More than half of Google searches now end without anyone clicking on anything. For local businesses, this changes everything about how you get found.
An HVAC company owner in Dr. Phillips recently asked us a puzzling question. He wanted to know why his website traffic dropped 30% this year even though his phone kept ringing off the hook. He was worried that his marketing had stopped working.
The answer surprised him. His marketing was working better than ever, but his customers weren't visiting his website anymore. They were finding him on Google, reading his reviews, checking his service area, and calling directly from the search results.
Welcome to the zero-click era.
For years, the goal of SEO was simple. You wanted to rank high enough to get a click to your website. Once the customer was on your site, your design and copy would do the heavy lifting to convert them. That model is breaking down. Google is no longer just a signpost pointing to other websites. It has become a destination.
This shift means your Google Business Profile (GBP) is often the only impression you get to make. Your website might be perfect, but it doesn't matter if customers never see it.
Zero-click searches are exactly what they sound like. These are searches where the user gets their answer directly on the results page and never clicks through to a specific website. They might find a phone number, read a quick answer, or get directions without ever leaving Google.
The numbers behind this shift are staggering. Recent data shows that 61% of Google searches now end without a click.
This trend is even more aggressive when we look at local searches. When someone in Winter Park searches for "emergency plumber," they aren't looking to read a long history of plumbing. They want a phone number, a rating, and a reassurance that you service their neighborhood. Google provides all of that in the "Map Pack" at the very top of the page.
This statistic tells us that your website might not matter as much as you think it does for the initial sale. We often see business owners spending thousands on website redesigns while leaving their Google Business Profile gathering dust. This is backwards.
Your GBP is your storefront now. In the past, a customer would walk past your shop, look in the window, and decide to enter. Today, they scroll past your listing in the search results. If your hours are wrong, your photos are generic, or your services aren't listed, they keep scrolling to your competitor in Baldwin Park who took the time to fill out their profile.
Customers make decisions from the search results page. They compare you against two or three other local options without ever reading your "About Us" page. If you aren't winning on that results page, you aren't winning the customer.
To understand why this is happening, we have to look at how people actually behave when they have a problem. Let's walk through a typical scenario.
Imagine a homeowner in College Park notices their AC isn't cooling properly in July. They grab their phone and search "AC repair near me." Google knows their location, so it serves up a Map Pack of three local businesses.
This customer looks at the first result. It has 4.8 stars and 200 reviews. They tap to expand the listing. They scan the hours to make sure the business is open. They scroll down to read two or three recent reviews to verify that the company shows up on time. Satisfied, they tap the "Call" button.
At no point in this process did they visit a website. The entire transaction from problem to phone call happened within the Google ecosystem.
You might wonder if these quick searches actually lead to revenue. The answer is a definitive yes. In fact, 76% of people who search for something local visit a business within 24 hours.
This is a massive number. It indicates that local searchers are not browsing for fun. They have high intent. They have a problem that needs solving right now. Because 46% of all Google searches have local intent, we are talking about nearly half of all activity on Google being driven by people looking for immediate local solutions.
These customers are ready to buy, not research. They don't need a white paper on how air conditioners work. They need to know if you can fix it today. If your GBP answers that question faster than your competitor's GBP, you get the call.
Despite how critical this profile is, most Orlando business owners treat it as an afterthought. They claim the listing, fill out the bare minimum contact info, and then forget about it.
The data highlights a massive opportunity. Only 5% of businesses post regularly to their Google Business Profile. If you commit to posting updates just once a week, you are instantly more active than 95% of your competition.
We see this constantly when auditing profiles for clients in Lake Nona. Their competitors might have good reviews, but their profiles look abandoned. The "Services" section is empty. The last photo was uploaded three years ago. There are unanswered questions in the Q&A section.
This neglect creates a gap you can exploit. When a potential customer compares two businesses, they look for signs of life.
Business A has a profile with no posts and generic stock photos. Business B posted yesterday about a water heater installation they finished in Thornton Park and has photos of their actual team in branded trucks. Business B looks reliable, active, and successful. Business A looks like they might have gone out of business.
When most of your competitors have bare-minimum profiles, a complete and optimized profile stands out dramatically. It signals trust before the customer even speaks to you.
