It’s impossible to not feel the pinch when you’re filling up your gas tank. Over the past few months, gas prices have soared across the nation, and consumers are responding by taking their business elsewhere. People have bought less gas for the last five weeks when compared to last year, and gas stations are noticing a 3.6 percent drop—which translates to 2.4 million fewer gallons of gas being pumped per week. This trend is closely tied to the current economy, and fewer people are driving to retail outlets as a result of high gas prices.
The last time a drop of this magnitude happened was in 2008, when gas prices reached past $4 a gallon in July, but the problem is, gas prices are already 41 cents higher now than they were at this point in 2008. Seventy percent of gas station chains have noticed a drop as consumers elect to take the bus, buy more efficient cars or simply stay home.
This is where modern technology comes in to play.
Many consumers in today’s market can search for cheaper nearby gas by using smart phones, and several programs online allow people to input their address to compare prices. Consumers can purchase things online without having to use gas, and because so many online retailers can offer things like free shipping, physical retailers are suffering. Online sales are up, especially for those companies who have a strong Web presence and appear on the first page of Google’s search results.
When gas prices rise, so do online sales.
The economy has been struggling to right itself for some time now, and many businesses are tightening their purse strings for their marketing budgets. Because search engine optimization (SEO) can be an expensive marketing tactic, many companies are missing the best way to improve profits when they elect to sit tight and wait things out without taking action. SEO boosts you Web presence so that your company shows up for keywords related to the products or services you sell.
Search engine optimization is a great marketing tactic for a tight economy. SEO services often have a high return on investment, especially when one considers that the results are long-lasting. While maintenance is often required to maintain high search rankings for competitive terms, gains in rankings can often stick – especially if the ranking page is useful and likely to attract natural links. SEO takes a few months to really start showing results, and with gas prices pushing more people toward the Internet, it is something you will want to move on quickly.
High gas prices are expected to last through the summer, with some economists predicting that the price will go as high as five dollars per gallon. With this increase, more and more individuals will elect to do their shopping online, and search engine optimization is a great way to make sure your company is successful even though other retailers might be suffering due to the economy.
About the guest author:
This article was written by SEO.com, a Utah-based SEO company offering search engine marketing services from search engine optimization to PPC and Social Media.
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