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waterstones.com
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waterstones.com

17 technologies
VerifiedGrowingVisit6.4M/mo$944M3.0K17 Tech
Deep Dive

Waterstones: The Digital Survivor

How a 100-year-old bookseller built a 6M monthly visit digital empire

In an era where Amazon decimates physical retail, Waterstones has done the impossible: it built a digital moat so strong that 6.38 million people visit its website every month—without a single algorithmic advantage. This isn't just survival; it's a masterclass in digital transformation for legacy brands.

6.38M
monthly visits
#8,132
global rank
52%
organic search traffic
111M
backlinks earned

"They don't compete with Amazon on price—they compete on trust, community, and the subtle art of being human."

The Power of Physical-Digital Fusion

Waterstones.com isn't a standalone e-commerce play—it's the digital heartbeat of 290+ physical stores. With 40% direct traffic (vs. Amazon's 42%), they've achieved something rare: a customer base that seeks them out by name. This isn't search traffic; it's brand loyalty. The 6.38M monthly visitors aren't just browsing—they're members of a community that trusts Waterstones' curation over algorithmic recommendations.

The SEO Moat They Built

With 111 million backlinks and 52% organic search traffic, Waterstones has mastered the long-tail game. While competitors fight for 'books,' they own 'Waterstones jobs' (7,360 monthly searches) and 'Waterstones UK' (2,770 searches). This isn't accidental—it's a deliberate strategy to become the destination, not just a retailer. Their blog (the-waterstones-blog) acts as a content engine, feeding both search algorithms and human curiosity.

The tech stack tells a story of pragmatic modernization. They're not chasing shiny objects—jQuery, Swiper, and Tailwind CSS suggest a team that values stability over flash. Yet they've embraced PWA (Progressive Web App) technology, a smart bet on mobile-first readers. Google Analytics and Tag Manager are their compass, but the real magic is in the 4,986 Trustpilot reviews at 4.4/5 stars. That's not bought trust; it's earned through consistent delivery.

  • They own the conversation: 40% direct traffic proves brand dominance
  • Search is their superpower: 52% organic traffic means they're the default choice
  • Community over conversion: 4.4/5 rating from 5K reviews shows trust
  • Tech pragmatism: Stable stack, PWA innovation, no unnecessary complexity
No obvious affiliate program
Owns the 'Waterstones' brand search with 290K monthly volume
Limited international reach (76% traffic from undefined country)
Click & Collect bridges digital and physical seamlessly
No aggressive content marketing playbook visible
Social presence across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube—meeting customers where they are

The Unlikely Digital Giant

Waterstones proves legacy brands don't need to reinvent themselves—they need to digitize their strengths. Curation, community, and trust are the new competitive moats.

What tech stack does Waterstones use?

23 detected
Programming Languages1
CMS1
Cloud & Hosting1
Privacy & Consent1
Advertising1
Web Standards1
UI Libraries2
JavaScript Libraries3
Tracking & Analytics6
G
Google Analytics
G
Google Tag Manager
C
Cloudflare
G
Google Analytics
G
Google Tag Manager
N
New Relic

How much traffic does Waterstones get?

Traffic & Engagement

6.4M
Monthly Visits
+36.6%
3.5
Pages/Visit
5:34
Avg. Duration
58%
Bounce Rate
Monthly Traffic Trend+38%
4.6M
Oct 2025
Oct
4.7M
Nov 2025
Nov
6.4M
Dec 2025
Dec

Rankings

#9,115
Global Rank
#376
United Kingdom Rank
Retail
Category

Backlinks & Authority

111.1M
Backlinks
60.6K
Ref. Domains
69
Authority Score
Low
Penalty Risk
Backlinks Trend+38%
80.7M
Jul 2025
Jul
83.9M
Aug 2025
Aug
90.6M
Sep 2025
Sep
99.2M
Oct 2025
Oct
107.7M
Nov 2025
Nov
111.1M
Dec 2025
Dec

Search Traffic

Organic
2.2M

Top Organic Keywords

#1waterstones
823,000 vol33.8%
#1books
74,000 vol0.9%
#2book
74,000 vol0.5%
#1waterstone
12,100 vol0.5%
#1waterstones waterstones waterstones
12,100 vol0.5%

Where is Waterstones's audience located?

🇬🇧United Kingdom81.9%
🇺🇸United States5.0%
🇮🇪Ireland1.5%
🇪🇸Spain1.1%
🇩🇪Germany0.9%

Device Distribution

Desktop23.5%
Mobile76.5%

What keywords does Waterstones rank for?

5 keywords
1waterstones290.5K vol$0.58
2waterstone8.9K vol$0.55
3waterstones jobs7.4K vol$0.52
4books259.4K vol$0.96
5waterstones uk2.8K vol$0.27

How is Waterstones's SEO?

Open Graph Image

OG Image preview
og:image

https://static.waterstones.com/10.57.0/img/waterstones-logo.png

Meta Tags

title66 chars

Buy books, stationery and gifts, online and in store | Waterstones

description154 chars

Discover our full range of books at Waterstones.com. Buy online with Free UK Delivery on Orders Over £25 or Click & Collect within hours. waterstones.com

languageEN

H1 Tags

h1Waterstones Homepage

What is Waterstones's revenue?

$944M
Annual Revenue
2,969
6%
Employees
$318K
Revenue/Employee
Westminster, UK
Headquarters

Who works at Waterstones?

Loading leads...

What do customers think of Waterstones?

