The Rise in Zero-Click Searches: A Deep-Dive

Ever searched for something on Google and been shown drastically different results than what you were looking for? You are not alone. In 2024, Search Engine Land found that, on average, 54% of organic users were looking through more search results than 5 years ago. That is the majority of organic users! We’ve seen more information becoming readily available in search, giving the top pixels on search results more valuable than the blue links listed below. Users spend more time reading the initial results within Featured Snippets rather than scrolling through a wall of blue links and brief descriptions below. This, coupled with users visiting additional platforms more often such as Reddit or TikTok, has given users more options on where to find readily available information rather than sorting through blue links that may or may not be relevant to their user journey. Creating such distractions and noise doesn’t answer users' queries, but rather leads to more queries. Google’s response to continued user frustration? The evolution of search engine results page (SERP) and the introduction of AI Overviews.

Users are getting more direct answers in search results, but at a price to marketers: a decrease in organic sessions known as, “zero-click SEO” or “zero-click searches.” Zero-click SEO is when a user conducts a search, finds the answer within the search engine results page, and does not click through to a website, thus the name, “zero-click SEO”.

What is AI Overviews?

If you have searched on Google since May 14, 2024, odds are that you have been shown a search result via AI Overviews. This is a search feature that uses AI to provide quick answers to user searches. Google’s branding when announcing this new feature was, “Generative AI in Search: Let Google do the searching for you.” For years, Google was aware of increased user frustration and dissatisfaction with the quality and relevance of search results, despite continuing to revise content grading guidelines. The purpose of AI Overviews is to provide quick, helpful answers to users to improve user experience, deliver answers to questions faster, and give visibility to organizations and brands that are truly seen as experts in their industry.

As AI Overviews continue to change and adapt to search intent, digital marketers see an inverse relationship with their organic sessions. A once highly valued metric now has digital marketers questioning, “Are my traffic KPIs relevant? Is SEO dead? How do we adapt to a zero-click landscape?” Here at Workshop Digital, we don’t feel SEO is dead, but the old guard is. Let’s talk more about why zero-click SEO matters and the recommendations we have based on data collected from a variety of industries.

60% of searches in the United States in 2024 ended in zero clicks. Seem like a high number? Let’s compare it to 2022: 26% of searches ended in zero clicks. These statistics show that Google is increasingly prioritizing SERP features, including featured snippets, knowledge panels, People Also Ask, and AI Overviews.

The dominance of SERP features on search results pages impacts websites’ clickthrough rates. Check out these results for the query “Why should I hire a cleaner”:

The first half of the search results page doesn’t even have the regular “blue link”. In fact, there is another search feature after the first blue link:

These elements answer users’ queries as quickly and easily as possible, but it’s detrimental to marketers who focus on traditional methods and aim to appear just as blue links. Overall, search features answer the user’s question on the same page, instead of having to click through to a website. This is helpful for users searching! However, for marketers, it makes it harder to track activity and whether or not their content is performing well and improving conversions or leads.

As we said, zero-click searches are a huge conversation in the SEO world. We have continued to see differing trends from past years in terms of traffic and the number of SERP features, so we decided to analyze a variety of industries to see what the common trends were (and which ones stood out). Our overall hypothesis was that if search features continue to grow, organic traffic will be affected.

For our analysis, we pulled quarter-over-quarter keyword data for six different clients in different industries, including healthcare, staffing, e-commerce, travel, moving services, and even our own digital marketing data. An important note is that these websites have been optimized for SEO purposes.

We first looked at what the top appearing SERP features were:

We then did a deep dive into how many keywords appeared for different SERP features, what kinds of keywords appeared where, and what industries have been affected the most. We finally compiled overall recommendations based on our analysis. Overall, our analysis included over 160,000 keywords and almost 1 million SERP features.

After a lengthy data review process, several overarching themes emerged. Overall, our initial hypothesis was confirmed: search features are becoming more prevalent, and organic traffic is negatively affected. However, not all searches and queries are created equal, so we were able to divide findings into user intent and content type.

The four largest takeaways from our analysis:

1. AI overviews are expanding, but it doesn’t mean traffic is
2. Informational queries dominate AI Overviews
3. Transactional and commercial keywords emphasize E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) signals
4. Visual content is on the rise

Now let’s walk through each of these critical takeaways of zero-click SEO below.

