Here’s an interesting question posed by Marketing Pilgrim. Does Google have a right to give searchers the option to skip intro whenever they are about to visit a sight with a Flash landing page?
I think so. Google has no obligation to webmasters to show their site exactly as the webmaster wishes. Google exists for searchers, not webmasters. And the search engine has said all along that it’s primary mission is to help searchers find information. Webmasters should make it their primary mission to help Google, and the other search engines, do a better job of doing just that. Flash intros impede the information searching game for searchers.
You know what I’m talking about. You search for a certain type of information and find a result on the SERP that looks like it might be what you want. You click the link and you land on a web page that has a Flash intro. It loads slowly. Sometimes you have a “skip intro” option and sometimes you don’t. Webmaster’s choice, right? Sure. Webmaster’s choice. But, what about on the search engine’s search results page?
This is where it gets sticky. Google can do whatever it wants with its own website and since its mission is to help searchers find the information they want, if a skip intro option on the SERP helps the searcher save time and find the HTML version of a page quicker then Google is doing what it set out to do – help the searcher find the information it is looking for.
If you are planning to build a Flash intro into your website, you might want to consider that no one will ever see it. Personally, I think Flash intros are useless. Flash in limited doses is OK, but don’t force your website users to site through a slow-loading Flash intro just because you think it’s cool.
Learn more about website design and development at Small Business Mavericks.
Hi Caroline;
Interesting post. And I agree.
In my experience with website development (particularly from a marketing perspective for small business owners) the “skip intro” link is probably the most clicked link on the internet.
I personally usually click away (not deeper into the site) when I am confronted with a flash intro, unless I am specifically interested in the site I am visiting.
I further agree that Google’s responsibility is more to the searcher, than it is to the “found”.
That being said, Google’s primary revenue source is from advertiser’s (the “found”), but their value proposition is to the people looking.
They (google) seem to have withstood the potential negative impact of the “google slap” to advertisers and site owners and by focusing on providing quality results to the people who use their search engine, they are inherently benefiting the “white-hat” website owners as well, by ensuring quality, focused site traffic.
Thanks for this (and all your other) article(s)!
– Paul
Thanks, Paul. Google’s primary revenue may be from the paid search ads they show, but it’s interesting to note that those paid searchers, like the unpaid organic listings, are a great deal responsible for their own rankings. That ensures that Google is not beholden to them. In the print world, advertisers are subject to editorial decisions with regard to placement of their ads and publications are subject to their advertisers to maintain a particular editorial “stance.” Google doesn’t have that problem and that makes these types of decisions so much easier for them.
Some people use Flash purposefully. Many seem to use it simply because it makes them feel cool.
One time on a forum, someone asked if there was a way they could force visitors to enter the site through his Flash intro. It seems that Google was directing searchers directly to the content they were looking for and Google was “depriving” them of seeing the Flash intro he was so proud of.
About a half dozen of us told him that Google directing his visitors to his content was a GOOD thing. A couple of them mentioned that it was possible to redirect all traffic like he wanted and how to do it, but they again urged him to leave his site the way Google, and his visitors, liked it and not try to force them all to view his intro.
The guy dumbfounded us all when he then replied, “I’m glad to see you all agree with me that all my traffic should go through my intro. Thanks for telling me how to do it. I’ll set up the redirects right away.” Then he disappeared, never to view that thread again.
A large majority of the Flash intros that I see seem to fall into the category of this person’s intro — done simply to satisfy the site owner’s ego, with no regard for what the visitors want or need.
I’m all for Google directing searchers straight to what is relevant to them. It’s a case where Google proves to be more customer focused than many site owners are.
Flash intros were never my favorites. There are some ad agencies (interactive Ad agencies) who have their entire website in Flash……phooooooo!…Very irritating sites indeed. But come to think about it – its those people doing it who should be already in the know about the subject matter in this blog post!!
Cheers!