SEO: Title Tags of the Rich and Famous

Ken Gaebler

Most big companies underutilize SEO. A Walker Sands analysis of Fortune 100 company SEO tactics shows considerable room for improvement.

It must be nice to be so big that you don't even have to bother understanding search engine optimization (SEO) basics.

Based on a quick analysis of Fortune 100 SEO practices, it appears that many large companies don't yet have religion on the importance of SEO to drive business growth.

Even SEO newbies understand the value of the HTML title tag in driving search engine results. Of the hundreds of factors that influence search engine results, the title tag is arguably the most important SEO factor.

In this blog post, I've listed the home page title tags for every Fortune 100 company, and the results are a bit surprising.

The quick takeaway from these results is that the vast majority of Fortune 100 companies haven't bothered to optimize their home page title tag.

It's indicative of all-around SEO ineptitude. If the home page is not well optimized, based on some spot checks, I've found that it's highly likely that the rest of the site is not well-optimized.

I wonder if the CEOs and Marketing SVPs of these Fortune 100 companies ever wonder why they don't show up well in the search results.

Walker Sands, which has a very strong SEO consulting offering, could take these companies to the stratosphere in terms of SEO results, as could a few other top SEO consulting firms. For many of these Fortune 100 companies, it would undoubtedly drive revenues in a way that would be 1000X ROI on the investment they'd have to make. It would maybe even let them blast past their earnings targets, which so heavily play into the overall company valuations.

It's odd. Most of these Fortune 100 firms don't seem to understand the power they have in their hip pocket, power that the vast majority of them are not tapping into.

Seriously, this is some serious firepower that is sitting idle. Because they are mostly public companies with zillions of inbound links, they've got the Google PageRank to dominate the search results. But they don't. Why is that?

If you've got an idea as to why large companies don't do SEO well, please post a comment below. In the meantime, for your perusal, here are the title tags of the Fortune 100, for better and for worse.

