Chicago Web Design Flash and SEO is OK!

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A common misnomer (that even I believed until I read a few debunking articles) is that Flash websites can't rank well even with search engine optimization in place because search engines can't read them. There are plenty of examples that state otherwise (there's a flash website that's been number one for our keywords for ages). Years ago, this would've been very difficult/impossible, but since yesteryears, there have been several advances in the world of flash web design regarding SEO.

You must keep in mind, a website won't rank well with external search engine optimization alone. It won't rank well with internal SEO alone, and the design of the Flash must be taken into account. Websites rank according to relevancy and popularity. Nothing else. Your focus needs to shift towards a web design shift and towards building strong link popularity and niche authority.

First things first: Indexing a Flash website is not impossible since Google rolled out a Flash update in 2008. Big news! Aside from Google and other major search engines indexing your website, here are a few things you can start with to get your SEO on point:

1. Promote your brand and hire an SEO company to create useful and authoritative links to your most important website pages.

2. Make sure your SEO company has optimized your meta tags and descriptions with a strong call to action. Most importantly, your SEO company should be optimizing your title tags to include your most important and relevant keywords. But no spamming!!

3. Be sure your Chicago web design company is placing as much HTML in the code as they can and that the SEO you're working with is linking to the HTML part of the page.

4. Lastly, ask your Chicago web design company to break the pages into several flash files instead of one large flash file. It will give them the opportunity to add more html and make your website that much easier to optimize with relevant text and linking.

Flash is a wonderful tool to add attractive items to your website design, and please don't be scared to use Flash because it's associated with bad stigma in the SEO world. Like most internet issues, it's always improving and always finding ways to be a better product. Your Chicago SEO company should be following good and ethical SEO practices and taking from Google's strict optimization guidelines. It won't be long before Google figures out a way to crawl Flash sites just as well as pure HTML.

For more information on Chicago Web Design, and Search Engine Optimization, give Integraphix, a Chicago Marketing Company, a call at 847.537.0067 or email us! Visit our website at http://www.integraphix.com

Chicago Graphic Design and Chicago Internet Marketing available as well.

JC Penney SEO Fiasco

New York Times author, David Segal, recently published "The Dirty Little Secrets of Search" that describes how JCPenney.com and their marketing company utilized black-hat SEO tactics to rank high in Google for several keywords. JC Penney's SEO Firm unfortunately engaged in what's known as 'anchor-text-based paid links' which are stated plainly in Google's terms of services as being a strict NO NO. We all know that paid links are great for rankings but they can come back to haunt you and your website in the future. And we all know that some SEO firms continue to use this tactic even though they know the consequences.


Marketing Company in Chicago

The article is completely valid in sense that black-hat SEO is a horrid practice, should deter this type of search engine optimization. But blanketing the whole profession and making us look like a bunch of blog spammers is not cool! We at Integraphix, a White Hat SEO and Internet Marketing Company, give the author credit for quoting Google as stating, "[Google] draws a pretty thick line between techniques it considers deceptive and ‘white hat’ approaches, which are offered by hundreds of consulting firms and are legitimate ways to increase a site’s visibility." 

After reading Mr. Segal's article though, the uneducated are going to be quite disgusted and turned off with the SEO profession and strategic manipulation of the search engines and this I think is quite unfair.

1. There are Good and Bad Firms EVERYWHERE!

Black Hat SEO

Just because JCPenney decided to do it the wrong way, doesn't mean that every SEO Firm in the world is marketing their clients this way. There are many a credible, trustworthy and ethical SEO company that doesn't violate Google or any other Search Engine's rules. My own company, Integraphix, is an example of a Marketing Company in Chicago that provides white-hat SEO which doesn't violate rules and provides organic optimization.  JCPenney gives SEO a bad name, but Kesha gives a bad name to music and Michael Vick gives athletes a bad name. The main point is - there are bad eggs everywhere, and a blanket bad name shouldn't be said about an industry.

2. You have the right to question your SEO Company!

An SEO company with nothing to hide will hide nothing. Of course there are going to be details that you don't understand, but your Marketing Company should be able to present examples of what they've done for others. Understand that there are aspects of SEO strategy that companies classify as 'proprietary information' and will not give out less their strategy is stolen, but other than that, they should be open.

We're not trying to pat ourselves on the back, but Integraphix has always and will always provide white hat, effective SEO services to our clients and we abide by all search engine rules. There are no shortcuts, and there are no skeezy manipulations. No paid links. No link farms. No unethical SEO! But whether you use us or not, make sure your company is not risking the future of your website rankings and that you're leaving your financial future into the hands of real professionals.

Integraphix, a Chicago Marketing Company

~ Integraphix, a Chicago SEO Company