For about the past 10 years, the primary language for the internet as we know it has been HTML 4.0. Still a work in progress, the newest update to Hyper Text Markup Language, HTML 5, is being designed to singlehandedly handle what HTML4 could only do with added-on third party software, such as Adobe Flash.
HTML 5 promises more flexibility for developers which means more functionality for users, and more interoperability between browsers (Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, Windows Explorer) and devices (phones, computers, Ipads - anything that can connect to the web). Webpages will load faster and can be indexed and searched more efficiently with HTML5's updated source code tags and element structure. For SEO, cleaner code is great news!
Probably the most notable of HTML 5 benefits would have to be its ability to embed audio and video files without having to rely on third party plug-ins (Quicktime, Windows Media Player, Flash). Up until now, you need to have at least one of these on your computer (or device) to view any sites with any video or animation. (You may not know it, but it's in there.) Most mobile devices can't handle the extra software, so sites that look fine on your computer will not work the same on your smartphone. Some phones claim they are Flash compatible, but at the expense of constant crashing and at least half its battery life!
Probably the largest video collection site on the web, YouTube, already supports HTML 5, so you can watch without Flash. With HTML 5, video/sound/animation/interactive graphics can all be on your site, with no dependency on other software and no limitations on the receiving end: it's all right there in the code. Which brings us back to SEO: if search engines can read it, it can be optimized - unlike Flash!
But don't worry about going through the trouble of having your site rewritten from scratch; HTML5 is also backwards compatible. And although most web browsers are already becoming HTML 5 compliant, it's still a ways away from becoming the new standard.
I've spent my life chasing the elusive goal of being thin. Last spring I took the leap and joined a gym. The gym owner, Sandy Condon of New Life Health and Wellness and I met while members of a networking and mastermind group. Sandy needed some one to build her web site and develop an Internet Marketing plan for her business. I asked Sandy if she could help me reach my fitness goals. Ultimately, Sandy hired me to be her Internet Marketing Consultant and I hired her to be my Personal Trainer and Wellness Coach. Why a trainer?
1. I knew if I had a regular appointment I would show up which is half the battle.
2. I didn't have the knowledge, training or time to put together a plan for myself.
3. I wanted a good return on my investment of time and money. Sandy would push me harder than I would push myself.
Both Sandy and I have worked hard over the past year. When Sandy sees my energy lagging, we talk about our businesses and families as a diversion. Recently she told me she was having a difficult time keeping her marketing plan on track. I asked her if it would help if I spent an hour a month with her reviewing her progress and setting her goals for the next month. She agreed that it would be very useful. So now we are Personal Trainers for each other. By holding each other accountable, we will both see a return on our investments. My return with be continued good health and hers will be a healther bottom line.
Internet Marketing is similar to an exercise plan in that you have to do the work to see results. Hiring an Internet Marketing Personal Trainer (Internet Marketing Consultant) could mean the difference between success and failure or your Internet Marketing Plan.
Most web site development companies have tools that they prefer to work with and languages they prefer to code in. We become comfortable over time with what we feel works best for our customers and for ourselves. Since the focus of my business is Internet Marketing (or Search Engine Marketing), I tend to develop web sites that can be search engine optimized to the fullest. Organic search engine optimization is a passion of mine. So, I find myself a bit frazzled when I see a company selling web sites built totally in Flash. Don't get me wrong, Flash is a nice tool and can turn out some impressive looking web sites. But, do the companies that sell full Flash web sites to their clients do so because they like working with Flash? Do they feel it is better to have a beautiful web site than one that will rank well organically? Or, do they know something that I don't know about optimizing Flash sites?
A fully Flash web site in my mind is one that has no content other than what resides in the Flash files (.swf). It contains Flash navigation, all text is part of the Flash file and does not use HTML landing pages or a blog. Many successful sites embed pieces of FLash content to add visual interest. I am sure that some have built a Flash site and supplemented it with landing pages and a blog to keep it fresh and ranked organically.