1. AI Overviews Are Expanding, But It Doesn’t Mean Traffic Is

   When reviewing our quarter-over-quarter data, we observed a growth in the number of keywords triggering AI Overviews across all analyzed businesses. AI Overviews, which launched in May, began appearing in more searches as the algorithm was continuously updated. The increase in keywords associated with our analyzed businesses is logical, as AI Overviews became more prevalent in search results, leading to more frequent visibility for our clients. Organic users weren’t necessarily searching for more informational queries more often, but rather Google was understanding search intent and rendering the type of SERP feature that they thought would be helpful for users.

   
   

   One important note: Just because you appeared in AI Overviews does not mean you are guaranteed to get more website visits. If Google answers a user’s question, users don’t necessarily need to click through to your website. This is where brand management and authority on related topics come into play, to encourage users who are in the awareness stage to click through to your website and learn more about related questions they may have.

   
   

   For a majority of the businesses we reviewed, a minimum of 8-12% of their total organic keywords appear in a SERP feature, reducing direct website visits. Certain industries, such as healthcare and digital marketing, are seeing more informational queries featured in AI Overviews. Transactional and commercial keywords are featured less often for an e-commerce manufacturing business, as these answers are often not as concise or direct for what users are researching.

   
   

2. Informational Queries Dominate AI Overviews

   Digging further into AI Overviews, 80% of the keywords where an overview appears are informational, with the remaining 20% being a mix of transactional and commercial. This shows that Google prioritizes direct answers to appear in AI Overviews, instead of sales-based content or even transactional content.

   
   
   

   This raises the question: Is appearing in AI Overviews important if you may not even get a click from it? Absolutely. This SERP feature is imperative from a brand awareness standpoint for users and share of voice for search engines. It also lets you establish yourself as the “go-to” source for any information regarding the topic and the industry as a whole. Think about “old” SEO. You may have had a blog that covered top-of-funnel keywords, such as “What’s the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?”. What was your goal? To appear at the top of the search results for that query and get someone to click on it. However, was the goal to make people convert? Probably not (although it would be great if they did!). Instead, you were building brand awareness and showing that you are the number one source of information regarding that topic. It’s the same story with AI Overviews; people searching for informational queries may not be ready to convert, but seeing your company appear in AI Overviews helps put your brand in their minds.

   
   

   From a search engine perspective, creating content that demonstrates your expertise can help improve your site’s overall rankings. For example, showcasing your expertise in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes could drive more traffic to your Diabetes Treatment page. Overall, E-E-A-T is imperative at every stage of the funnel, which leads us to our next finding.

   
   

3. Transactional and Commercial Keywords Emphasize E-E-A-T Signals

   Informational search trends are on the rise with AI Overviews, while transactional and commercial keywords are not featured as much. The purpose of AI Overviews and other related SERP features after continuous algorithm updates is to provide more concise answers to user queries. For users who have a transactional search intent, they are going to be researching their options, meaning they are clicking through to websites and conducting more research. For the clients that offer a service, we saw that Google is rendering content for research-based service queries more often in AI Overviews while product-focused businesses had almost no AI Overview visibility.

   
   

   The commercial queries that performed best for AI Overviews were focused on comparisons, aligning with the intent to provide more direct answers to users in the Consideration stage of the user journey. This indicates that users who find answers to their questions and click through to the site for more information are higher-quality leads or potential customers.

   
   

   Despite not having a strong presence in AI Overviews, transactional and commercial searches appear more often in related searches, reviews, and video content. Search engines rely more on E-E-A-T signals, such as reviews and testimonials. An example of this? Google recently updated its content guidelines to place an even stronger emphasis on bolstering E-E-A-T when grading content quality and assigning scores. Businesses that channel strong E-E-A-T signals are more likely to see transactional and commercial keywords in SERP features.

   
   

4. Visual Content is On the Rise

   Out of all of the search features appearing for each keyword that was analyzed, video was the third most popular (behind related searches and People Also Ask). For the six websites we analyzed, video or video pack appeared for an average of 71% of search engine results pages in January. Looking back only three months, the average was 56%. That is a 15% increase in videos appearing in just a quarter.

