How can Higher Education adjust to the zero-click marketing environment?

This Hot Take was written by Kristin Van Dorn

Higher Education loves data. We use data for our scientific research. We report on data to our accreditation councils. And we practically speak to one another in spreadsheets. So, when new marketing strategies disrupt our data collection, we can feel a little lost.

Have you noticed that your social content isn’t getting the engagement it used to? Maybe your organic search traffic has started to dip. The latest disruption in our ever-changing marketing landscape might just be zero-click content.

What Is Zero-Click Content #

Zero-click content, a concept coined by Amanda Natividad at Sparktoro, is content that doesn’t require a click to find an answer. In 2020, Sparktoro discovered that “more than two-thirds of Google searches ended without a click.”

Think about Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). You can google “Kate Blanchett movies,” and a full list will appear; no need to visit IMDB. If you’re a runner, and you google “convert miles to kilometers,” you get a calculator – on your search results page. Google’s AI overviews, featured snippets, Wikipedia previews, voice assistant results, social media AI summaries, and Perplexity results are all examples of zero-click content.

Zero-click content can significantly impact your site traffic by shifting the focus from driving clicks to delivering value directly within search results or other platforms. Imagine your prospective students typing:

• “Does Example University have online education options?”
• “Does Example University have a creative writing program?”
• “What GPA do I need to get accepted to Example University?”

Prospective Students are increasingly able to find the information they need from zero-click content. This means our traffic from search results is slowly evaporating.

So my website doesn’t matter anymore? #

Actually, your website matters more than ever. It is the source material for all of these SERPs, summaries, and snippets. While zero-click content often results in fewer direct visits to a website, this approach can increase visibility and brand recognition over time if you design your content strategy to work with it.

How To Optimize Content for Zero-Click Marketing #

Here are a few things you can do to kick off your institution’s zero-click marketing strategy.

Prioritize zero-click content creation in your content strategy #

Create short, standalone insights that engage your prospective students, alumni, or other stakeholders without requiring them to click through to your site. You’ll want to anticipate common questions and frontload those answers in your content. One way to get started is to conduct research with your target audiences to get a feel for what they look for early in their journeys. Affinity diagramming, contextual inquiries, and focus groups are great methods for surfacing these types of insights.

When you draft this content, you should use natural language and focus more on communicating ideas in a factual and compelling way. This means abandoning taglines and marketing-speak for more platform-neutral content. You want your content to perform well no matter where someone encounters it. That means it needs to be easily understood, whether read by a voice assistant or seen in a snippet.

Think short, punchy paragraphs. The Hemingway Editor can be your best friend in this regard. Your content should be easily consumable for anyone browsing their feeds while reinforcing your institution’s brand and message.

Ultimately, this is a time-saving strategy for your audiences. Not having to click and skim to find relevant information helps them answer their questions and move on. By providing this value upfront, you’re making the case that your institution is an authority on a subject and worthy of a deeper look. And, if your content is enticing enough, it can lead to a click when the quick answer stokes your audiences’ curiosity.

Consider the next generation of long-tail keywords #

Long-tail keywords are highly specific, longer phrases that users search to find particular information. Unlike single-word searches that tend to have high search volume but intense competition (think “dog collars”), long-tail keywords typically consist of three or more words and target niche segments of search queries (“how to make a cute DIY dog collar”).

When content is optimized for long-tail keywords, it is more likely to match the detailed, specific search queries that users enter, which often align with zero-click opportunities like featured snippets, People Also Ask (PAA) boxes, and knowledge panels.

With new AI summaries on search result pages, those phrases we once used as part of our SEO strategy have gotten turbocharged. For a higher education example, I just googled, “What do you learn in an anthropology program?” My results page included an AI overview with links after each paragraph. The sources of those links are then emphasized in a box with snippets from those sites.

Google has decided that Miami University, Southern New Hampshire University, and Princeton University all have relevant content to contribute to this answer.

Do you see how this type of search underscores the importance of optimizing content for zero-click channels to capture attention, build authority, and engage audiences in the spaces where they are most active?

Develop your Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthy Strategy #

Google employs a global network of contractors called search quality raters who evaluate the quality and relevance of search results. These raters do not directly influence Google’s search rankings but provide feedback that helps Google refine and improve its search algorithms.

Google has also published its search quality rater guidelines focusing on Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness, or E-E-A-T for short. E-E-A-T provides a framework for content optimization that can support your zero-click marketing strategy. And, as an educational institution, you’re already part of the way there. Educational institutions rank high in expertise and authority due to their mission and personnel.

To build your E-E-A-T strategy, you want to focus on an explainer-style content strategy that exemplifies experience and trustworthiness. You want those external links to be highly relevant and reliable. To the best of your ability, you only want to link to valuable content - especially on your own site. So, managing your entire website ecosystem matters. Outdated and duplicate content will hurt your E-E-A-T strategy.

Prospective students want to know more about the subjects they’re interested in. Don’t assume that all of your audiences already know what skills and knowledge a student acquires in an economics, sociology, or engineering program. You have an opportunity to clarify the purpose of these programs and their learning outcomes. If you can provide succinct and plainly evident content, you are optimizing for E-E-A-T and building the content you need for a strong zero-click marketing game.

Concluding Thoughts #

Putting effort into zero-click marketing takes a leap of faith. You’re optimizing content for impressions and engagement rather than just clicks. You’re toning down brand messaging and voice to create content that sounds more platform-neutral. It also means prioritizing your users’ needs and interests over the things you want them to walk away knowing.

If this all sounds like too much and you’d rather stick with the traditional tracking-based digital strategy you already have in place, let me put it to you this way: You are not in an either-or scenario. You are already losing site traffic to zero-click content. Barry - Buddy - this is happening. Your best shot at boosting your brand and getting clicks in this environment is to optimize for it.

And, if you’re willing to take this leap of faith, creating valuable, easy-to-digest content upfront will earn you interaction so that social algorithms boost your content’s reach. Over time, you will build enough goodwill that your audience remembers your institution when it’s time to apply, register for an event, or explore programs.