Adapting Your SEO Strategy for Zero-Click Search Dominance

The way people search and the way Google answers have changed dramatically. With the rollout of AI Overviews in May 2024 and its rapid global adoption throughout 2025, we’ve seen a major surge in zero-click searches. 

These are searches where users get the answer directly in the search results without needing to visit a website.

This isn’t new or piping hot news as of 2025, though. In 2020, we were already seeing that more than 65% of mobile searches were ending without a click due to search features such as knowledge panels, featured snippets, and more. But with Google evolving to integrate more AI features into its search engine, and LLMs such as ChatGPT entering the market share, zero-click searches aren’t going anywhere.

For SEO consultants, marketers, and business owners, this raises a crucial question:

How do you keep getting seen even when no one’s clicking?

First, let me get into the what and why, then let’s explore how it applies to a typical Australian business.

What is a Zero-Click Search?

A zero-click search occurs when a user finds the answer to their query directly on the search engine results page (SERP), without needing to click through to a website. This can happen through a range of SERP features, including:

• AI Overviews (Google’s generative AI summaries)
• Featured Snippets (answer boxes, tables, lists)
• People Also Ask boxes
• Knowledge Panels
• Map Packs and Google Business Profiles
• Instant tools such as calculators, weather, and unit conversions

In most cases, the user’s question is resolved by the top of the page. Traditional organic listings are often pushed further down, or entirely below the fold on mobile devices.

According to Similarweb’s June 2025 report, AI Overviews now appear for approximately 80% of informational searches in major English-speaking countries. These overviews often consolidate information from multiple sources and display it in a conversational format that eliminates the need to explore further.

Why Are Zero-Click Searches Increasing?

There are several reasons behind the shift toward zero-click search results.

Google is Optimising for User Experience (And Maintaining Revenue)

Google has always prioritised delivering the best user experience. Its mission is to give users accurate, helpful answers as efficiently as possible. If that can happen directly on the search page, Google considers that a successful interaction.

At Google I/O 2025, Liz Reid (VP, Head of Search) noted that AI Overviews are “designed for efficiency, clarity, and confidence.” In other words, they are built to remove friction and get users what they need faster.

By providing AI summaries, tool integrations, and quick results, Google retains user attention within its own ecosystem (instead of losing us all to ChatGPT and the like). This keeps their steady revenue stream from monetising paid placements of listings, products, and YouTube ads.

In short, zero-click isn’t just a UX feature; it’s a strategic business response to changing consumer behaviour and competitive pressure.

Default Behaviours Have Changed

How we search has changed drastically over the past few years. Mobile devices now dominate search traffic, and voice assistants are embedded into everything from phones to fridges. This shift has fundamentally reshaped user expectations.

People no longer expect to browse through a list of ten blue links. They expect answers to appear immediately, in the format that best suits their intent — whether that’s a map, a table, an AI-generated paragraph, or a bolded fact at the top of the page.

On mobile, scrolling feels like more effort. On voice, the first response is usually the only one heard. Even on desktop, users increasingly scan rather than click. This behaviour shift has trained us to expect:

• Instant responses
• Shorter, clearer information
• Results that match exactly what we asked

This is why Google’s AI Overviews, featured snippets, and rich results have become so central to the search experience. They mirror the way people now consume information, quickly, passively, and often in one or two touches.

AKA, we are training ourselves to get information quicker, more succinctly, and more specifically to our queries.

What Does This Mean for My Business?

If your marketing relies heavily on driving traffic to your website, it’s understandable to feel uneasy about the rise of zero-click searches. After all, if fewer people are clicking, it might seem like fewer opportunities to convert.

But here’s the reality: clicks aren’t the only signal of success anymore.

What matters now is visibility and relevance, not just website visits.

Being featured in an AI Overview, a featured snippet, or the map pack means your business is showing up at the top of Google’s results, often before paid ads or traditional organic listings. This positioning creates brand awareness, trust, and repeat exposure even if it doesn’t always result in an immediate visit to your site.

SEO today is about earning attention at the point of search, not just driving traffic afterwards. The businesses that embrace this shift and adapt their content and visibility strategy accordingly will outperform those still focused only on rankings and clicks.

How to Optimise for Visibility in a Zero-Click World

If you’re a local business, service provider, or ecommerce brand, zero-click doesn’t mean you’re being replaced. You need to adapt your SEO strategy to earn more visibility on the results page, not just through it.

1. Focus on Featured Snippet and AI Overview Opportunities

These summaries are built from clear, structured content. You can improve your chances of being pulled into an AI Overview or snippet by:

• Formatting your content to answer common questions clearly (think short paragraphs, lists, or tables)
• Using H2 and H3 subheadings that match how people search (e.g. “What is building insurance?” or “How long does it take to ship furniture?”)
• Including concise, accurate definitions or how-to instructions at the top of key pages

2. Optimise Your Google Business Profile (GBP) and Google Shopping

For local and service-based businesses, your GBP is often the first and only impression someone gets. Optimise it like it’s your homepage:

• Keep your business hours, categories, and services up to date
• Add photos regularly
• Use the Q&A and posts features to address key concerns
• Collect and respond to reviews

If you’re not showing up in the local map pack, you’re invisible to a large portion of ready-to-buy customers.

