That's a good point. It could be that the structure and lack of better tools (like they have in WordPress) makes it difficult to compete with the open Internet. But that's kind of what I meant when I said SteemIt itself isn't placed well. Rather than everyone on SteemIt being bad/lazy/apathetic at SEO, it could be that we're already handicapped by the SteemIt environment or Google's perception of it.
That said, I ran a few more tests by taking older titles that don't have the SteemIt keyword and put them, verbatim, in Google. Several did indeed appear #1, but some of course didn't. I'll keep my eyes open when I do research and reserve judgment until more data is in. :)
In either case, I really love the Steemit concept and the community here. I've only been here a few days, but my impression is already quite favorable. :)