At first glance, this blog title may leave you wondering why zero-click searches are positive and why you should factor them into your overarching PPC Strategy.
Hopefully, at the end of this blog, you will understand what zero-click search means and how to position your strategy to get the most out of zero-click searches.
The marketing landscape is changing, and so is consumer behaviour. We are seeing fewer users click through ads. This is because users are getting the answer they need directly from the search engine result page (SERPs). However, this does not mean intent is lost; these users are just in the consideration phase of their journey.
This is because the search engine result page (SERPs) is crowded with answers, snippets and AI overviews which give users exactly what they need. Especially now, you can have a continuous conversation with Google AI to narrow down the answer you are looking for.
As paid search advertisers, it does sound scary that users are finishing their journey without clicking a link, but this just means we need to alter our strategy to get the most from users.
Zero-click searches vs Pay-Per-Click
The traditional pay-per-click model is commonly known as advertisers paying a fee each time one of their ads is clicked on. In simple terms, the more clicks, the more you are charged, as each click has a cost.
Whereas, zero-click searches are when a user searches for something and they find the answer they were looking for through the search engine result page (SERPs). This means there is no interaction with a website.
How to adapt your strategy
Zero-click search strategies need to be brand awareness-led; we are focusing on the top of the funnel, where we need to educate and inform users. This is because these types of users are looking for an answer or idea, not the end solution.
We all know how long it can take to curate the perfect ad structure. The good news is you will not have to do this again; we can make changes to certain campaign areas, which will help adapt your strategy.
Maximise search dominance
The more space we can take up on the search engine result page (SERPs), the better. This is because users do not want to endlessly scroll to find the answer they are looking for. By utilising all available ad assets (sitelinks, structured snippets, call outs, images, promotions, locations, contact info ect) we can take up as much real estate space as possible. This will also make your ad the primary focus even when AI summaries appear.
Keyword refresh
We want to make sure all keywords in search campaigns are intentional and drive search intent. This will also help improve the ad quality score, which will improve ad positioning and reduce cost per click (CPC). These keywords can also be used for audience targeting as search term signals for upper to middle funnel channels. E.g. Cross-network, Display, Video ect.
Ad copy improvements
If we start to see a decrease in clicks, it indicates that users who are clicking through probably have an understanding of the business offerings. This means we are not showcasing enough in the ad copy to entice users to visit the website. Having your keywords in headlines and descriptions is important, but we need to showcase more. These include:
- Unique selling points: E.g ‘Free Next Day Delivery’
- Call to actions: ‘E.g Get A Free Quote’
- Include benefits of your business: E.g ‘Visit Our Showroom’ or ‘Speak To An Expert Today’
- Utilise all available ad copy fields to give the platform as much information to generate multiple ad variations to test.
Product feed clean up
A well-maintained feed is what keeps shopping campaigns in motion. Easy things to check weekly are:
- Disapprovals: Look at the reasons why some products are not being shown and update them.
- Correct global trade item numbers (GTINs): This allows Google to accurately identify, organise and match products. This overall leads to greater visibility and an increased conversion rate.
- Promotions: Ensure your feed and website match, keep sale prices and promotions up to date, as this is a big incentive for searchers.
Product title enhancements
The more information you provide in your feed, the more products search engines will push when users search. Businesses commonly just have the basics in their product titles: Brand > Product Name > Colour > Material > Size. This is fine, but not every user is searching with intent. Often, zero-click searches are from users who are looking for an answer to their problem. If we can show these users the exact product they are looking for, then they are likely to click through. To do this, we need to start including search terms in product titles too. This is a manual job that does pay off when carried out well. An example of this is if you had a furniture business and someone searched for ‘mid-century sideboard’, which of the two products below do you think they are more likely to click?
- Brown Wooden Side Board 2 Drawers
- Mid Century Mango Wood Brown Sideboard with 2 Drawers & Gold Handles
How to best utilise brand awareness PPC platforms
Following users around platforms through creative ads sounds silly, but it really does push the brand in front of potential customers. Through upper and mid funnel channels, we can create the perfect audiences matched with informative creative and excellent creative to show users our brand.
Audiences
Some advertisers let Google find the perfect users and set up broad audiences. However, this gives the platform limited information to work with to find the best users. Whereas, if we provide Google with information about our ideal customer interests, search term signals, URLs users might be interested in and existing data. Then, we are providing Google with the best training wheels so the platform can show the ads to users who are likely to visit the website or business in the future.
- Interests & detailed demographics: This is where we can select existing audiences, which allows Google to find users based on their interests, life events or detailed demographics.
- Your data: We can feed data back into the platform, such as remarketing lists and existing purchase data.
- Custom segments: This is where we can enter some competitor URLs so Google knows we are targeting users who are also interested in those websites. Or we can even upload a bunch of search terms, which act as a signal nudge for the campaign to find the right users.
Creative
- Sizes: Each platform and channel has its own size requirements, and it’s important to have a size for each slot. This means the ads can show across the whole platform network and in all available placements. If we miss out on a size requirement, we could miss out on potential customers.
- Format: Another important factor to consider is what type of creative you want. It’s always important to make sure it aligns with your brand guidelines. This will allow users to recognise ads and link them to the website with memory. There are 2 main types of creative videos and statics. Both work well across ads, but when you utilise both formats in your campaigns, it gives more for Google to work with.
- Contents: Flat imagery is often what you see across the search engine results page (SERPs). However, if you show users something different, you are likely to capture their attention. Showcasing products, promotions, call to actions, USPs and branding in creative gives users as much information as possible at a single glance
Ad copy
I mentioned how important ad copy is earlier on in this blog, and I am doubling down to say it is important across all channels in paid advertising, as it’s the easiest way to get our message across to users.
Refine what success looks like moving forward
As the growth in zero-click searches increase, we need to change the way we read and measure performance. This is because metrics such as click-through-rate become less useful on their own as we are actively seeing CTR decrease across industries. Conversion metrics such as conversion rate, return on ad spend, cost per acquisition ect. This is because although fewer users may be visiting the website we could be reaching a more engaged and relevant audience.
There is also the halo impact of brand awareness efforts, through paid channels we may showcase a brand to users in the hopes they organically convert later on. In this case, impression share and CPM are key indicators of performance.
Conclusion
Zero-click searches is not the end of PPC it just means we have to stay educated and use all channels in a strategic way to still get users to websites. Changing search campaigns to have more intentional keywords and ad copy, while utilising upper funnel channels to capture users attention.
