What is a Zero-Click Search?
Have you ever searched for a query on Google that is followed by your answer displayed right there at the top of the search results? You do not even have to click on any other website. The thing that you want is displayed either at the top or in a sidebar with all the necessary information you want in a concise manner. How is that possible? How did Google achieve that while being a simple search engine?
The answer to these questions is Zero-Click searches
According to a survey, as much as 50% of the queries searched on Google do not lead to any follow-up click onto a third-party website. This is because Google displays the answer in a featured snippet, saving the time of the users as they wouldn’t have to go to another website. Google itself also benefits from this because more and more traffic stays on their page rather than being redirected to another website.
This might seem like a matter of concern to some. Isn’t being featured as a snippet going to stop the traffic from coming to your website, which was your ultimate goal? Fortunately, this is not how snippets work. In this article, we will go through what these zero-click searches are and how you can take maximum benefit from this feature by ending up in the top snippet. So, when hiring an SEO Agency in New York or wherever your company is nestled, make sure to inquire about their expertise on ranking a website for zero-click searches.
Zero-click searches are perfect for improving the user experience especially for providing simple answers to simple questions.
There are a total of six types of zero-click searches, which are as follows;
- Instant Answer
A lot of times, we use Google searches to find a simple, concise answer to our questions rather than going into long detail. Thus, there should be no need of going in to another website to get that answer when you can get it from zero-click searches.
- Definition
If you need a synonym, meaning, or a definition of a word/term, you can get your answer from the zero-click searches.
- Map
A google map appearing as a first result when you are searching for a location or directions to a certain place makes your life very easy.
- Calculator/Converter
Google search bar can also be used as a simple calculator or convertor for you to get your desired maths done quickly and efficiently.
- Knowledge Panel
Have you ever seen a side panel appear on Google as a response to your query? This knowledge panel consists of Google’s own database that collects the relevant information about your query and displays it in an easy-to-read format. People can also submit their businesses for these knowledge panels.
- Featured Snippets
These are the results based on lists or short explanations for your search query. These informative pieces of text appear at the top of the results with the title and link to the main website from which the information is being fetched from.
It must be evident that if your website is featured in such a snippet for a query, it will improve the website’s visibility and reach related to the subject.
How to appear in a zero-click search?
A quick and easy way for you to make sure that your company’s website appears in Google’s zero-click searches is to register with a Google My Business account. It is reasonable that Google will prefer to display results from their own database from their own utilities.
Hence, getting listed with GMB with a verified account will make sure that your business appears in Google’s search results at the very top, or at the side knowledge panel. The process is very convenient and will improve your site’s visibility especially in the local region of your business.
This authority over that particular service related to the search query will give a significant boost to your digital marketing strategy. Moreover, it will also show that your business holds credibility with Google and will ultimately lead to more user traffic towards your business website.
Also Read: 4 Easy Ways to Drive More Traffic to Your Website
For this purpose, make sure that the content on your website is of high quality and relevant to the service that you are providing. Pictures are also a great way to be featured in a snippet.
Once your website is optimized to factor in the zero-click searches, you can easily get the best results from the biggest search engine for your business. So, make sure the local SEO company excels in zero-click searches so that you can obtain the maximum benefits out of this phenomenon.