Waterstones

Waterstones

4.4
4,986 reviews
✓ Claimed

Categories

Book Store#undefined

Activity & Engagement

Reply Rate
70.12987012987013%
Avg. Reply Time
8.0 days
Claimed Date
9/25/2015

Contact Information

Address:
GB

Reviews (20)

Filter by rating:
Jayne
1/14/2026
🇬🇧 United Kingdom3 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Experience date: 1/14/2026
Customer Service at Waterstones is…

Customer Service at Waterstones is great. They actually get back to you within the 24 hours that they stipulate, or even quicker in my case. They sorted my problem out easily and obviously I will definitely be shopping at Waterstones again soon. Jayne

Nina Jameson
1/13/2026
🇳🇱 Netherlands8 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Experience date: 1/13/2026
Super helpful and fixed issue quickly

Perfect service from Lisa, thank you!

Andy Ansty
1/12/2026
🇬🇧 United Kingdom2 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Experience date: 1/6/2026
Gift Voucher

Spoke to Lisa who handled my equiry. Excellent service from start to finish. Clear and concise instructions of the procedure and all timescales met comfortably. Lisa made the whole experience so easy. Very professional and a credit to Waterstones. 100% easily. Andy Ansty

H Barnes
1/12/2026
🇬🇧 United Kingdom15 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Experience date: 1/12/2026
Great customer service

Great customer service from Lisa. Really prompt and helpful reply.

jamesjosephoneill
1/12/2026
🇬🇧 United Kingdom3 reviewsOrganicUnverified
Experience date: 1/12/2026
Very polite and useful help regarding a....

Very polite and useful help regarding a missing book (no fault of waterstones). 10/10

Frequently Asked Questions about Waterstones

What is Waterstones's Revenue?
Waterstones generates approximately $944M in annual revenue. With 2,969 employees, that's $317,800 per employee.
What does Waterstones do?
Discover our full range of books at Waterstones.com. Buy online with Free UK Delivery on Orders Over £25 or Click & Collect within hours. waterstones.com
How fast is Waterstones growing?
Waterstones has grown by 36.6% in the last 6 months according to traffic data. employee count has changed by 6% year over year.
How do people interact with Waterstones?
When visiting Waterstones, visitors view an average of 3.5 pages per visit, and spend around 5:34 on the site, and the bounce rate is 57.8%.
How do people find Waterstones?
4.1M people (65%) visit Waterstones directly. 2.2M (35%) find them through organic search.
Who uses Waterstones?
Waterstones's top market is United Kingdom with 5.2M visitors (81.9%). United States is 2nd with 317.2K (5.0%). Ireland is 3rd with 96.9K (1.5%).
What technologies does Waterstones use?
Waterstones uses 17 technologies across their website including Security, Programming Languages, CMS. Key technologies include Cloudflare Turnstile, PHP, Ghost.
Who are Waterstones's competitors?
Waterstones's main competitors include Amazon, Barnes and Noble. These companies operate in similar markets and compete for the same customer base.
What do customers think of Waterstones?
Waterstones has a Trustpilot score of 4.4 out of 5 (4 stars) based on 4,986 customer reviews.

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How to contact Waterstones?

What are Waterstones's key pages?

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Download the complete tech stack, analytics, leads, and company data for waterstones.com in JSON or CSV format. Use it for your sales pipeline, competitive analysis, or research.

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About waterstones.com

Discover our full range of books at Waterstones.com. Buy online with Free UK Delivery on Orders Over £25 or Click & Collect within hours. waterstones.com

Company Overview

waterstones.com
Website
arts_and_entertainment
Industry
#8,132
Global Rank
6.4M
Monthly Visitors
17
Technologies

Contact waterstones.com

Technology Stack

waterstones.com uses 17 technologies across their website including Cloudflare Turnstile, PHP, Ghost, and more.

Security

Cloudflare Turnstile

Programming Languages

PHP

CMS

Ghost

Cloud & Hosting

Cloudflare

Privacy & Consent

CookieYes

Advertising

Awin

Traffic & Audience

6.4M
Monthly Visits
49%
Bounce Rate
4.0
Pages/Visit
2:50
Avg. Duration

waterstones.com receives approximately 6.4M monthly visitors and ranks #8,132 globally. The website has a bounce rate of 49% with visitors viewing an average of 4.0 pages per visit. Users spend an average of 2:50 on the site.

The majority of waterstones.com's traffic comes from undefined, undefined, .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is waterstones.com?
Discover our full range of books at Waterstones.com. Buy online with Free UK Delivery on Orders Over £25 or Click & Collect within hours. waterstones.com
What technologies does waterstones.com use?
waterstones.com uses 17 technologies including Cloudflare Turnstile, PHP, and 11 more. View the full tech stack analysis above.
How do I contact waterstones.com?
You can contact waterstones.com through their contact page.
What are waterstones.com's social media accounts?
waterstones.com is active on tiktok, twitter, youtube, facebook, instagram. You can find links to all their social media profiles in the social section above.
Is waterstones.com hiring?
Check waterstones.com's careers page for current job openings and opportunities.
How popular is waterstones.com?
waterstones.com receives approximately 6.4M monthly visitors and ranks #8,132 globally. Traffic is growing by 24.1% month-over-month.

Related Searches

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This page provides publicly available information about waterstones.com. Data is collected from various public sources and may not always be up to date. For the most accurate information, please visit waterstones.com directly at https://waterstones.com.