A recent study conducted by Datos and SparkToro revealed that nearly 60% of Google searches in the United States and the European Union end without any clicks on search results. This phenomenon, often referred to as “zero-click searches,” highlights significant changes in user behavior and search engine dynamics.
Zero-click searches occur when users find the information they need directly on the search results page, without needing to click through to a website. This can happen through featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other rich results that Google displays.
The study, led by Rand Fishkin of SparkToro, utilizes data from Datos, a Semrush company, which aggregates clickstream data from millions of users. This data provides a comprehensive view of search behaviors, offering insights into what happens after a user conducts a search on Google. Notably, this study includes data from both desktop and mobile searches, although it has limited coverage of iOS devices.
The study finds that 58.5% of Google searches in the U.S. and 59.7% in the EU result in zero clicks. These are searches where users either found the information they needed directly on the search results page, ended their search session, or reformulated their queries.
The data indicates that Google continues to direct a substantial amount of traffic to its own properties, such as YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Flights. In the U.S., nearly 30% of all clicks go to Google-owned platforms.
For every 1,000 searches, only 360 clicks in the U.S. and 374 in the EU go to non-Google-owned, non-advertising websites. This means a significant portion of web traffic remains within Google’s ecosystem, raising concerns about the company’s dominance and its implications for competition.
Mobile searches are particularly prone to ending without clicks, with nearly half of mobile searches in both regions resulting in users ending their browsing session entirely. This trend is more pronounced than on desktop devices, where such behavior occurs less frequently.
Regulatory Impacts and AI Overviews
The study dives into how regulatory measures and technological changes shape search behavior. The EU’s Digital Markets Act seems to have made some difference in curbing Google’s tendency to favor its own services, but the change is only slight.
In May 2024, Google introduced AI Overviews, a feature that summarizes responses to queries. This led to a noticeable drop in mobile searches and a small uptick in desktop searches. The feature received a mixed reception at launch and was quickly rolled back to be shown in fewer searches because of inconsistencies and made-up facts.
While features like AI Overviews and other “instant results on the same page” features can improve user experience by delivering quick answers, they also create challenges for websites that depend on search traffic for visibility and revenue.
These findings bring back the debate on Google’s market power and whether regulatory efforts are really effective. Ethically, it’s important to find a balance between making things convenient for users and keeping the broader web ecosystem healthy. Given Google’s dominance, its design choices can greatly affect how people use the internet.
The idea that Google cares about this is primarily a daydream, though.
