We have made a valuable addition to the insights available with SimilarWeb’s Keyword research tool. In addition to seeing the average monthly volume of searches for a particular keyword and the monthly average number of search visits generated by each keyword, SimilarWeb now details zero-click searches as well!
What are search volume, search visits, and zero-click searches?
Search Volume refers to the number of times a specific keyword is used in a search. SimilarWeb presents Search Volume as a monthly average of searches performed for that keyword in Google over the last 12 months for the selected territory.
Search Visits is SimilarWeb’s new metric which refers to the monthly average number of completed search visits where a user clicks on a search result to get to a non-search engine page.
Zero-Click Searches refers to a search engine results page (SERP) which answers the query right at the top such that the user doesn’t need any further clicks to complete the search. A zero-click search is one that satisfies the search intent at the top of the SERP.
Why are search volume and search visits different?
There have always been discrepancies between the number of searches for a given keyword and the number of completed search visits.
A product-related search like best headphones will deliver a range of search results including tech review articles and price comparison sites, as well as a choice of online retailers. Users often visit more than one of the search results, generating a higher number of search visits than searches.
Recently though, discrepancies are being seen more and more going in the opposite direction with fewer search visits than searches.
Why do people search for things but not click on the results?
There is an increasing number of keywords that are resulting in fewer and fewer completed search visits. The reason for this lies in the increasing incidence of zero-click searches as Google continues to improve and own the experience for its users. Zero-click’s growing prominence complicates measuring SEO efforts, with a widening gap between the number of searches performed (volume) and the number of clicks on the search results.
Google is working hard to present the best possible answer to a query without the user having to click further and visit another site. Thus a search for how old is the queen, or even queen age will display an answer that doesn’t require another click or an additional site visit.
The range of queries for which Google is building automated responses that don’t require further visits is expanding from week to week as the search giant explores ways to prevent users from moving on to another site. Each new information format will reduce the volume of search visits resulting from the query.
How will search visits help me?
Knowing which keywords are more or less likely to generate clicks through to your site is vital for optimizing your keyword strategy, as previously valuable keywords may become less effective as queries increasingly end with the search engine. For publishers relying on volumes of traffic to generate ad revenue, whole avenues of content may prove much less successful at generating search traffic even as the volume of searches for a particular topic stays the same or even grows.
It is critical to stay on top of the keywords you are using to optimize your content and generate traffic. With SimilarWeb’s Zero-Click metric, you can optimize your SEO, PPC, and Search strategy for keywords that drive site visits and engagement. Assuming traffic is your primary objective, prioritize keywords with higher “clicked” rates (CTR). SimilarWeb’s newest Zero-Click metric will enable you to sanity-check your most valuable keywords over time to ensure they continue to earn their way.
This is just a sample of the types of insights SimilarWeb can provide to help you optimize your SEO strategy. Curious, how much traffic you’re losing to zero clicks and wondering how you can optimize your SEO strategy? Check out our in-depth report, How to Create a Winning Content and SEO Strategy, and get started improving your organic traffic share today.
