Ensuring Your Brand Wins in the Era of Zero-click Searches
Nearly every business has a website for their brand, regardless of whether they sell through their site, regardless of their size, location, products or services on offer. However, the tide seems to be shifting due to changing consumer habits online. This number had been rising slowly, but now, more than 50% of all searches are ‘no-click’ searches, meaning that when someone does a search on Google, the majority of people find what they’re looking for without even needing to click on a business’s website.
Find out more stats on the no-click searches phenomenon here on Search Engine Land.
A mix of changing consumer trends, and the rising level of functionality and data which Google holds are the main culprits of this.
Google is constantly adding new features to Google My Business (GMB), making the Knowledge Panel — the main GMB panel which appears on the right of results pages after a search — an essential part of any organisation’s digital strategy. Opening hours, maps and contact information, social media links, reviews and even industry-specific features like the ability to take bookings, showcase a menu, reserve products and much more are all there — if a listing is up to date of course.
I am often asked what businesses should do to remain visible online and where the priorities should lie. Here are some of the top areas any business must consider to stay on top of their listings:
Reviews Are King
?Consumer reviews can influence up to 15% of Google’s local search algorithm. In other words, they help enterprises to get found easier online, and increase conversion by providing consumer feedback about their services. Thinking of no-click behaviour, these very visual ratings are often part of the consumer decision on a product or service, so these need to be monitored and responded to. If ratings are suboptimal, I always recommend organisations to implement a systematic review requesting approach. Ask all your customers, happy ones often need to be encouraged to leave their feedback online. And the cherry on the cake: using the right technologies such as AI and natural language processing (NLP), reviews can provide a wealth of information to extract operational insights from.
Locations Information
From accurate addresses to keywords, categories and opening hours, this information is the biggest influencer of Google’s local search algorithm (25.12%). The more locations you have, the more time consuming this can be to keep accurate but it should not be overlooked, ever. Bad data in listings create negative sentiment and businesses stand to literally miss sales because consumers cannot reach them or find them. Remember, searchers are not verifying your location information on your website anymore...
Ask the Questions, Get the Answers
Q&A has gone through a few changes since it was introduced in August 2017 and now takes a highly prominent place on your GMB panel. People can ask questions about anything, and just like with reviews, it looks so much better if they’re answered, by other customers or the business directly. I’ve met several companies using Q&A as a community management medium. Let your customers engage with each other but keep an eye on it should someone need you to answer a critical question or rectify a wrong!
What Can You Do to Benefit?
So, no-click searches are on the rise, what can a business do? Here at Reputation.com, we recommend to keep in mind these three ideas:
- Think of your business’s website as an API for search engines to gather data in addition to being a destination. Have structured data on your website to make it easier for Google to get information about you, and report that information in search results.
- Think of Google as a way to get people to interact with your business, not necessarily as an engine to get people to visit your website. Building up your Google My Business page with complete information (including customer ratings) and sharing with Google and data aggregators information ensures it renders properly.
- Advertise on Google to amplify your content. Use Google ad tools such as Google Seller Ratings, which are an automated Google Ads extension for businesses doing paid advertising on Google. Actually, when you enable Google Seller Ratings, users can see your ratings when they search for your business online. Paid media will complement your content optimisation to ensure you get maximum visibility.
With the rise of no-click searches on Google, the search engine is in many ways becoming the “front door” to your business. Whatever you do, accept the reality of no-click searches. Don’t lament the drop in traffic to your website. Meet your customers where they are, and you’ll be fine.
Through Reputation.com’s platform, users are able to influence up to 78% of Google’s search algorithm. Message me if you want to find out more about our platform and services, I’m always happy to help!