Are Websites Getting Fewer Clicks

There’s a lot happening in the SEO world right now. Honestly, there’s been more change in the past year than I’ve seen in decades. It’s not about algorithm updates or changes; it’s a fundamental change in user search behavior. It’s big. And, as entrepreneurs, we need to take note and adjust our content and optimization strategy, or our business won’t survive this one.

Yes, Websites are Getting Fewer Clicks 

Consumer search behavior is changing quickly thanks to AI-based search. Rather than starting a search on Google (or another search engine) by typing in a keyword or a phrase, people are asking questions and getting them answered without ever clicking through to a website.

We’re Entering a Zero-Click Search World

Many queries are now answered in the search results AI section at the top or by an AI chat tool such as ChatGPT or Perplexity. 60% of all searches today do not yield a click from the search results. That’s a huge number. The days of 40% of the searches going to the website in position #1 in the search results are over. Today, search is changing, but that doesn’t mean that SEO isn’t important anymore. Now, the challenge is how to get your business into those AI search results. That’s what we need to focus on to continue to grow in a zero-click world.

What Does This Mean For You?

Your new challenge, rather than simply ranking at the top of Google for as many pages as possible, is to also rank within the AI Overviews, AI Mode, and in AI-based search for as much information as possible. You want to be a resource that AI uses and shares with searchers.

Both Traditional and AI SEO are Important

Consumer search behavior is changing, and that’s why both traditional SEO and AI-based search optimization are important. What we’re seeing is that a lot of the top of the funnel or introductory type of informational queries are now being answered by AI information. That’s why we still want to create this type of content, but it’s more important now that it’s formatted specifically for AI inclusion. What does AI formatting entail? Well, AI search is more conversational than traditional SEO. People aren’t searching with a keyword; they’re asking questions. The way the AI tools work is that they go out and look for the phrases, questions, etc. that they think match what the person is searching for and is the correct answer. The AI tools report that information back in a conversational way. If you want to show up in AI search, then your website needs to be easy to crawl and read (so you need to still do your traditional SEO).

Consumer Search Behavior is Changing and will Change SEO

Not only are people starting their searches on AI or using AI-based information to gather what they need at the early stages of the research process, but we are seeing them refine their search multiple times and then end up on Google for the final conversion.

I had a student share with me that her latest client found her this way. She’s a therapist, and the new client knew they needed help but didn’t know what to search for to find the right type of therapist for their specific needs. That new client started their search on ChatGPT and asked it what type of therapist they needed to find based on what they wanted to work on. ChatGPT gave them a summary and helped them understand what to search for in their area. That new client then went to Google with the help of ChatGPT and searched for the specific type of therapist they needed in their area and found my student’s website because she had optimized for that type of therapy and their local area. She showed up high in the search results on Google.

This multi-step search process is where things are likely headed.

What do you do for Your Business? 

You’re still going to want to be sure your website is properly optimized, and make sure it’s easy to crawl and index. Continue creating great content that’s helpful and provides answers and information that your ideal customer needs. However, the type of content that you create needs to change. You don’t want to focus completely on top of the funnel, information content that is now being answered by AI, because it’s not going to get traffic. You want that content to show up in AI so people can learn about your business and begin to see you as a resource, but your content strategy can’t end there. Now, you need to think about what else they need, 2-3 steps into the research phase.

Changing Your Content Strategy for AI Search

Think about what information will be answered by AI and make sure you have that info on your website and it’s properly optimized for Google, but more importantly, formatted for AI search. Then, think through the following steps. How will your customer likely refine their search? What other questions will they need to ask to find what they ultimately want? They’ll likely ask AI for 1-2 more refinements before going to Google when they’re closer to the point of conversion (meaning they’re ready to buy). You want to make sure your website also has that conversion content and that it’s optimized and SEO-friendly.

Do SEO Keywords Still Matter?

Yes, SEO keywords still matter; however, the ones you want to target and optimize for have changed. In the past, we targeted keywords at all steps of the sales funnel, hoping our blog posts and website pages would show up in Google results and get traffic. Today, with the switch to AI-based search, especially at the top of the funnel, we don’t need to worry as much about keywords for those pages. We want to focus more on bottom-of-the-funnel content, those queries that are closer to conversion, and use keywords there. AI search doesn’t rely on keywords.

Final Thoughts on AI Search and SEO Working Together and How It Impacts Your Business

When you’re creating your content strategy, think about your customer and their journey. Take a little while and map it out. Start with the first thing they might search for when looking for information related to your business. You’ll want to make sure those first blog posts are optimized for traditional SEO, but more importantly, formatted for AI search since it’s quite likely today that they’ll be answered in AI results. Then, think about how they might refine that search and potentially create another blog post that addresses this topic as well. Then, you’ll want to create a blog post that goes further down the sales funnel, what is the final thing they might question or try to figure out before making a purchase and create that blog post but this time, focus on being sure to find the right keyword (one that you have a good chance of ranking at the top of Google for) and optimize your post using this keyword. Don’t skip on keyword research for the earlier posts in the funnel, but if you find that you don’t have a good chance of ranking at the top of Google for them, it’s OK, create the blog post anyway and focus on formatting for AI search.

How do you do Traditional SEO on your Blog Posts?

Choose a keyword that your site has a good chance of ranking at the top of page 1 for and use it in all of the places that Google will look for information on your post. If you’re not sure what they are or where to use them, get a copy of my Beginner’s Guide to SEO here, and I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

How do you format for AI Search?

Next, you’ll want to make sure all of your content is formatted for AI search. You’ll do this by creating great content, adding in header tags to help separate the paragraphs so that it’s easier to read, and adding extra white space between paragraphs, too. Finally, you can add an introduction, TL;DR type section, or a recap, or Final Thoughts for the AI search engines. Use bullet points in your preview or recap sections. I have a Beginner’s Guide to AI SEO you can request here.

Final Thoughts on the Shift in SEO in 2025

• Yes, websites are getting fewer clicks, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
• User search behavior is changing, and our strategy needs to adapt. 
• Many searches that used to be done on Google are now being handled by AI. 
• Up to 60% of search queries don’t end up in a click. 
• Traditional SEO still matters. 
• Keywords matter more for specific blog posts than others. 
• AI formatting matters more for some blog posts than others. 
• Consumers are starting to use AI search and Google together to find the information they need.