Top Internet Retailers Fail at Search Engine Optimization

In their SEO research study, “Once Again… There’s Still Money on the Table: Internet Retailer Study 2007,” Oneupweb looked at the SEO efforts of the top 100 retailers as rated by Internet Retailer magazine. After examining keywords, titles, meta tags, site architecture, and other items related to a site’s “spiderability”, Oneupweb found that 61% of the top internet retailers were nominally-optimized or showed no signs of search engine optimization at all.

This 2007 SEO research study suggests that search engine optimization efforts may be backsliding amongst internet retailers. While well-optimized sites increased by 3%, moderately-optimized sites decreased by 5% and sites that showed no signs of optimization increased by 4%.

Here are some examples of internet retailers from all the categories:

• Well-optimized: Amazon.com, Dell, Best Buy, Apple.com and FTD.
• Moderately-optimized: JC Penny, Circuit City, Target, Williams Sonoma and L.L. Bean
• Nominally-optimized: Staples, Office Depot, Hewlett Packard, Office Max and Walmart
• No signs of SEO: Sears, Costco, Avon, Barnes & Noble and Toys’R’Us

So why are the top 100 internet retailers failing at search engine optimization? I think it’s a combination of: corporate executives having little to no understanding of search and many traditional marketing agencies still ignore search opportunities. But let me know your thoughts. Send in your comments about why the top internet retailers are failing at SEO.