there’s some substance to this idea of utilizing audio and video to create a more engaging website.

I’m not talking about starting a viral marketing campaign with some wacky interactive game or videos of your employees in chicken suits doing the Macarena, but if you wanted to take your marketing in this direction you certainly could. (If you do this, make sure to send me a link, I want to see it! lol)

What I’m talking about is simply harnessing the power of video or audio clips to provide more incentive for your customers to buy your products. I can think of a number of ways this would be beneficial.

• A product that is complicated to use or install-post a video of the process. Even if you think a product is simple to use, it may not be for other people, and a visual of the process helps provide confidence to buy.
• A product that is adjustable for the user’s size-post a video of the process.
• A product that is meant to be used in conjunction with another product-post a video of the process.
• Demos of just about any type of product.
• Walk people through a more detailed description with up close images of almost any product-you guessed it, post a video.
• Are you an artist or craftsman? Post a video of yourself making your art.
• Do you sell handmade items? Post a video of the person making the item and talking about it.
• Post video of real testimonials about your products.
• How about a walking tour of your facilities? Yep, post a video!

Audio and video enrich a website and if used correctly can engage your customers on a deeper level than the written word alone. (But sites that automatically begin playing audio or video are often more annoying than effective.) Here’s an example of a site, LifeBites.com, that uses video and audio effectively. From the left-navigation menu, click on ‘Daily Bite,’ and you are rewarded with a sound clip. LifeBites.com posts video interviews, and features change. Another site, Cervelo.com, sells engineered racing bicycles. The site was not designed by a professional so it is not as polished as you would expect for a highly successful company, but a large part of their success lies in their effective utilization of thorough product descriptions, historical archives, blogs, video and images.

Have you seen any examples of good use of video on a site? If so, please share them!

Tags: Multimedia, Website, audio, video