Getting Results in a Zero-Click Content World

As B2B marketers, you’ve long been tasked with driving traffic to corporate websites to justify your content investments. However, with the rise of zero-click content, that traditional playbook is becoming obsolete. Today’s digital platforms are designed to keep users within their ecosystems, making it harder to funnel audiences back to your site.

You might already know, but just in case, a quick definition: Zero-click content is content that provides substantive information without requiring the user to click through. In some ways, this is a good thing—why hide the ball, right? But from the traditional funnel, measurement, and results perspective, it presents some challenges.

Here’s the problem: Executives still want to see hard data like website traffic, but that metric no longer paints the full picture.

It’s your responsibility—and ours—to help executives understand the broader game in play. To thrive in 2025, we need to adjust expectations and adopt a multichannel approach to content.

Here are eight reasons why:

1. SEO traffic is declining. Google remains essential, but traffic is down, as users increasingly find answers directly in search results. This trend, known as zero-click searches, reduces the number of people landing on your corporate website, making it tough to justify SEO-driven strategies alone.
2. YouTube doesn’t drive clicks. While YouTube offers high engagement, people rarely pause mid-video to click links in descriptions. Your YouTube strategy should focus on brand visibility and trust building rather than referral traffic.
3. LinkedIn sends minimal referral traffic. LinkedIn’s algorithm suppresses posts with outbound links. As we explain in our post on shortening the B2B sales cycle, social platforms like LinkedIn are more valuable for engagement and lead nurturing than direct traffic. Understanding this shift is key to setting executive expectations.
4. Instagram lacks link functionality. Instagram remains a visual platform with limited capacity for referral traffic outside of the bio link. This makes it useful for brand storytelling, not site visits.
5. Reddit doesn’t support links. Reddit is great for engagement, but promotional content doesn’t fly. In fact, you can really run afoul of subreddit mods if you try to insert too many marketing links. You’ll get more out of Reddit by focusing on organic participation rather than trying to drive high-volume traffic, although we have found that the low-volume traffic you can get is very high quality.
6. X (formerly Twitter) suppresses links. Posts with outbound links on X are actively suppressed. It’s time to view this platform as a way to build conversations and community rather than expecting it to drive traffic.
7. Podcasts don’t deliver traffic. Podcasts are ideal for thought leadership but are terrible for referral traffic. As our article on building trust through content points out, podcasts help deepen relationships but don’t move the traffic needle.
8. Email newsletters are losing ground. Corporate newsletters are losing subscribers to personalized platforms like Substack and Medium. Companies need to rethink their email strategies to stay relevant.

The danger of overreliance on one channel

As CMD’s insights on content strategies emphasize, focusing on one platform is risky. In a zero-click world, marketers must diversify efforts across multiple channels.

Two brands doing it right

HubSpot

HubSpot is a shining example of B2B brands doing zero-click content well. Their blog and resource center—as CMD highlights in their post on trust building—provide consistent, high-quality content that establishes them as an authority across channels. HubSpot focuses less on driving immediate traffic and more on nurturing long-term relationships.

Salesforce

Salesforce’s Trailhead platform offers educational content across multiple platforms. Salesforce uses channels like social media and email to engage audiences without forcing them to click through to their website. They understand the need to build brand visibility and credibility without relying solely on web traffic.

A brand that’s struggling: Oracle

Oracle has been slow to adapt. While they produce a lot of content, their focus remains on traditional SEO and email campaigns, which are losing traction in today’s multichannel environment. Their inability to shift to a zero-click strategy puts them at a disadvantage compared to more agile competitors. By the way, Oracle—we’d love to help you set things right.

The solution: Multichannel marketing

As we move into 2025, the companies winning the zero-click game are adopting a multichannel approach that prioritizes engagement over clicks. This includes building a presence across social platforms, podcasts, and personal content networks like Substack. By doing so, they’re hedging against the decline in traditional traffic while increasing their overall reach and influence.

By incorporating the right strategies and educating your executives, we can navigate the challenges of the zero-click world and continue to deliver value across multiple platforms. The winning formula lies in broadening our focus beyond traffic metrics to include engagement, trust, and visibility metrics across all channels. Reach out and we’ll get the conversation started.