As search engines evolve, so do the challenges for businesses trying to maintain visibility. One of the most pressing issues today is the rise of zero-click searches, where users find the answers they need directly in search results without ever clicking through to a website.
In fact, it’s projected that over 70% of all Google searches will result in zero-click outcomes by the end of 2025. This dramatic shift means that even businesses ranking high on search engines may still see a drop in website traffic as users bypass their websites entirely.
But here’s the good news: you don’t have to lose visibility or authority because of zero-click searches. Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is a powerful solution that allows businesses to thrive in this new search landscape.
By optimizing for AI-driven search results and featured snippets, your business can still maintain brand presence and capture the attention of potential customers.
In this blog, we’ll explore the zero-click problem, how it works, and share strategies for leveraging AEO to reclaim visibility in a world where clicks aren’t guaranteed.
What is Zero-Click Search and How Does It Work?
Zero-click searches occur when users find the answer to their query directly in the search engine results page (SERP) without having to click through to a website. These answers are often provided through features like:
- Featured Snippets: Boxes that directly answer user queries.
- Knowledge Panels: Information boxes that appear for specific entities (e.g., brands, locations).
- Direct Answer Boxes: Concise answers to questions right on the search page.
- AI-generated overviews: Synthesized information pulled from various sources.
The rise of voice search, mobile usage, and AI-driven features has accelerated this trend. In fact, in March 2025, 27.2 percent of U.S. Google searches ended without a click, up from 24.4 percent the previous year; in the EU/UK, the zero-click rate reached 26.1 percent.
As AI-powered search engines continue to refine their ability to present relevant, immediate answers, businesses must rethink their SEO strategies to remain visible even when users don’t visit their website.
The Impact of Zero-Click on SEO: Why Businesses Need to Adapt
Traditionally, businesses focused on SEO to drive traffic. By optimizing for keywords, backlinks, and technical SEO, companies could rank higher in search results, attracting visitors to their sites.
However, with zero-click searches on the rise, this traditional SEO approach no longer guarantees traffic, even for high-ranking sites.
What does this mean for your SEO strategy?
- Reduced website traffic: As more users get answers directly on the SERP, organic traffic to websites may decline.
- Decreased conversion opportunities: With fewer clicks, there are fewer chances to convert users into leads.
- Lost brand visibility: If your content isn’t showing up in zero-click results, you’re missing out on vital opportunities to build brand recognition and authority.
However, AEO strategies provide a way to adapt to this shift. AEO is designed to optimize content for AI-driven search results, such as featured snippets and voice search results, ensuring that your brand remains visible and your expertise is recognized, even without a click.
How We Helped an Innovative Brand Tackle Zero-Click Problems?
At Even Digit, our SEO experts collaborated closely with an innovative brand that developed a cooking oil solidifier, a sustainable product designed to safely dispose of used cooking oil by converting it into a solid.
The brand had already established a solid SEO presence and gained attention by appearing on a popular business investing television show, which helped them reach a broader audience.
Despite this, we began noticing a decline in organic traffic in mid-2024, although the brand ranked highly on search engine results pages (SERPs).
We Sooner Jumped to Identify the Problem
As zero-click searches and AI overviews became more prevalent, we noticed a significant problem. Even though the brand was ranking for relevant keywords, users were getting answers directly on the SERP through AI-generated overviews, featured snippets, and knowledge panels.
This led to reduced click-through rates, as users no longer needed to visit the website to find the information they were looking for.
Despite high visibility in the search results, the brand wasn’t getting the traffic or engagement it expected. The shift to zero-click searches posed a challenge: how could we maintain the brand’s visibility when users weren’t even clicking?
Our Strategy Shift
We knew we needed to adapt quickly to the rise of zero-click searches. Our strategy shift involved a combination of content realignment, optimization, and AI-powered tools to ensure that the brand’s presence was maintained in AI-driven search results and AI overviews. Here’s how we approached it:
1. Content Realignment for AEO
Rather than focusing solely on long-form articles, we shifted our attention to creating content that directly answers specific questions.
We optimized the content for AI-driven answers by providing concise, actionable responses that fit perfectly within AI overviews and Google’s featured snippets.
Additionally, we structured content so that product links were naturally incorporated within the AI overviews. This ensured that our brand and product pages were directly suggested in the AI results, helping us maintain traffic and boost click-through rates.
2. Optimizing Existing Content
We didn’t stop at creating new content. We also re-optimized existing blogs to ensure they were AI-overview compatible.
This involved updating the content to be more structured, using clear question-and-answer formats, and optimizing for voice search and AI-generated summaries.
By doing this, we ensured our authority with answer engines like Google BERT, positioning our content as relevant and trustworthy for direct answers. This also helped our older content continue to rank and drive visibility, even without clicks.
3. Applying Structured Data
To make our content even more AI-friendly, we used the FAQ schema and the How-to schema across relevant pages. This made it easy for search engines to extract and display our content directly in knowledge panels and direct answer boxes.
By signalling to search engines exactly how our content should be interpreted, we ensured that our brand maintained a strong presence in AI-powered search features.
4. AI-Powered Insights
Using AI-powered SEO tools, we were able to track the performance of our content in zero-click environments.
These tools helped us refine our strategy and identify high-performing content, enabling us to focus on topics and formats that were more likely to be displayed in AI-driven answers.
7 Expert Strategies to Maximize AEO for Your Business
Zero-click searches are a fact of life now. You need to be where users look. These seven strategies will help you grab the spotlight. Each one tackles a key part of Answer Engine Optimization.
1. Focus on Question-Based Content
Identify the most common questions in your industry and create direct, concise answers. Use tools like Google’s “People Also Ask” and Answer The Public to find frequently asked questions.
2. Implement Structured Data
Make use of the FAQ schema, How to schema, and other types of structured data. This helps search engines understand your content more effectively, increasing your chances of appearing in AI-generated results.
3. Optimize for Voice Search
Voice search queries are often conversational and longer in nature. Optimize your content to answer natural language questions, such as “How do I…?” or “What’s the best way to…?”
4. Leverage AI Analytics
Use AI-powered tools to analyse user engagement and refine your content strategy. Track which pages appear in zero-click results and adjust your strategy accordingly.
5. Create Content Hubs
Organize your content around core themes and topics. This improves your site’s topical authority and helps you rank better in AI-driven search environments.
6. Monitor SERP Features
Track your content’s performance in featured snippets, knowledge panels, and direct answers to gauge the impact of your AEO efforts.
7. Prioritize Mobile Optimization
With mobile searches dominating, ensure your content is mobile-friendly and optimized for faster loading times to boost visibility in mobile-focused zero-click searches.
Must Read: 10 Proven Strategies to Skyrocket Your Website’s Google Rankings
Let Even Digit Help You Reclaim Visibility in Zero-Click Searches
As zero-click searches continue to dominate the digital landscape, it’s clear that AEO is essential for maintaining brand visibility.
Even if users aren’t clicking through to your website, you can still build authority, drive brand impressions, and increase lead generation by optimizing your content for AI-driven search results.
At Even Digit, our SEO experts specialize in adapting your content to the evolving search landscape. With our decades of experience, we can help you implement AEO strategies that not only increase your visibility in zero-click environments but also maximize your chances of success in an AI-driven world.
Let’s connect today and transform your SEO strategy to ensure you stay ahead of the curve in the zero-click.
