Zero-Click Searches: Are They Impacting Your Site’s Traffic in 2025?

A zero-click search is when a user completes a Google search without clicking on a link to an external website. This is most likely to happen when users want to find a specific piece of information.

For example, if someone searches for “how many countries are in Africa,” the answer will likely appear in AI overviews or a relevant featured snippet, which reduces their need to click on another link in search results.

In an eye-opening SparkToro study from 2024, SEO expert Rand Fishkin found that nearly 60% of searches don’t result in a page click. Instead, users either found their answers without clicking, or conducted another search altogether.

With a higher percentage of results leading to zero-click searches, many publishers and small businesses may find this concerning. However, while these searches might reduce your site’s traffic since less users are visiting websites through search, you can use these zero-clicks to your advantage.

If your business is showing up in zero-click search results, you can start building more brand awareness online. For instance, if you run a gymwear brand and are constantly showing up in search results for informative queries, searchers are more likely to remember you.

Over time, this builds trust and authority, and could cause direct, branded searches that may eventually lead users to your website later on.

Since appearing in zero-click searches can be beneficial for your website’s online presence, here are a few ways to optimize your website for the zero-click search landscape:

• Use the right keywords – Since many zero-click searches come from informative queries, it’s worth assessing your keywords to see if they address user intent. You can use free resources like AlsoAsked to discover what questions users are searching for, and see if your content provides clear answers to common user queries related to your industry.
• Structure your content well – If you want your website to appear in search features like AI Overviews, you need to make sure that your content is structured clearly and coherently. For instance, if you have lots of numerical data to share, you could organize it through tables or bullet points. Aim to make it digestible for the user and Google.
• Use structured data – To appear in Google’s featured snippets, you need to use structured data (also known as schema markup), which is a piece of code that tells search engines what information your webpages contain. Double check that you’re using it on your website, since it can help you appear in a range of snippets.

🤔 Unsure how to add structured data to your website? Our guide to ecommerce schema markup will reveal all

Though the rise of zero-click searches in Google sounds scary, it’s possible to adapt to the evolving search landscape. Even if you start receiving less clicks to your website, this is a great opportunity to boost brand awareness by getting your name in as many zero-click searches as possible.

In the meantime, keep content quality your utmost priority. SEO best practices still apply here, such as making sure that your pages are structured clearly, answer key questions and, above all, are truly helpful for users.