Loading...In 2020, about 65% of searches carried out in Google didn’t result in clicking on any search result. It’s 15 percentage points more than the year before, however, the methodology of the analysis has changed a little bit. Let’s have a look at Rand Fishkin’s research.
The analysis covered 5.1 trillion searches (just to make sure you get this scale: 5 100 000 000 000!) both from desktop and mobile devices (including those from iOS). In 2019 the same analysis covers “just” a billion searches and didn’t include those carried on the iOS system. Rand Fishkin admits:
For comparison, zero-click searches on the desktop amount to 46%:
Conclusions?
The analysis covered 5.1 trillion searches (just to make sure you get this scale: 5 100 000 000 000!) both from desktop and mobile devices (including those from iOS). In 2019 the same analysis covers “just” a billion searches and didn’t include those carried on the iOS system. Rand Fishkin admits:
Nonetheless, it seems probable that if the previous panel were still available, it would show a similar trend of increasing click cannibalization by Google.It can be observed that significantly more zero-click searches take place on mobile phones. Seems fair, as when searching for information via phone we tend to look for a quick answer and those provided directly in SERPs are satisfactory.
For comparison, zero-click searches on the desktop amount to 46%:
The increase in the number of zero-click searches
To illustrate the scale of increase in the number of zero-clicks, Rand presented statistics from the last 3 years:
Conclusions?
- An overall number of Google searches is growing. At the end of 2019, the number dropped, but only to quickly increase again. It’s possible that the changes were influenced by the pandemic situation and the unexpected change of many lifestyles.
- The share of clicks in paid search results is growing.
- The share of clicks in organic search results is also increasing. It can be connected to the growth of desktop searches (once again, the pandemic could also have its say here)
- At the beginning of 2021, the share of zero-clicks decreased - the result of Google limited displaying featured snippets.
![How to Create an Ad That Will STAND Out? + [VIDEO]](https://delante.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/how-to-create-ads-that-stand-out.jpg)
Really interesting data! I think we are all in such a hurry right these days that we expect quick, short & informative answers. If I think about it – I’m not clicking on the search results myself most of the time