What is Zero-Click Search and How Does it Impact My SEO?
A zero-click search is a search query that results in zero clicks. Zilch. Nada. You type in a question like, “What is SEO,” the algorithm pulls an instant answer, user reads, leaves without a click.
Did something go wrong? Not necessarily. Zero-click searches don’t mean you should pull back on your SEO. It means you need to get smarter. Read on to learn more about zero-click searches, plus how to be an SEO hero by understanding their impact. Plus, get strategies to get that web traffic rolling in.
Hint: It’s all about quality versus quantity.
How Do Zero-Click Searches Impact My SEO?
While zero-click search results can lower web traffic from SEO, there’s no need to panic. Seriously, breathe. Currently, only 25.6% of desktop searches and 17.3% of mobile searches result in zero clicks. Organic made up almost half the total (45.1%). While growth of zero-click results is likely, this doesn’t mean dropping SEO is a good idea.
Showing up in these new search features means your SEO works beautifully. You’re answering user intent at the top of the page and getting your brand out there. Would you rather have your competitor populate an AI overview? Heck no! Plus, these results could lead to branded searches or direct contact.
The same study noted above found that about 55% of the time, two searches are performed in a user’s journey, and the searches contain similar keywords, meaning they aren’t satisfied with the results and/or need to refine their queries. So, one SERP may be zero-click, but a second one may get you that coveted click.
Let’s look at the result features driving zero-click searches to understand the impact on clicks fully.
Types of Zero-Click Search Results Explained
New technology always brings haters, but good marketers don’t fight it; they use it. The zero-click search hurdle isn’t new. SEOs have worked with it for nearly a decade, using quality content, since Google launched several SERP features (rich results) that deliver instant answers in 2016. Google looked for better engagement and knows users want answers fast.
Let’s delve into the different types of zero-click search results:
Featured Snippet
A featured snippet is a text box at the top of SERPS designed to answer user queries instantly. With content coming directly from a webpage, the feature will show the page’s title and URL. Examples include step-by-step instructions and videos. While they can give users all the information upfront to cause a zero-click, they may also encourage clicks for more detailed exploration.
Direct Answer Box
Like featured snippets, users get a quick answer at the top of a SERP but omit a link. For instance, a query about an event date will display the answer, but a link for more info about the event will display outside the box
AI Overview
An AI Overview is a concise summary compiled using AI technology and displayed at the top of the SERP. It synthesizes data from multiple sources into an easily digestible explanation and brings a little suspense as it generates. You’ve likely heard a lot about this one lately.
Knowledge Panel
A knowledge panel appears on the right side of search results, delivering a summary of people, places, organizations, or things. It’s very encyclopedic with facts, images, links, and other relevant details. It’s comprehensive information at a glance and a zero-click offender. However, showing up here does make your business look pretty smart.
Local Pack / Map Pack
Also known as a map pack, this feature presents a map and a list of local businesses related to the user’s query. It includes crucial details such as opening hours, addresses, and ratings. These listings can be zero-click but can also be an SEO goldmine.
People Also Ask (PAA)
The PAA box includes a list of questions about the user’s query via dropdowns. Clicking a question reveals a brief answer and a source link. A zero-click search generator, each click generates more related questions, allowing users to gather all they need without leaving the SERP. However, featuring in PAA gets your brand seen.
How Can I Populate Zero-Click Searches?
You don’t want to actively avoid populating these results. Get in there strategically to promote your brand. Look at queries that you wish to populate and structure that content accordingly—these more visually appealing SERPs don’t just happen.
SEOs are behind the magic, creating content, structured data, and schema markups. A note on those last two: structured data is code written in a specific format so search engines can better understand your site content. You have to speak the algorithm’s language. Schema markup provides a format for structuring data to be recognized by search engines to increase the likelihood of populating a rich result.
A lot is happening in the background to make these results pop, including crawling, rendering, and indexing. The increase in AI-written content is clogging up this process with spam and duplicate content. Google’s data centers can’t handle it, and the irony hasn’t escaped us. Google is reducing crawl budgets for those websites pumping out AI-generated content. The algorithm is still looking for quality.
Having an SEO expert to look at queries to populate and structure that quality content accordingly is the lifesaver businesses need to show up and get clicks.
How to Keep SEO Traffic Alive
Finding keywords is one process; seeing how they populate a SERP is another. Agencies like OuterBox use tools to track keyword performance and how those keywords show up beyond traditional list rankings to fully understand SEO performance.
Some keywords will make sense for rich results and AI Overviews, so you’ll want to get in. Others may not and will need to be tweaked or reconsidered. However, simply put, answer the user’s questions.
Creating content that addresses users’ intent (why they are searching) improves your chances of appearing anywhere. Buyer’s journeys are getting more complicated. B2B folks know this, right? Anticipate this by showing in a variety of ways.
Best practices include:
- Optimize for zero-click search/rich results for visibility.
- Focus on high-quality content to show up, plus in-depth content users (quality leads) can click to for more information.
- Diversify traffic sources so you can show up in buyers’ journeys.
- Monitor performance like a hawk and adapt as needed.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to keeping your SEO strong as zero-click searches increase. These best practices require a one-size-fits-one approach focusing on how customers search for your products and services. Know the buyer’s journey and get ready to play the long game. The combinations of searches and clicks are endless.
You can prepare for this by answering user intent, earning trust, offering more information options, and then getting instant gratification or a later pay-off. Without an SEO strategy like this, expect website traffic to dwindle. It’s worth the wait.
