A significantly increasing trend since Google introduced their featured snippets and more recently their AI (Artificial Intelligence) Overviews, zero click searches are changing the way that users find information online and engage with websites.
As reported by Search Engine Land, zero click searches are on the rise with 26.10% of EU and UK searches in March ending without a click compared to 23.6% over the same period the year prior. This trend is even echoed in the US with a 2.8% increase in zero click searches.
What are zero click searches?
Let’s start with the basics – zero click searches are simply online searches where the user receives the answer to their query on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) without having to click on one of the search results.
Essentially, this means websites are no longer receiving as much traffic as they used to, owing to featured snippets and AI Overviews helping online users to find the information they need faster.
The different types of zero click searches and their impact on SERPs
Featured snippets
A featured snippet is a short piece of content directly pulled from a web page that directly answers the search query. It appears at the top of the SERPs above all organic and sponsored results to offer a quick and easy answer.
For example, a straightforward search query like “when was the king born” should bring appear as a featured snippet in the SERPs.
AI Overviews
Designed to answer more complex questions, AI Overviews is Google’s latest feature which uses generative AI to offer a clear and concise answer to the search query. This can be in the form of a short paragraph, a step-by-step guide, lists, or even a table at the very top of the page, depending on the query.
This information is typically synthesized from several web pages and tends to appear for long-tail, low-competition informational search queries. However, AI overviews for commercial and navigational queries are rising.
AI search tools
While the number of users utilising AI search tools as a search engine instead of Google is small, these generative AI-powered tools still offer convenient zero click searches for a wide range of conversational questions and prompts.
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Bing Copilot are all example of AI-driven search tools.
Google local packs
Appearing just below the sponsored results, Google local packs display the three top businesses relevant to a user’s search query. This feature is often activated when searching for a service with local intent.
For example, the online search for “SEO agency Cheshire” highlights three agencies in the local area alongside a snapshot of their reviews, business hours, years of experience, and contact number.
Knowledge panels
Knowledge panels appear at the top or right-hand side of the screen are usually generated when a user searches for a particular person, place, or organisation. They offer a brief summary of the entity, alongside a short fact sheet.
"People Also Ask" block
While technically, a click is required to expand the dropdown box of each “People Also Ask” question, it doesn’t involve navigating away from the SERP, so it makes the list. These boxes show a selection of questions related to the search query.
They may not directly answer the main search query, but their relation to the topic has been deemed relevant and helpful enough to include the block towards the top of the page.
Discussions and forums block
This is the final Google SERP feature that requires zero clicks by presenting the online user with a range of relevant threads or posts from online discussions boards and forums, such as Reddit and Quora.
What does this mean for SEO?
With zero click searches ensuring the answer’s right there in front of them, there’s a reduced need for online users to scroll down and click through to websites listed in the SERPs. For websites, this could mean a significant drop in online visibility and therefore organic website traffic.
How should you adjust your SEO approach?
With Google’s AI Overviews and the answers from AI tools quickly becoming the place where businesses can boost their online visibility, it makes sense that SEO strategies should be adjusted to include AI SEO, too.
To help build your visibility in the zero click search era, your business needs to be creating clear, accurate, and reliable content that’s more likely to be included within the relevant SERP features. This includes featured snippets, AI Overviews, knowledge panels, and the answers from AI search tools.
Appear in all the right places with Aqueous
That’s where Aqueous Digital comes in.
Whether you’re concerned about a drop in traffic or simply want to stay ahead of your competitors, our team of SEO specialists understand the many factors that Google and AI tools use to assess whether your content, business, products, and services can be included in their answers.
Our expert insights are driven by the close observation of the way that AI works and its impact on website traffic, conversion, and enquiries, so you can rely on our team to keep you ahead of the AI curve.
To discuss the effect that zero click searches and AI-enhanced search is having on your site, speak to our team today.
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