Second, in my opinion, a web site that cannot be maintained by the client makes it difficult for them to implement an Internet Marketing Plan. Fresh, optimized content is the key. If an outside designer is needed to update title tags, description tags or add new pages the site will not become an effective marketing tool. Although it was the norm for many years to hire a web site designer to maintain the company web site, content management systems have become necessary and more desirable.
With these two things in mind, I struggle with believing that a company who builds a full Flash site for a client has their Search Engine Marketing needs in mind. I have had a number of Flash developers argue the point with me. They sight the fact that some advances have been made by the search engines that allow them to read Flash files. Some point out that an HTML version of the site can be used to submit to the search engines or XML copies of the site can be created. I remain unconvinced. If a second copy exists how are they kept in sync without a huge development budget. I assume that you would want all versions to have the same content. If the intention is to submit a version to the search engines and serve up a different, less up to date Flash version to the visitors, that seems a bit silly and black hat to me. Is a Flash web site so appealing to the eye that companies are willing to pay for the high cost of development and upkeep? Or, does the customer not understand that the site will not rank well organically if it is not search engine optimized and appealing from a content perspective? Is it worth adding pay per click costs on top of the development costs in order to draw visitors?
I have researched this topic on a regular basis for many years and have not found convincing evidence that a Flash web site (as stated above) can compete with an HTML site for organic ranking. So, I am challenging any one who believes that have done so to comment here. If you have created a fully Flash web site that ranks well and competes head to head with HTML sites for a set of keywords, please comment. I am not trying to get you to reveal your secret but would appreciate some proof. I am genuinely interested in knowing if it is possible and I am sure I am not alone. Please send me a link so I can analyze the site. If you believe as I do that a Flash site is not the best choice from an Internet Marketing perspective, please comment as well. I will continue to gather information and will post on this topic again.
The folks at HubSpot are very bright and hard working. You wouldn't suspect how hard they work if you saw one of their videos though. They seem to have so much fun! They are all about inbound marketing - internet marketing may be a term you are more familiar with. What is it exactly? Inbound marketing leverages internet technologies such as your website and social media to draw potential clients to you. Traditional outbound marketing pushes information about your products or services to the marketplace hoping that the right people notice. There is no one better at describing inbound marketing than the marketing team at HubSpot. They just released a new video titled "You Oughta Know Inbound Marketing. If you haven't seen it, check it out here and then go to YouTube to see their other videos. They are all very entertaining...at least to us internet marketing geeks.
More HubSpot Internet Marketing Videos
I taught a seminar at the Corridor Nine Area Chamber of Commerce last week about "Generating Leads For Your Business Via Networking Online" The chamber has a group of young professionals (HYPE9) and my friend and colleague, Pete Caputa, presented the seminar to them earlier this year. I was asked to do a similar seminar for the 'older' folks (40 and over) who didn't get the lingo quite as easily. It went very well and the "old folks" where very enthusiastic and had no trouble understanding the concepts. Us old folks get a bad rap ;) I attended a networking breakfast the next day and one of the people who had attended told me she enjoyed it and got the message which really seemed to surprise her. She asked me if I had to "dumb it down" for the group. I assured her I had not done so. It got me thinking how I would have done so had I needed to. The concepts aren't difficult. In fact, I thought it was really all about knowing what you needed to include and how much; similar to a recipe. So, here goes... a very simple recipe for Internet Marketing Success.
Ingredients:
1 Website (doesn't have to be pretty but needs to be easy to update and to crawl)
1 blog (hosted on your site or on a sub-domain)
Heaps of good quality content
Generous amount of good quality inbound links
Patience and determination
Generate list of keywords and map them to your page content. Optimize your pages for the appropriate keywords. Blog frequently sprinkling keywords generously. Do not overdue it - nobody likes a keyword spammer. Pepper blog posts with links to good quality site content to taste.
Continue adding good quality content including blog posts. Measure and optimize. Apply patience and determination while repeating this last step until desired results have been obtained.
Note: As with all good recipes you can substitute store bought (buy placement with pay per click ads) or substitute inferior ingredients for the good quality ones. The result, however, will be a lot less appealing, sustaining and could result in failure.