High gas prices could be an opportunity for marketers

Online publishers are beginning to see a connection between the high gas prices in America and their online traffic. According to a recent report from comScore, traffic to sites like NewYorkGasPrices.com is skyrocketing as consumers try to find the best deals.

by Kristina Knight

comScore found that 1.73 million searches for phrases such as "gas prices" were made in April; this is an increase of 175% over the same searches made in April 2007. Just under 40% of these searches resulted in consumers visiting a GasBuddy.com website. This trend will likely continue as gas prices increase.

This is a great opportunity for marketers across the Internet.

On average, a gallon of gas is costing consumers $4.10. Websites like those in the GasBuddy.com organization are giving consumers hints about where to find the cheapest gas in their cities and neighborhoods. With consumers driving less so they can make their tanks last as long as possible, this is a unique chance to market great deals to in-market consumers.

For marketers, the key to capitalizing on this trend is to offer something consumers are actually looking for. Obviously, a computer company can't offer cheap gas, but that company can give consumers free shipping. Combine free shipping with a discount (percentage or dollar off) and consumers are likely to consider that computer offer rather than using gas to drive to the mall for a similar offer.