The global economy is currently reeling from a fierce tariff war, with the U.S. imposing staggering duties of up to 125% on imports.
But as an SEO professional, you might wonder: how does this affect your line of work?
The truth is, the tariff war isn’t just a headache for importers. It’s a seismic shift that could slash your clients’ budgets, alter search trends, and redefine competitive landscapes.
Continue reading to learn how tariffs are impacting SEO and how you can turn these challenges into opportunities to keep your clients ahead of the trade war.
What are Tariffs?
A tariff is a tax imposed by a government on imported goods designed to protect domestic industries. By increasing the cost of imported products, tariffs make them pricier than locally made alternatives.
Now, you might be thinking: “I’m doing SEO, not importing any physical goods – so why should I care?”.
Here’s the thing: your clients probably do.
If your client’s costs spike due to tariffs, they may cut budgets, including for SEO, to stay afloat. Alternatively, they might pivot their messaging to emphasize “Made in USA” products or affordable alternatives, requiring new keyword strategies and content.
Understanding the broader impact of tariffs helps you stay ahead of these shifts and position yourself as a proactive, strategic partner.
Find out more about the tariff war by referring to the timeline here: 2025 Tariff Timeline.
Who Was Most Impacted by the 2025 Tariff War?
The tariff war has upended businesses and consumers alike. Here’s who’s most impacted and how they’re affected by the tariff war:
U.S. Consumers U.S. consumers face higher prices on imported goods like electronics and clothing, making everyday purchases more expensive and straining household budgets.
Manufacturers in the U.S. U.S. manufacturers relying on imported raw materials, like steel and aluminum, encounter higher costs, squeezing profit margins and complicating production plans.
Retailers and Small Businesses Retailers and small businesses pay more for inventory and supplies, which affects profit margins and pricing.
Global Supply Chains Global supply chains are disrupted by tariffs, leading to rerouted production, increased costs, and delays that impact product availability worldwide.
U.S. Trade Partners U.S. trade partners, like the EU, Canada, and Mexico, responded with their own tariffs, escalating trade tensions.
China & U.S. Exporters Exporters in China and the U.S. deal with higher costs and restricted foreign market access, hurting sales and forcing a pivot to alternative markets.
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Before we go further, here’s how the topic “tariff” is trending on Google. Google searches for the term “tariff” have spiked following President Trump’s announcement.
Source: AhrefsSource: Google Trends
This reflects heightened public and business interest around the tariff war.
For SEO agencies like yours, this creates ripple effects that call for urgent strategic adjustments.
Below are five key ways tariffs influence your SEO strategies and how to adapt effectively.
1. Product Pricing and Consumer Behavior
Tariffs increase the cost of imported goods, pushing consumers to seek cheaper or locally made alternatives. This shift alters search behavior, creating new opportunities for you to refine your SEO strategies.
Keyword Shifts: Consumers are searching for “affordable,” “cheap,” “discount,” or “domestic” products. Queries like “affordable smartphones Made in USA” are rising. Update your keyword strategy to target these cost-conscious and local-focused terms.
Local SEO: Shoppers want locally made goods, boosting searches like “Made in USA” or “local suppliers near me.” Enhance your clients’ Google Business Profiles, create location-specific content, and target regional keywords to capture this audience.
2. Competitor Landscape
Tariffs disrupt competition, favoring businesses with domestic or tariff-exempt supply chains. You can reposition your clients to gain an edge.
Adjusting Strategy: If competitors falter due to tariff costs, target long-tail keywords or niche markets they’ve overlooked. For example, promote “American-made jeans” for a U.S.-based apparel client to steal market share.
Competitor Analysis: Watch SERPs for new players or retreating rivals. If import-heavy competitors pull back, grab their abandoned keywords or mimic their top content. Use keyword research tools like SurgeGraph’s Topic Discovery to spot these opportunities.
3. E-Commerce Optimization
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E-commerce companies (especially those in global trade) might face rising costs of goods, which could lead to higher prices for consumers. This can affect how consumers search for products:
You need to optimize their sites to match how consumers now search and shop.
Product Prioritization: Restructure your clients’ websites to highlight non-tariff-affected products. Tweak internal linking and navigation to feature these items on homepages or top-level categories for better visibility.
Update Website Content: Revise product descriptions, FAQs, and landing pages to reflect price changes or shipping delays. Highlight “in-stock” or “fast shipping” to ease customer concerns.
Search Intent Optimization: Focus on transactional and commercial intent, as shoppers prioritize value. Optimize for comparison queries like “[Product X] vs. [Product Y]” or “best budget [product]” to meet their needs.
4. Target Market Shifts
Tariffs may force your clients to chase new markets with lower duties or better trade deals. You can help them reach these audiences.
Localizing Content: Boost local SEO for U.S. or tariff-favored regions with country- or state-specific landing pages. For example, tailor pages to show pricing or supply details for U.S. customers, using region-specific keywords.
Domestic-First Positioning: Highlight U.S.-made or U.S.-fulfilled products in titles, meta descriptions, and content. Create hyper-local pages, like “Texas-made furniture,” to tap into state-specific or patriotic searches.
5. SEO Budget & Strategy Adjustments
Tariffs strain client budgets, often leading to marketing cuts. You must deliver results despite these constraints.
ROI-Focused Prioritization: Shift to high-intent assets like optimized product pages, conversion-focused blog posts, or landing pages targeting commercial keywords. These maximize impact on tight budgets.
Shift Toward Organic: With less PPC spending, prioritize organic SEO. Refine existing content, target long-tail keywords, and use free tools like Google Search Console to boost efficiency.
Content Marketing Focus: Lean into cost-effective content like blogs, guides, or videos. For example, create posts like “How to Find Affordable Alternatives to Imported Goods” to drive organic traffic over time.
Turn Tariff Challenges into SEO Opportunities (and Download Free Resources!)
The April 2025 U.S. tariff war is reshaping how your clients operate, from pricing struggles to shifting consumer searches.
But as an SEO professional, you can transform these challenges into opportunities. By adapting your strategies, you’ll keep your clients’ rankings strong and their businesses competitive.
Download our free guide to get 80 tariff-related content ideas tailored for various industries to craft engaging, trend-driven content: 80 Content Ideas for Different Industries.
This article was written by an AI author persona in SurgeGraph Vertex and reviewed by a human editor. The author persona is trained to replicate any desired writing style and brand voice through the Author Synthesis feature.
Chase Dean
SEO Specialist at SurgeGraph
Chase is the go-to person in making the “Surge” in SurgeGraph a reality. His expertise in SEO spans 6 years of helping website owners improve their ranking and traffic. Chase’s mission is to make SEO easy to understand and accessible for anyone, no matter who they are. A true sports fan, Chase enjoys watching football.
