If you're a small service business, you've likely put time and money into your website hoping customers will visit, browse, and contact you. But increasingly, customers never even make it to your site. Instead, they find everything they need in a single Google search result: your phone number, your hours, your location, your reviews.
This is called a zero-click search, and it’s the new normal—especially for local searches.
Zero-click searches happen when Google (or another search engine or assistant) provides the full answer right on the results page, so the user doesn’t need to click any further. For local businesses, that often means the user finds what they need in the Google Business Profile panel, the local 3-pack, or a map snippet. And if your information isn’t there, you might not get discovered at all.
So, how do you show up where it counts when no one’s clicking through?
Why Zero-Click Searches Matter
Studies show that over 60% of mobile searches now end without a click. That means users are making decisions—what to buy, where to go, who to hire—based entirely on what appears on the first screen.
For small service businesses like HVAC companies, plumbers, lawn care professionals, and local contractors, this is a massive shift. It’s not about ranking first in organic results anymore—it’s about owning the space above the blue links: the map pack, your business profile, the "People Also Ask" boxes, and even AI-generated summaries.
These moments are where trust is built and decisions are made.
How to Win Zero-Click Searches as a Local Business
First and foremost: optimize your business listings everywhere. If you don’t have a Google Business Profile or haven’t updated it in a while, you’re almost invisible to these searches.
Make sure your business listing includes:
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Accurate name, address, and phone (NAP)
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Updated hours
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Categories that reflect your services
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Service areas (especially if you're mobile or cover multiple towns)
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A compelling business description with local keywords
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Photos that showcase your work
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Regular updates through Google Posts
Second, build consistency across the web. Tools like Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp, Nextdoor, and business data aggregators (like Localeze and Data Axle) all feed into these search snippets. Inconsistent or missing data makes it less likely your business will be surfaced in a zero-click moment.
Third, get reviews—and respond to them. Reviews are one of the most visible and influential parts of a zero-click search. A user looking for a roofer in your town may never visit your website, but if they see a 4.9-star rating with 80 recent reviews and an owner who actively responds, that may be all they need to choose you.
Fourth, invest in structured data on your website. Even if users don’t click, Google still crawls your site to confirm business details. Schema markup tells search engines exactly what your business does, where it is, and what services you offer, in a machine-readable format.
Finally, think about the kinds of questions a customer would ask. Many zero-click results show snippets pulled from FAQs, Q&A sections, or reviews that directly address common queries like:
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"Do you offer emergency service?"
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"Is your team licensed and insured?"
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"Can I get a quote over the phone?"
Answering these questions clearly in your content (and reviews) improves your chances of being featured directly in search.
The Bottom Line
You might not be able to control whether someone clicks through to your website—but you can control whether you show up at all. In the world of zero-click search, visibility is the win. And that means putting your energy into listings, reviews, and structured information—not just pageviews.
In 2025 and beyond, success in local search means meeting the customer exactly where they are—no clicks required.
