Did you know Google now answers 2/3 of searches without a click? The search engine has evolved to be that way more and more the past few years. They want to force businesses to buy their pricey ads.
Meanwhile, social platforms are killing links. Include one in your post, and nobody will see it.
Media outlets and bloggers prefer pitches without link requests, unless it’s an affiliate link that gives them revenue.
And ChatGPT and Claude don’t care a whit about your backlinks. That’s not how LLM models work.
Welcome to zero-click marketing.
If this terrifies you, good. It kinda should. Everything we’ve learned and known about digital marketing is being turned upside down.
Remember when we tracked every click? Built funnels around CTRs? Optimized for immediate action?
All the things that made digital marketing so much better than the old ways. Those days are fading fast.
Think how people encounter products now:
- TikTok viewers can’t click through
- Google searchers now get answers, not links
- Podcast listeners are probably driving, washing dishes or pushing a snowblower
- Newsletter readers are scanning on mobile and skipping links
- Instagram users hate leaving the app (and organic posts can’t include clickable links)
In I Need That, we explore how products can “flip” from wants to needs in consumers’ minds. Zero-click marketing means mastering that flip without the instant gratification of click data.
When people feel they NEED your product, they’ll want to drop what they’re doing.
And if they can’t do that, they’ll remember it, find it and buy it. Whatever it takes.
Your mission now:
- Create desire with or without immediate action
- Build recognition that survives the journey
- Make your product memorable without attribution metrics
- Plant seeds that bloom on their own schedule — but WILL bloom into need
The metrics may not show it. But your sales sure will.
And to me, that’s always been the one number that matters.
Action for today: Look at your marketing mix. How much depends on immediate clicks? The best strategy is preparing for tomorrow’s reality today. Work on understanding why people buy, to help them see how much they need your product. Make them understand: “I need [your product] to become ____ .”
Need help adapting to zero-click marketing? Graphos Product has been guiding innovators through marketing evolution since before clicks were a thing. Hit reply you’d like to discuss your strategy.
Laurier
Product Payoff: When Apple first aired the “1984” Super Bowl ad, they couldn’t track a single conversion. But they knew they sold 72,000 computers in the next 100 days, 50 percent more than even the most optimistic sales productions. They created powerful desire that lasted decades.