Search Engine Optimisation for Big UK Supermarkets ‘terrible'

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by: mediarun
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Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2011 Time: 11:18 PM
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With plenty of money to throw around and hefty multi-million pound advertising budgets, you would think that the UK's largest supermarkets would be pretty sorted when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO).

However (did you see the setup coming?) you'd be wrong. A recent analysis carried out on behalf of trade publication The Grocer has revealed that many supermarkets are failing their customers, and themselves, in terms of search visibility. And none were failing more miserably than upper middle-class haven Waitrose, according to Reform, the digital consultancy which carried out the study.

Juliette van Rooyen, a consultant for Reform told The Grocer: "Waitrose is so technically hampered it is going to have a problem ranking for anything - it's terrible." The publication adds that: "the retailer's website is so poorly optimised for Internet search engines that even Morrisons, which doesn't currently operate an e-commerce site, ranks more highly."

The analysis found that the Big Four - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - fared little better, and were all, "failing to optimise their webpages for popular search terms," such as the most in demand recipes.

Clean up on aisle Internet

So what are the supermarkets doing wrong, and what could an SEO agency do to make their websites more effective? Taking Waitrose's website as an example, there is much room for improvement. Starting at the home page, there is very little textual content and much of it is in fact displayed in images, where the search engines can't read it. The site also makes extensive use of JavaScript, which the search engines dislike due to compatibility issues with some browsers and platforms.

Still on the homepage, there are a significant number of very prominent links which, even though they are to other sites either run by Waitrose or its parent company John Lewis, will still be perceived as external links. The problem with this is that it appears spammy to search engines, and may be penalised as a result.

But one of the more serious issues with the site, and with most of the other supermarket websites, is that there is very little substantial textual content there, and what there is is buried deep under countless internal links. And little content means few keywords, and keywords are the lifeblood of SEO.

The big supermarkets can get away with poor website optimisation to some extent. Because of the strength of their established branding people actually go looking for their site directly. But can the same be said of your website?

About the Author

Mediarun helps companies find customers online by focusing on enhancing online visibility. As an SEO Agency based in central London we specialise in performance (SEO), Pay Per Click PPC management, Social Media Optimisation (SMO), Mobile marketing, website optimisation and design related services.

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