Why Zero-Click Searches Matter (Again)

How important is the “zero click” searches trend?

In 2019, SparkToro published a blog post that reported some alarming news: for the first time, a majority of all browser-based searches on Google resulted in zero clicks, or no clicks. In other words, a slight majority of user searches on Google did not result on a click to a website. Instead, people were viewing the first result Google served up to their query. So, for example, people looking for “turtleneck sweaters” were clicking on the results in Google’s knowledge panel, such as ads, Google My Business (GMB) listings for sweater retailers, or locations on Google Maps – without bothering to go to a retailer’s website to check out their turtleneck sweater inventory.

The SparkToro post, which cited research from Jumpstart, launched a cottage industry of blog posts commenting on what exactly the rise of  zero click searches meant for search engine optimization (SEO). Were websites losing their influence? Should SEO professionals shift their attention away from websites?

But since then, the industry is taking a more measured and balanced view of zero click searches. Here’s why:

• When SEO professionals took a closer look at the Jumpstart data, they realized that Jumpstart was referring to all searches on the web that don’t necessarily have anything to do with how people interact with businesses, per se. Jumpstart was referring to the entire universe of possible web searches, such as “When was the Battle of Hastings?” How applicable the data was to businesses such as retailers became questionable.

• And then Jumpstart went out of business, and its data collection methodology received heavy criticism.

​So is the zero click phenomenon dead? Not exactly. In 2020, amid dramatic changes in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic, Searchmetrics published new no-click research of its own:

• According to Searchmetrics, 48 percent of the searches in the eCommerce industry are  zero click, 32 percent are organic, and 20 percent are paid.

That new data has inspired a new wave of commentary, such as this article. So what does all this mean?

• First off, your website still matters very much. Google’s job is to give people the best quality information as fast as possible. And it will use your website as one of those factors. Your Google Knowledge Panel – the collection of information about you that influences how your business appears on Google -- is not disconnected from your website. You need to actively take steps to make it better, including effective SEO. Google sees more authoritative sites as more trustworthy.

• Manage your content on Google properties such as your GMB listing. Your GMB listing is the cornerstone of your business’s identity on Google, including the content that appears about your business in Google Maps. GMB listings are essential local search ranking signals. But your content optimization strategy is not an “either/or” between Google and your website – it’s more like “Yes, and.”

• Learn how to write content for featured snippets. Zero click searches result in an answer appearing in a featured snippet. They result in answers with featured snippets. If your site has that featured snippet, your chances of getting featured in a voice search are fairly high.

• Write content for voice and sensory search. Note also that Google created featured snippets as a result of the rise of voice-based searches. With featured snippets playing a more important role in how people find information, it serves you well to understand the nuances of creating content tailored for voice.

​The Key Takeaway 

Zero click searches continue to influence the search landscape. However, accommodating zero click searches is not an either/or choice between your website and content outside your website. Pay attention to both.

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