[SWFObject] SWFObject VS Google Quality Guidelines

[Chris Colman]

Quality guidelines - basic principles
*	Make pages for users, not for search engines. Don't deceive your
users or present different content to search engines than you display to
users, which is commonly referred to as "cloaking." 
*	...
Quality guidelines - specific guidelines
*	Avoid hidden text or hidden links. 
*	Don't employ cloaking or sneaky redirects. 
*	...
Placing content inside the SWFObject target layers can be considered as
"cloaking"? ...or as hiding text or links?  ...both?
 
I think the intent of the "cloaking" that google refers to is
"deliberate deception". This is definitely not the intent when you are
using SWFObject and provide the exact same links in your "alternate
text" as you have in your Flash movie. There is definitely no deliberate
deception because you are merely providing the exact same links but in a
text based form instead of in a binary form in the .swf that most (all?)
search engines can not yet read (they can read text from a .SWF but not
links - as far as I know).
 
I also don't think they could be referred to as "hidden" links because
if the browser doesn't have the Flash plug in then they are not hidden.
 
I think google is referring to the "hidden" or deceptive methods that
some unscrupulous types use like creating white text on a white
background in a tiny font size - that's deceptive and classified as true
'cloaking'. I would hope google is smart enough not to place ethical
SWFObject users under the same umbrella as deceptive "cloaker" types.
 
Chris Colman
Step Ahead Software
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