Fortune 100 SEO In Action -- Home Page Title Tags

• #1 Wal-Mart - Walmart.com: Save money. Live better.
• #2 Exxon Mobile - Exxon Mobil Corporation
• #3 Chevron - Chevron Corporation Home - Human Energy
• #4 General Motors - General Motors | Corporate Website | GM
• #5 ConocoPhillips - ConocoPhillips
• #6 General Electric - GE : imagination at work
• #7 Ford - Ford Motor Company: Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Hybrids, Parts - Ford
• #8 Citigroup - Welcome to Citi
• #9 Bank of America - Bank of America | Home | Personal
• #10 AT&T - AT&T | Wireless, DSL Internet, U-verse, Digital TV, and Phone Service
• #11 Berkshire Hathaway - BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.
• #12 JP Morgan Chase - JPMorgan Chase
• #13 AIG - American International Group, Inc. - Corporate Information
• #14 Hewlett-Packard - HP United States - Computers, Laptops, Servers, Printers and more
• #15 IBM - IBM - United States
• #16 Valero Energy - Valero
• #17 Verizon - Verizon | Residential & Business High Speed Internet/Broadband (DSL), Fiber-Optic and Satellite TV (FiOS and DIRECTV), Phone Plans, Bundles and Wireless
• #18 McKesson - Health Care Information Technology Medical-Surgical Supplies and Pharmaceutical Distributor: McKesson
• #19 Cardinal Health - Cardinal Health - Making healthcare safer and more productive
• #20 Goldman Sachs - Goldman Sachs
• #21 Morgan Stanley - Morgan Stanley
• #22 Home Depot - Shop HomeDepot.com for Appliances, Patio Furniture, Hampton Bay Lighting & Fans, Power Tools & much more
• #23 Procter & Gamble - PG.com Home: sustainability, company, brands
• #24 CVS Caremark - Caremark
• #25 United Health Group - UnitedHealth Group - Home
• #26 Kroger - Kroger - Home
• #27 Boeing - The Boeing Company
• #28 AmerisourceBergen - AmerisourceBergen
• #29 Costco - Costco.com: Offering thousands of items you won’t find in your local Costco.
• #30 Merrill Lynch - Merrill Lynch – financial management and advisory
• #31 Target - Target.com - Furniture, Baby, Electronics, Toys, Women's Clothing & more
• #32 State Farm - State Farm Insurance - Auto, Life, Homeowners, & More
• #33 WellPoint - WellPoint
• #34 Dell - Dell Laptops, Desktop Computers, Monitors, Printers & PC Accessories | Dell
• #35 Johnson & Johnson - Johnson & Johnson - Health Care Products & Pharmaceuticals
• #36 Marathon Oil - Marathon Oil Corporation
• #37 - Lehman Brothers - NO LONGER IN BUSINESS :(
• #38 Wachovia - Wachovia - Personal Finance and Business Financial Services
• #39 United Technologies - UTC - High technology for building & aerospace industries
• #40 Walgreens - Welcome to Walgreens - Your Home for Prescriptions, Photos and Health Information
• #41 Wells Fargo - Wells Fargo Home Page
• #42 Dow Chemical - The Dow Chemical Company
• #43 MetLife - MetLife | Life Insurance and other Financial Services
• #44 Microsoft - Microsoft Corporation
• #45 Sears Holdings - Sears Holdings Corporation - Homepage - Official Site of Sears Holdings
• #46 UPS - Shipping, Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain Management from UPS
• #47 Pfizer - Pfizer.com | Pfizer: the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company
• #48 Lowe’s - Lowe's Home Improvement: Buy Kitchen Cabinets, Paint, Appliances & Flooring
• #49 Time Warner - Time Warner
• #50 Caterpillar -
• #51 Medco Health Solutions - Prescription drug benefits & orders; health & wellness resources: Medco
• #52 ADM - ADM: Home
• #53 Fannie Mae - Redirecting from: Fannie Mae Home Page
• #54 Freddie Mac - Freddie Mac's Homepage
• #55 Safeway - Safeway - Find a store near you
• #56 Sunoco - Sunoco, Inc.
• #57 Lockheed Martin - Lockheed Martin - We never forget who we're working for
• #58 Sprint Nextel - Cell Phones, Mobile Phones, and Wireless Calling Plans from Sprint
• #59 PepsiCo - PepsiCo Corporate Site | PepsiCo.com
• #60 Intel - Laptop, Notebook, Desktop, Server and Embedded Processor Technology - Intel
• #61 Altria Group - Welcome to Altria
• #62 Supervalu - SUPERVALU INC. - Grocery Retail and Supply Chain Services
• #63 Kraft Foods - Kraft Foods - Great Recipes and Food Ideas
• #64 Allstate - Allstate - Auto Insurance Quotes Online - Official Site for Car Insurance, Home Insurance, Financial Products & More
• #65 Motorola - Motorola Home - Motorola USA
• #66 Best Buy - Best Buy
• #67 Walt Disney - Disney | The Official Home Page for All Things Disney
• #68 FedEx - Shipping, Logistics Management and Supply Chain Management from FedEx
• #69 Ingram Micro - Ingram Micro
• #70 Sysco - Sysco Corporation
• #71 Cisco Systems - Cisco Systems, Inc
• #72 Johnson Controls - Johnson Controls Inc. | Home US
• #73 Honeywell International - Home - Honeywell International
• #74 Prudential Financial - Prudential | Retirement, Life Insurance, Real Estate, Benefits
• #75 American Express - American Express Credit Cards, Rewards, Travel & Business Services
• #76 Northrop Grumman - Northrop Grumman Corporation - A Leader in Global Security
• #77 Hess - Hess Corporation
• #78 GMAC - Financial Services - Auto Financing - Vehicle Insurance | GMAC
• #79 Comcast - Comcast Official Website | High-Speed Internet, Cable, Phone Service Provider
• #80 Alcoa - Alcoa, Inc. -- primary aluminum (aluminium) and fabricated aluminum products
• #81 DuPont - DuPont. The miracles of science™
• #82 New York Life Insurance - New York Life Insurance Company - The Company You Keep
• #83 Coca Cola - Coca-Cola United States
• #84 News Corporation - News Corporation
• #85 Aetna - Aetna - Health, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care insurance benefits.
• #86 TIAA-CREF - TIAA-CREF - Retirement planning for those in the academic, medical, cultural & research fields.
• #87 General Dynamics - General Dynamics
• #88 Tyson Foods - Tyson.com
• #89 HCA - HCA, Inc. - Home Page
• #90 Enterprise GP Holdings - Enterprise GP Holdings L.P.
• #91 Macy’s - Macy's - Clothing, Shoes, Bed & Bath, Kitchen, Beauty Brands & Sunglasses
• #92 Delphi - Delphi is a leading global supplier for the automotive, computing, communications, energy, and consumer accessories markets.
• #93 Travelers - Travelers Insurance | Auto Insurance | Car Insurance Quotes | Business | Homeowners
• #94 Liberty Mutual - Auto insurance, Home insurance and more | Liberty Mutual
• #95 Hartford Financial Services - Affordable Auto Insurance, Investments, Retirement
• #96 Abbott Labs - Abbott Labs: Global Health Care & Medical Research
• #97 Washington Mutual - Wamu.com, home of WaMu Free Checking is now Chase
• #98 Humana - HUMANA - Guidance when you need it most
• #99 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance - MassMutual | Whole Life Insurance, Retirement and Financial Services
• #100 3M - 3M Global Gateway Page