If you’ve been on Google recently (ha!), you’ve probably noticed one of these:
These are snippets, and Google has increased the use of them. They’re pretty handy if you’re looking for a quick answer, as it’ll generally give you all the information you need instantly, and in one place. However, not so handy if you’re hoping to drive traffic to your website.
For the first time ever, over half of Google searches didn’t lead to clicks. Jumpshot reported that in June, 50.33% of Google searches didn’t result in any clicks, and just under 62% of clicks on mobile were zeroclicks. Google-owned properties haven’t fallen victim to this however, with a 6% increase of searches producing clicks for apps and sites like YouTube, Google Maps and Google Images.
Although this may sound concerning, it doesn’t mean that SEO is dead. Google’s algorithm and the way people use the internet (hey, Alexa) are constantly changing, so you’ll need to stay at the top of your SEO game if you want to stay at the top of the Google page.
So what can you do to maximise on snippets, and help defeat the non-clickers?
Whilst someone getting all the info from your site, without actually clicking onto your site, might sound like a pretty poor deal, it is good for brand awareness. And it’s likely that consumers will subconsciously remember you as a trustworthy source in the future.
With Google-owned properties seeing an increase in clicks, you’ll want to optimise your presence on these. Particularly with YouTube being the second most popular search engine, if video fits into your marketing strategy, you’d be silly not to be on YouTube.
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, or a location customers can visit, then make sure your Google Business Listing is up to date. Ensure it is detailed with opening times, contact info, images, and if your site has images, well make sure these are alt-tagged properly!
You may also want to look into your keyword strategy, and focus on keywords that have higher click-through rates.
Alternatively, if none of the above options work for you, and you’re about to throw your keywords out the pram, you may want to reduce your Google Adwords budget, and invest more into other aspects of digital marketing.
Psst. If you’ve read this and now you’re even MORE confused about SEO, or even if you have no clue what any of this means, give us a call or drop us a message here and we’ll be able to help you out!
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