Fully half of all searches on search engines today no longer result in a click on an organic search result.
Moreover, before displaying any organic search results on the first search results page, Google often displays ads, a video carousel, a People Also Ask (PAA) box, a Local Pack (map and listing of local businesses), and so on…
The upshot? There’s barely room on search engine results’ Page One for organic search results, and the “top” organic result is actually near the bottom of the page.
The issue has been years in the making, affecting the way websites are able to drive traffic via search.
The trend has also resulted an increase in so-called zero-click searches—searches that result in no clicks from the search results page—as a result of Google’s supplying answers on the search results page itself, obviating the need to click through to a website or landing page to find what the searcher is looking for.
In fact, as of June 2019, less than half of all Google searches (desktop and mobile combined) resulted in a click:
Companies need to be aware of how this zero-click phenomenon affects organic search and what can be done to maintain healthy streams of traffic to their websites.
Positioning your site to receive traffic organically from every opportunity that arises should be a top priority in your company’s marketing strategy.
How to Adapt to Zero-Click and Dwindling Search Traffic