Additionally, if you’re an e-commerce brand, leveraging Google Shopping to gain some additional placements on Google search results is also important. Google Shopping placements now appear across standard search results, image search, and sometimes within AI Overviews. These include product name, price, rating, and seller info, all before the user visits your site. Simply submit a product feed through Google Merchant Center.

3. Publish Content Designed to Own “People Also Ask” Results

Google’s People Also Ask boxes are a goldmine for service businesses and e-commerce stores.

Publishing content that answers related follow-up questions helps build topical authority and increases your chances of being featured across multiple zero-click sections.

For example:

• A physiotherapy clinic could answer “Is dry needling painful?” or “How many physio sessions do I need?”
• An e-commerce brand selling supplements might target “What’s the best time to take magnesium?” or “Is ashwagandha safe for daily use?”

This type of content builds both search visibility and buyer trust.

4. Implement Structured Data (Schema Markup)

Schema markup helps Google understand the context of your content and increases your chances of being featured in AI Overviews, carousels, and snippets.

Depending on your business type, you should consider:

• LocalBusiness schema (for physical locations)
• Organization schema (for all brands)
• Product schema (for e-commerce stores)
• Review schema (to surface star ratings in search)
• Article schema (for all blog posts)

This doesn’t guarantee a spot in a zero-click box, but it significantly increases your eligibility. 

NOTE: Google has been promising SEOs more and more recognition of schemas, but are stripping these away from us just as swiftly, so I’d recommend sticking to these basics and not particularly bothering with detailed FAQ, How-To, About Page and other schemas – the juice ain’t worth the squeeze in my humble opinion.

5. Invest in Brand-Building Beyond the Click

When people see your brand mentioned in AI Overviews or featured snippets, they often remember it, even if they don’t click.

Make sure you’re creating a brand worth remembering:

• Use consistent branding across your site and Google profiles
• Make your meta titles and descriptions stand out (even if they aren’t always shown)
• Be visible across multiple touchpoints: social media, YouTube, email, and offline marketing

This is especially important as Google leans more into AI-generated summaries that cite known brands with strong reputations.

I’d recommend working with a talented brand strategist (I trust Milkshake with all of my brand strategy enquiries) to ensure your brand identity is current, memorable, unique, and resonates with your audience as it needs to. Brand marketing truly is the foundation of all successful online marketing.

How to Measure the Impact of Zero-Click SEO

Tracking performance in a zero-click landscape requires a shift in how you measure success. I emphasise in my articles often that measuring the impact of SEO is looking at the bottom line – how many enquiries and conversions were a result of your organic presence?

Impressions Over Clicks

Google Search Console will show you how often your pages appear in search results, even if no one clicks. If impressions are growing, your visibility is improving.

This is a key early indicator that your content is making it into snippets, PAA boxes, or AI Overviews.

Note that a phenomenon is happening across all major entities (as well as minor) called the crocodile. I’ve seen this pattern across all of my clients, where impressions have split off from clicks:

Branded Search Volume vs. Generic

If your business name is being searched more often over time, it’s often a result of increased exposure through zero-click features.

This is especially relevant for e-commerce stores and service providers where trust and familiarity drive conversions.

Conversion Actions from Google Business Profile

For local businesses, Google Business Profile insights can show:

• Phone calls
• Direction requests
• Website taps

These often happen directly from the SERP, without a traditional website visit.

Customer Feedback and Referrals

You may notice customers telling you they “found you on Google” but didn’t visit your site. That’s a sign your brand is earning visibility through AI Overviews or map packs.

What’s Next?

SEO has never stood still, and it’s never been more important to evolve with the way people search. The rise of zero-click searches doesn’t mean the death of organic marketing. It means the goalposts have moved.

Today, SEO isn’t just about driving traffic. It’s about earning visibility at the exact moment someone is looking for what you offer, whether or not they land on your site.

If you’re a local business, service provider, or ecommerce brand, now’s the time to shift focus:

• Prioritise SERP real estate, not just rankings
• Think visibility and trust, not just clicks
• Build a brand that shows up, stands out, and gets remembered

This shift won’t be solved with AI tools or “quick wins.” It requires a strategy rooted in user behaviour, strong content foundations, and a brand that actually means something to the people searching.

If you’re not sure where your business stands in the zero-click landscape or what you should do next, that’s where I can help. SEO is what I do every day, for real Australian businesses who want to grow in a world where Google keeps changing the rules.

Book a chat with me about what SEO should look like today.