On the Web, linking to a SWF directly is not a very attractive option. You can’t control the content around the SWF or the title of the page in the browser title area. It’s also difficult to add content that’s friendly to search engines, and it’s impossible to detect a Flash version or provide alternate content for people with special needs. For these reasons, most developers choose to embed their SWFs in an HTML page for their end users.
2008, Chris Allen, Wade Arnold, Aral Balkan, Nicolas Cannasse, John Grden, Moses Gunesch, Marc Hughes, R. Jon MacDonald, Andy Zupko, The Essential Guide to Open Source Flash Development, Berkeley, Calif.: Friends of Ed, Apress, page 131