A survey of online marketers taken at the Shop.org 2007 Annual Summit in Las Vegas finds that 46% rank SEO as their an important priority for the upcoming holiday season.

The survey, conducted in September 2007 by Cleveland-based Brulant Inc., found that search engine optimization ranked second behind email marketing (64%).

"Because most consumers give themselves a spending limit when it comes to holiday shopping, online retailers need to ensure they are successfully attracting and converting customers so that those holiday dollars don't get spent at a competitor's site instead," said a Brulant consumer goods executive.