Zero-Click Searches: What Marketers Need to Know in 2025
User behaviour in the rapidly evolving digital environment is redefining how brands draw in customers and encourage engagement. From zero-click searches on search engines to declining outbound link engagement on social media, marketers in 2025 face the challenge of standing out in an environment where platforms and algorithms are designed to keep users in-app. Remaining noticeable and relevant requires an understanding of these behavioural patterns and a response with the appropriate content strategy.
Growth of Zero-Click Searches
When visitors find the answers to their queries on the search engine results page (SERP) without having to navigate through to any other website, this is known as a zero-click search. These responses frequently appear as knowledge panels, featured snippets, and other rich results. Less traffic to owned websites is a problem, even if this behaviour can increase brand visibility.
Zero-click searches aren't as dominant as people think, but their influence is still rising. Zero-click behaviour is more common among desktop users in particular. 25.6% of desktop searches conclude without a click, compared to 17.3% of mobile searches. Before clicking for the first time, users typically take 14.6 seconds to review search results.
Recent data shows that 80% of users read and use information directly from search results, such as featured snippets or knowledge panels, even if they eventually click through to a website. However, over 60% of searches result in no clicks at all, indicating that visitors never visit an external website because they got what they needed on the results page. The increasing prevalence of zero-click behaviour is changing SEO strategies, as half of the consumers now rely on AI summaries for fast responses. Ranking on the first page is no longer sufficient, marketers now need to optimize for visibility within the SERP features itself.
In-App Engagement on Social Media
Search behaviour isn't the only area where user engagement is shifting. The importance of native content that keeps users in the app is growing on social media sites like Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. 75% of shared links were never clicked, a phenomenon referred to as "shares without clicks", according to a study that examined 35 million Facebook postings between 2017 and 2020. This indicates that passive content consumption without further engagement is becoming increasingly popular.
Furthermore, compared to posts without links, those with outbound links typically have up to 219.49% less organic reach and substantially lower exposure. Today's algorithms prioritize text posts, images, and videos over link-based content, so marketers must adjust. On LinkedIn, for instance, posts without outbound links consistently perform better. The platform's algorithm now favours native content and content that drives significant conversations and engagements over outbound links.
As a workaround, marketers often place external links in the comments or focus on highly engaging visual and textual content that promotes interaction. Maintaining audience engagement without interfering with their platform experience is the aim.
Adoption of Visual and Interactive Content
Brands are adopting content forms that suit changing customer preferences more and more in order to remain ahead of these changes, with visual storytelling taking centre stage. In 2025, 67% of B2B marketers are incorporating infographics into their strategies, while 62% are adopting interactive content to drive engagement. Additionally, 41.5% of marketers now consider visual content to be the most critical component of their overall marketing efforts.
Moreover, short-form video has become an effective medium. It is perfect for audiences with short attention spans because of its speedy value delivery. Short-form videos, whether on YouTube Shorts, TikTok, or Instagram Reels, are showing a high level of engagement and conversion.
Notably, email newsletters continue to be an important part of content strategies, particularly when they provide immediate value. Depending on the industry and content quality, open rates range from 20% to 40%, with sectors like healthcare and government typically outperforming entertainment and gaming.
Click-through rates (CTR) generally fall between 2% and 5%, while click-to-open rates (CTOR) range from 2.93% to 10.71%. Remarkably, approximately 70% of email readers would rather read brief summaries or overviews than lengthy articles. Directly including easily readable content in the email body increases engagement and reduces friction.
User behaviour is moving toward instant gratification, and minimal engagement as search engines and social media platforms develop further. Adapting methods to this reality optimizing for zero-click SERPs, producing high-value in-app content, utilizing captivating images, and giving priority to content formats that suit user preferences is the key to marketers' success in 2025.