Optimizing your profile isn't just about filling in blanks. It requires a strategy to provide the information zero-click searchers are hunting for. Here are the specific elements that move the needle.
The "Services" section is the most underutilized real estate on your profile. Google allows you to list every service you offer. Even better, they give you 1,000 characters to describe each one.
Most businesses leave the description blank. Do not make this mistake. Use this space to pitch your service. If you offer landscape lighting, explain that you use high-quality LED fixtures and offer a warranty. Mention that you service specific areas like Windermere or Winter Garden.
These descriptions help Google understand exactly what you do. When someone searches for a very specific term like "tankless water heater flush," Google looks at your service descriptions to see if you are a match. If you haven't listed it, you likely won't show up.
Attributes are quick tags that tell customers about your business features. These appear as badges on your listing and can even be used as filters in search.
You should select every attribute that applies to you. Common ones for service businesses include "24/7 service," "Free estimates," and "Onsite services."
Google also offers identity attributes like "Veteran-owned," "Women-owned," or "Black-owned." These can be powerful differentiators for customers in diverse communities like Mills 50 who prefer to support specific types of local businesses.
Photos are conversion fuel. Google's data suggests that businesses with more than 100 photos get significantly more clicks and calls than those with fewer.
We recommend aiming for a minimum of 50 high-quality photos to start. Avoid stock photography. Customers can smell a stock photo from a mile away. They want to see who is coming to their house.
Upload photos of your team in uniform. Show your branded trucks parked in front of recognizable Orlando landmarks or homes. Post before-and-after photos of your work. If you are a paver company, show the muddy backyard before and the beautiful patio after.
Recent photos signal an active business. If your latest photo is from 2019, customers subconsciously wonder if you are still operating at the same level.
Google Posts appear directly on your profile, almost like a social media feed. This is where you can beat that 5% statistic we mentioned earlier.
You should post at least once a week. These updates don't need to be Shakespeare. Share a photo of a job well done. Announce a seasonal offer for AC tune-ups. Share a tip about preparing plumbing for hurricane season.
These posts do two things. First, they give customers something to look at and engage with. Second, they send a constant signal to Google that you are an active participant in their ecosystem. Google likes to rank active businesses higher than dormant ones.
The "Questions & Answers" section is often ignored because business owners wait for customers to ask questions. You don't have to wait.
You can populate this section yourself. Think about the three most common questions your receptionist answers every day. Maybe it's "Do you offer emergency financing?" or "Do you service Downtown Orlando high-rises?"
Post these questions from your own account (or have a staff member do it) and then answer them from the business owner account. This effectively builds a FAQ section right on your Google listing. It removes friction for the customer who might otherwise hesitate to call because they aren't sure if you can help them.
Furthermore, this content becomes source material for AI. As Google integrates more AI-generated answers into search, having clear Q&A text gives the AI verified information to use when answering user queries about your business.
If you embrace the zero-click strategy, you have to change how you measure success. If you only look at Google Analytics for your website, you are going to see a depressing trend. Traffic might plateau or even dip as your GBP gets stronger.
This is a false negative. To see the real picture, you need to track calls.
Google offers built-in call tracking for your Business Profile, but you can also use third-party call tracking software. The goal is to know exactly how many leads are generated by the listing itself.
When you use a tracking number specifically for your GBP, you can differentiate between a customer who called from your website and a customer who called from the map pack.
We often find that for service businesses, the GBP generates three to four times as many calls as the website contact page. When you see those numbers, you stop worrying about "hits" on your homepage and start focusing on the metric that actually pays the bills.
For local businesses in Central Florida, your Google Business Profile is no longer optional. It is essential. In a zero-click world, your GBP is your marketing.
The days of treating Google Maps like a digital phone book are over. It is a dynamic, interactive storefront that requires weekly attention. The businesses winning in our market are the ones investing as much time in their GBP as they do in their website.
If you ignore this shift, you are invisible to the majority of customers who want answers without the click.
We put together a complete guide on winning customers in zero-click search. It covers which GBP elements matter most and exactly how to complete them.
Download the Complete Zero-Click Playbook
Want help optimizing your GBP for zero-click success? We work with service businesses across Central Florida to build profiles that convert directly from search results.