That stat about 80% of user searches being zero-click destroyed my SEO strategy

I read a blog post from SparkToro last night that said most searches on Google don't even click through to a website anymore. How are we supposed to justify spending on SEO when nobody's actually visiting the page?

3 comments

3 Comments

joel_clark375d agoOG Member

Does brand authority actually pay the bills though? SparkToro's data shows the click-through rates dropping every year, and Google keeps pulling more content into their own results. How are you measuring that authority in a way that proves it's worth the investment?

cole_baker5d ago

Zero-click searches build brand authority even without a click through.

blair_taylor323d ago

Hang on, is brand authority actually worth anything if nobody's clicking or engaging with it? I get that having a strong name recognition feels good on paper, but if Google is grabbing all the info and your potential customers never leave the search page, what's the point? Zero-click searches only help if your brand is already famous enough that people will type it into the search bar themselves later. For most small businesses, that's just not happening. You're basically paying for a billboard in a ghost town, and hoping someone remembers the name while they're buying from someone else who actually gets the click. Seems like a vanity metric to me, especially when you can't track a direct line from that awareness to a sale or a lead.