How to win in a zero click world

Where a featured snippet provides further information, from a single source AI Overviews compile information from up to as many as 12 different websites.

In 2024, around 65% of global Google searches ended without a click. On mobile, that number was even higher, over 75 %. As AI powered search continues to develop, this trend is only expected to increase throughout 2025. Case in point: in February this year, AI Overviews were present on 4% of UK searches.[AH2] By April it was up to 18%.

So, what does this mean for businesses? While fewer clicks may seem like a threat to website traffic, visibility within search result features is becoming just as valuable. If your brand appears in these high visibility areas, you can maintain awareness and strengthen your authority, even if users do not visit your site.

What are zero click searches?

A zero click search is when a user gets the end results on the Google search results page, without ever clicking through to a website. Historically, zero click searches might have been for something simple, in terms of the information required, such as “What time does my gym open”. A Google Knowledge Panel gave you the opening hours across the whole week.

Now it could be something more complex, such as explaining the meaning of life!

How much credence you give to this answer is up to you of course. However, for both of these searches - no matter how complex - I get an answer, without the need to visit a website. This is a zero click search.

The challenge

While these features make the user experience faster and easier, they reduce the number of people clicking through to websites, highlighted by Barry Schwartz and Seer Interactive.

This could affect industries in many different ways:

• Websites that provide informational updates could lose traffic when Google displays headlines or snippets directly in search results
• Ecommerce brands face new competition from AI product summaries, though transactional searches fare better.
• Smaller, potentially independent businesses often lose visibility to larger, more recognised institutions

As AI becomes a bigger part of search, this challenge will continue. The question is, how can you respond?

SEO in the age of zero click searches

Traditionally, search engine optimisation has always focused on optimising websites through the pillars of SEO - technical SEO, content, on-site SEO and off-site SEO - all with the aim of ranking well in the SERPs and driving clicks. But ranking number one no longer guarantees the traffic it once did. Semrush even shows you a caveated ranking of 1 if you appear in an AI overview. So, businesses that rely on search for leads, sales, or ad revenue might need to shift, in light of these reductions in clicks.

There is good news though. This change creates opportunities to focus on:

• Brand awareness: High visibility in search results can help build brand recognition
• Content quality: Google highlights content that is clear, structured, and credible, reverting back to their E.E.A.T (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, trustworthiness) framework.
• Diversification: Success will come from combining multiple channels, SEO, social media, paid search, and email marketing

Strategies to succeed in a zero click world

1. Optimise for GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation as explained here by Jasmine Gambrell) AI overviews, featured snippets and Knowledge Panels. To increase your chances of appearing in these areas:

• Provide short, direct answers, ideally between 40 and 60 words
• Use lists and tables to explain steps, comparisons, or rankings
• Use clear headings and questions formatted as H2 or H3 tags
• Build your authority by sharing accurate, well sourced content regularly (E.E.A.T)

2. Improve technical SEO and content structure

• Use schema markup so Google can better understand your content
• Prioritise mobile optimisation since most zero click searches happen on mobile
• Improve your page loading speed and other Core Web Vitals to help with user experience

3. Use paid search to bolster SERP visibility & convert
If organic clicks are falling, smart use of paid search can help keep your brand in front of users:

• Focus on high intent keywords that capture leads and conversions
• Use ad extensions to share useful information like locations or phone numbers
• Explore formats like video ads and discovery ads to widen your reach

4. Diversify traffic sources
Do not rely on Google alone:

• Build out social media platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube
• Invest in email marketing to stay in direct contact with your audience

Measuring success beyond clicks

Clicks have been and always will be a fundamental metric to track. However, they might not be the best way to measure performance or success anymore. Here are other ways to track success in this new search landscape:

Brand visibility metrics

• Search impressions: Use Google Search Console to see how often your content appears. We have seen impressions increase for most clients, though success of these impressions is harder to quantify
• SERP feature tracking: Tools like Semrush can show your performance in featured snippets and panels and now AI Overviews

Other key indicators

• Direct traffic growth: An increase in users coming direct to a website can shows rising brand awareness
• Referral spikes: Look out for sudden traffic increases driven by search result features or ‘cross-network’

Build a search strategy for the future

Zero click searches are not going away - they are increasing by the day, as answers are served up by Google and other search engines. As search becomes more AI driven, focus must shift to creating content that is clear, trusted, and easy to find across multiple platforms - no real changes from what best practice has always been. However, it might be time to rethink what success looks like.

Stop thinking only about clicks. Instead, take control of the search experience. A strong presence across search, social, and other channels will help your brand stay relevant.