Latest / The Marketing Funnel Podcast with Fexingo: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action Stages / How Google Built the Zero-Click Marketing Funnel
Transcript
- Lucas: So here's a weird stat for a Thursday morning: as of last quarter, over 65 percent of Google searches end without a click. No visit to a website. No ad click. Nothing. Luna: Wait — people just stare at the results page and walk away? Lucas: Essentially. They get their answer right there in the search results. A featured snippet gives them the definition, a knowledge panel gives them the biography, a local pack gives them the phone number. The funnel never leaves Google's property. Luna: That's terrifying if you're a publisher or a brand trying to build awareness. But it's also kind of the logical endpoint of Google's whole mission, right? Give people the answer as fast as possible. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the tension I want to pull on today: how do you build a marketing funnel when the awareness and interest stages are happening inside a black box? I'm calling it the zero-click marketing funnel. Luna: Alright, let's unpack that. But first — what does the data actually look like? How do we know it's 65 percent? Lucas: A couple of sources. SimilarWeb and SparkToro both published reports in early 2026 showing click-through rates from Google search have been declining steadily since about 2019. The 65 percent figure comes from a Google internal study that leaked to Search Engine Land. It tracks all searches — mobile and desktop — and counts a 'zero-click' as any query where the user doesn't click a blue link or an ad. Luna: So includes things like weather, stock quotes, calculator — those have always been zero-click. But the big shift is informational queries that used to send traffic to blogs and news sites. Lucas: Right. Google now serves featured snippets for about 30 percent of queries. Knowledge panels for entities. Local packs for anything with a location. And then there's the 'People also ask' boxes. All of these are designed to keep the user on the page. Luna: And from Google's perspective, it's a better user experience. I don't have to click three links to find out the capital of Mongolia. Lucas: Absolutely. The question is: if you're a marketer, how do you adapt the AIDA model — awareness, interest, decision, action — when the first two stages happen inside Google's ecosystem and you have zero control over how your brand is presented? Luna: I'd argue you have some control. Structured data markup, for example. If you mark up your page with Schema.org vocabulary, you increase your chances of getting a rich result — a featured snippet, a recipe carousel, a product star rating. Lucas: That's the key lever. But it's not a guarantee. Google decides what goes in the snippet based on its own ranking algorithm. And they've been known to change the snippet without warning. In 2025, there was a big shake-up where Google started pulling featured snippets from Wikipedia and government sites far more aggressively. Luna: Which makes sense from a trust perspective. But if you're a DTC brand trying to get into that snippet spot for 'best running shoes for flat feet' — you're competing with major publications, not just other shoe brands. Lucas: And even if you win the snippet, the user gets the answer and never clicks. So your top of funnel awareness doesn't translate into traffic. That's the zero-click paradox. Luna: Let's talk about a concrete example. I was looking up flights to Tokyo last week. Searched 'cheapest flights Tokyo June 2026'. Google showed me a flight matrix — dates, prices, airlines — all in a little box. I never clicked a single link. Lucas: And that's exactly the kind of query that used to send traffic to Kayak or Expedia. Now Google Flights is the default. Same with hotels. Same with product searches. Google Shopping has been eating e-commerce traffic for years. Luna: So what's the play for a brand? If you can't rely on click-throughs, how do you build interest and move people to decision? Lucas: You have to optimize for the snippet itself. Make sure your brand name appears in the snippet. Use clear, concise language that answers the query directly. Include a call to action within the snippet if possible — like 'buy now' or 'sign up' — though Google limits that. Luna: But the real shift is moving from a click-based funnel to a brand-impression funnel. Even if people don't click, they see your name. That builds top of mind awareness. Later, when they're ready to buy, they might search directly for your brand. Lucas: That's the optimistic view. The pessimistic view is that Google is creating a walled garden where brands are commodities and the only winner is Google. You pay for ads to get back the traffic you used to get for free. Luna: And ad clicks are still counted as clicks, so the zero-click stat excludes paid results. But even paid clicks are declining because of ad extensions and sitelinks that provide information without a click. Lucas: Let me bring in a specific number from a brand that's adapted. I was looking at a case study from a company called Rothy's — the shoe brand made from recycled plastic. They noticed that their organic traffic from Google dropped 40 percent between 2023 and 2025. But their branded search volume went up 25 percent. Luna: So people were searching for 'Rothy's flats' instead of 'sustainable flats'. That suggests the brand awareness was working even without the click. Lucas: Exactly. They shifted their SEO strategy from trying to rank for generic terms to dominating the branded search results. They optimized their knowledge panel, claimed their Google Business Profile, and made sure their featured snippet for 'Rothy's return policy' was accurate. Luna: That's a smart play. But it only works if you already have some brand recognition. For a startup with zero awareness, the zero-click world is brutal. Lucas: Agreed. Startups have to rely on paid search, social media, or influencer marketing to build that initial awareness. Or they have to create content that's so compelling people click anyway — despite the snippet. Luna: Which brings us back to the decision stage. If someone sees a snippet and doesn't click, but they remember your brand, how do you get them to take action later? Lucas: Retargeting. Email capture. Anything that gets them into your owned channels. The zero-click funnel ends at Google's doorstep, so you need to have a way to continue the conversation. That's why brands are investing more in podcasts, newsletters, and communities — channels where Google can't interject. Luna: Honestly, if today's conversation sparked a new angle for your own marketing — maybe a way to rethink your SEO strategy — that's exactly the kind of thing listener support helps keep going. This show is ad-free, and it stays that way because of people who find value in it. If that's you, the link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that's the simplest way to say 'this mattered to me today.' And we genuinely appreciate it. Alright — back to the funnel. Lucas: So I think the big takeaway is that the marketing funnel hasn't disappeared; it's just become invisible. The awareness and interest stages are now cognitive events, not click events. You have to measure brand lift, search volume for your branded terms, and direct traffic — not just referrals from Google. Luna: And the action stage is moving to other platforms. More purchases are happening on Amazon, or through social commerce, or via direct site visits. Google becomes the research layer, not the transaction layer. Lucas: Which means the brands that win are the ones that make their brand name synonymous with the category. If someone thinks 'Nespresso' instead of 'coffee pods', they'll search directly. They'll bypass the zero-click problem entirely. Luna: So the ultimate strategy is brand building — just like it's always been. But now it's brand building inside Google's sandbox. Lucas: Right. And that's the challenge for marketers in 2026. You have to play Google's game to get the snippet, but you also have to build enough equity that the user remembers your name after the search. Luna: I think our listeners would love to hear your thoughts on this. Is your brand showing up in zero-click results? Are you seeing a drop in organic traffic? Send us a note — we might do a follow-up episode with your experiences. Lucas: That's a great idea. For now, I'd say: audit your branded search presence. Check your knowledge panel. Make sure your Google Business Profile is complete. And if you're not using structured data, start today. The zero-click funnel isn't going away. Luna: And maybe test a 'nosnippet' tag on your most valuable content to force a click. It's risky, but some brands have seen better conversion rates when they opt out of snippets. Lucas: Good point. There's no one-size-fits-all. But the era of assuming a Google search will send you traffic is over. You have to earn the click — or accept the impression.