Zero-click searches aren’t new to search engine optimization (SEO), but as Google continues to change and evolve, they are becoming more common, forcing many SEO professionals to adapt. Knowledge panels, people also ask features, rich snippets, and AI Overviews are just a handful of competing content appearing in Google Search results that increases the likelihood of a zero-click search. In fact, SparkToro, using data from Semrush’s Datos company, reports that more than half of all searches in 2024 are zero-click. This number has grown from Semrush’s previous research that suggested that anywhere from 18 – 25% of all searches, depending on the device used, were zero-click two years ago.
While these two data points alone may be enough to cause uncertainty, recent internal documentation leaks for Google Search illuminate Google’s ability to differentiate and analyze clickstream data as a potential ranking signal. Prior to this leak, SEO professionals often theorized that Google search engine results pages (SERPs) may or may not be influenced by clickstream data. With the ability to discern whether or not a user found what they were looking for with a click, it makes the value of each click that much more important in an environment where zero-click searches are increasingly becoming a dominant force.
What is the Value of Zero-Click Search?
The answer depends on what field you play in, whether you’re a business looking to make a sale or a website that trades in educational long-form content. For more informational or helpful content producers, competing for a people also ask feature, rich snippet, or reference in an AI Overviews answer is a way to engage with users who need an answer and never intended to click. It also builds brand recognition and trust, signaling to searchers that you’re a site to revisit or search for directly when more information is needed about a specific topic.
For retailers or businesses looking to get their products in front of the right users, this is where the right structured data (or schema markup) comes into play, along with matching keywords with the most accurate search intent. With the right structured data incorporated into your website, you can quickly relay relevant data, like price, product rating, shipping details, and other information, to zero-click searchers comparing offers ahead of a purchase. While these zero-click searchers may not buy directly from the site, having this data upfront and optimized to the right audience could sway consumers who will later choose to make a purchase in-store or through another channel.
Ultimately, in a world where zero-click searches are on the rise, optimizing for search isn’t solely about rankings or clicks. It’s about enticing users with exactly what they need upfront and earning their trust and brand loyalty as both a resource and a business users can rely on.
How to Optimize for Zero-Click Searches
It may be tempting to throw everything under the sun at an article or page in order to optimize for all of the ways Google answers queries without giving away a click, but this can prove to be an exhausting user experience, as well as unhelpful if it’s too lengthy or difficult to navigate. In order to best optimize for zero-click searches, SEO professionals need to be targeted and concise. Think of that old Shakespearean adage, “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
- Structured Data: As mentioned above, having the appropriate schema markup can help Google read, understand, and accurately display the information you need it to. For products, this can mean pricing info or other relevant details. For recipes or content for a review site, for example, structured data helps inform the rich result in the SERPs, which often includes more than just a title tag and meta description. For video content, it means Google can more accurately offer your videos to the right audience.
- Frequently Asked Questions: If there are numerous questions surrounding a product or a topic, creating a “frequently asked questions” section can provide a wider approach at targeting some of the biggest, most voluminous questions. Using Google Keyword Planner, as well as investigating competing information in “people also ask” and “people also search for” features in Google, professionals can find the correct question phrasing and speak directly to what users are looking for. It’s important to note that FAQ features have their own structured data as well, and it’s recommended to create a short, but powerful, assortment of FAQ questions.
- Long-Tail Keywords: While less competitive than main or shorter keywords, long-tail keywords make up the specific phrases or language users are entering into search. In some cases, long-tail keywords can match up with a product page or piece of content perfectly. In other cases, long-tail keywords may be super specific and niche, providing a great opportunity for a blog post that could inform and link back to one of your primary pages. Ferreting these keywords out in Google Keyword Planner and optimizing for them could increase your reach in the SERPs.
- Google Business Profile: Creating a Google Business Profile is free, and it can help business owners and professionals manage a brand’s profile, ensure accurate and relevant data that can be used in both search and Google Maps, and collect Google reviews, which can and will appear in the SERPs for branded searches. When brands are large enough, information from a Google Business Profile can also appear in knowledge panels about the business, giving users a detailed overview without having to navigate to a page.
- Header Navigation: Rich results often include sitelinks, which means it’s important to carefully consider both which URLs you link to in your header navigation, as well as how they’re labeled. Structuring your header navigation with organized, user-friendly, and keyword-rich links can inform Google as to which links are most important and how to display them in rich results.
Optimizing for zero-click search is tricky, and measuring its impact and success isn’t easily defined. However, as search engines pivot toward presenting more information upfront, it’s essential that SEO professionals consider the brand value, trustworthiness, and authenticity it can bring to users. As customers and users weigh which organization or business to source their information or products from, a strong strategy for zero-click search could make or break a company’s positioning as a leader in their given space.