   
   

   What does this mean? Google favors visual content more and more, such as video reviews, product demonstrations, and testimonials. For example, when someone searches for a specific query like "how to install a generator interlock kit," they are likely looking for a step-by-step guide. A video is an ideal format to provide this information because it allows users to visually follow the process, making it more helpful and engaging. However, videos also appear for commercial intent searches, not just informational. In fact, commercial keywords that present a video on the SERP had a 24% increase from October 2024 to January 2025.

   
   
   

   The increase in video presence across all keyword intents could align with increased traffic to other platforms, such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and more. We continue to see growth in all channels for video content for organic search, and it is a holistic approach to growing your site’s reputation and online presence.

   
   

   💡 Quick Tip: Check your referral traffic in GA4 to see if your traffic from YouTube and other platforms has increased with the changes to SERPs. See if people are navigating to your website after viewing your video on another platform, and then figure out the best user journey for those users to convert.

We’ve talked about, “what is happening with zero-click SEO” and, “why it matters” but this leads to arguably the most important question: “What’s next?” Our team has identified winning SEO themes to strengthen your organic search visibility and grow your share of voice in the age of AI Overviews and the forever-changing SERP landscape:

• Implementing structured data: Ensuring that your website has structured data ensures that Google pulls the correct (and highly desirable takeaways for your business) into SERPs. Our team recently saw a roughly 190% increase in organic applications via Featured Snippets in just six months after recommending an updated structured data format.

• Answering questions directly: Part of Google’s justification for introducing AI Overviews was to refine search and make information more accessible. Providing concise, direct answers in your content will help search engines provide a positive experience in SERPs by rendering your content and users will benefit from finding answers much faster than they would previously.

• Well-formatted content: Creating a clear, structured hierarchy on your website will help search engines identify the high-level takeaways that users often search for. A clear page structure helps users quickly navigate to the most relevant information to answer their questions when they click through to your website.

• Utilize FAQs: One of the largest themes of AI Overviews and the current SERP feature landscape is answering user questions directly. So, what better way to answer a user’s question than to write down commonly asked questions from customers or potential customers? We recommend asking your customer service team or sales team for a list of questions leads or prospective customers often ask, as this highlights an opportunity to write unique content and earn trust in your brand. Don’t have a customer service team or support to provide these insights? Conducting a simple competitive analysis of what others in the industry are ranking for can highlight net new content opportunities: both for you and for your industry!

• YouTube SEO: One of the largest (and somewhat surprising) themes that we saw was an increase in video featured snippet visibility and user engagement. As engagement with video content increases and users visit more video-centric platforms, offering video content about your product, service, or tutorials is a great way to strengthen your search visibility. Additionally, it helps bolster E-E-A-T signals, earning trust from users in a highly competitive search landscape. Make sure that your video content has video-structured data too!

• Brand awareness: Part of improving your E-E-A-T signals includes maintaining a strong brand presence. This approach ensures that your organization is recognized as an industry expert, demonstrating experience, trustworthiness, and authority. Some quick wins to establish your brand’s position include highlighting your brand in key information, optimizing your Google Business Profile listings (if relevant), encouraging customer reviews, and engaging with users when they ask questions or leave testimonials.

• Tracking: Arguably one of the most important takeaways is to track your progress and visibility once you have implemented changes! Utilizing keyword ranking data from a platform such as Semrush, Ahrefs, or STAT, and comparing it with data from Google Analytics 4 to monitor organic search traffic, organic user engagement, and organic conversions is important to calculate your ROI on SEO strategies.

To answer the question, “Is SEO dead?”: No.

SEO is not dead, but the playing field has changed. Gone, or at least largely alleviated, the process of users modifying searches several times until Google renders what they were originally looking for. Users are having a much better user experience, but it does mean our roles as digital marketers have become increasingly more difficult. Rather than admitting defeat, we as an industry can evolve along with these changes. This is not the first time we have seen a drastic shift in the search landscape and it certainly won’t be the last. To maintain relevancy and continue to see a positive ROI for your business from your SEO strategies and tactics, it is important to optimize for the right type of SERP features that still drive user engagement for your business, continuing to write clear, concise, and unique content, and diversify your traffic sources to establish authoritativeness.

Unsure of where to start or what will have the highest impact on your business? Our team is here to help. Contact us to hear more about how we provide customized strategies for your unique business.