Industry research shows that 85% of consumers will look no further than the first search results page. But WebObjective found HMV, Virgin Megastores and Tesco beaten to the top spots by Play.com, Amazon.co.uk, CD-WOW!, 101cd.com, ChoicesUK.com and Sendit.com.
Between 18th July and 12th November this year, the firm researched the market by the eight most popular keywords on Google UK: home entertainment, cheap DVDs, DVD deals, latest DVDs, cheap CDs, latest CDs, CD deals, cheap games.
HMV.co.uk and Virginmegastores.co.uk failed to make the top 10 for any keyword. In fact, the only keyword for which either brand appeared above 50th position was HMV in the 'cheap games' keyword.
"There is so much competition in the CD, DVD and games sectors that some of the larger, more traditional players are struggling,” said Phil Hendey, CEO of WebObjective. “They are failing to capitalise on the growth of online sales in general and specifically are not taking their brand dominance onto the web.”
Tesco.com made it into the top 10 for 'CD deals' until mid-October before moving out of the top 100 altogether.
All of the online players made it into the top 10, or first page, of search engine listings in one or more keywords, according to WebObjective. Play.com was the most consistently positioned brand in the sector, reaching the top 10 in four out of its eight keywords (latest DVDs, cheap DVDs, cheap games). 101cd.com made it into the top ten for three keywords, while Amazon.co.uk, ChoicesUK.com and Sendit.com achieved the top ten in two out of seven keywords. CD-WOW! achieved top 10 for one keyword.
