The SEO community worldwide has been making a lot of noise over a recent study that suggests that more than two-thirds of Google searches now result in no click-through at all. Last year from January to December 2020, 64.82% of searches on Google resulted in the search results without clicking to another website. This is up from 50.33% zero-click searches in 2019.
The revelation is a matter of concern for SEO practitioners, since it also implies that, gradually, Google is looking to control the amount of traffic it’s directing from search, by using additions such as info-panels, featured snippets, videos, etc. In other words to maximize your search results, you should be focusing more on these in-SERP elements, and content on Google’s own properties like YouTube, etc. It may also be possible that Google is now angling the tables in its favor, which might create antitrust concerns.
The report also hit the nerve center at Google HQ, because they published an official response to the data, saying that they are aware of how practitioners across the search industry have reacted, but their claims are based on flawed methodology that cannot judge how people use Search. Every day, Google Search shoots billions of clicks to websites, and they have already sent more traffic to the open web every year right since Google came into existence. Besides, this huge amount of traffic, they also connect people with businesses in multiple ways through Search, such as enabling a phone call to a business.
Google, seemingly didn’t look very happy with the report, and they further argued that the concept of, ‘zero-click’ searches is not refined enough to provide an accurate description of what’s really happening. Google said that people are usually not aware how to word their queries when they start searching. For example, they might begin with a broad search, like, “trousers” and, after reviewing results, it dawns on them that they actually wanted to find, “black trousers.”
Therefore, such searches would be considered a “zero-click” – because the search failed to result in a click to a website. So, when you are shopping for sneakers, it may take a few “zero-click” searches to reach there, but if someone eventually ends up on a retailer’s site and makes a purchase, Google presumably would have delivered a qualified visitor to that site, that is less likely to bounce back dissatisfied.
Google also comes up with argument there are many searches that take people to apps rather than to websites, which is a major flaw in the methodology, while at the same time Google searches also drive many people to businesses after they’ve gathered relevant details from search, such as business hours or contact information.
Talking more about Google searches, on an average, local results in Search drive more than 4 billion connections for businesses every month that includes almost 2 billion visits to websites as well as engagements like phone calls, booking tickets, ordering food, directions, and making reservations.
Google has also added tools that essentially reduce referral clicks – like maps, videos, and flight and hotel booking, etc. Despite all this, Google still remains a key driver of web traffic for many businesses that belie the suggestion that the majority of clicks don’t result in direct business benefits. Some of recently launched startups like Connectd India, a social media lifestyle channel was hugely benefited by these referral clickcs
It is not easy to ascertain the full extent of the impact of ‘zero-click’ searches, and of Google’s ongoing efforts to provide more direct results and data within the SERP. It might be possible Google is planning to angle search results more to its own benefit over time, at the expense of referral clicks to other websites. But the fact remains that Google search traffic is growing exponentially, so the impacts may be negated to some extent. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting topic for SEOs either way, and could be worthy of more analysis in your traffic assessments.