Assuming it was ignorant of them, JCPenney could probably have uncovered its SEO problems before the New York Times did by using webmaster tools such as SEOmoz's , which was used in the report. Billed as a link popularity checker and backlink analysis tool, Open Site Explorer is free for up to 1000 links with metrics. Another such tool is . You need to use such tools regularly to monitor your search traffic, rankings and backlinks for any irregularities.

Of course, the JCPenney story is of particular concern to companies that outsource their SEO. This is a very common practice, and the story highlights how dangerous it can be. Just as close supervision is critical to the outsourcing of other functions, such customer support, so it is for SEO.

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