--- title: "Zero-click search: How webinars secure first-party leads when clicks disappear" subtitle: "Google answers more questions itself. The 2026 data shows how webinars give you your own contacts, with consent and campaign source." description: "Google answers questions itself and clicks fall. See the 2026 data and how webinars give you your own first-party leads. Read the guide and start now." author: "Tim Adelmann" publishedAt: "2026-10-22" updatedAt: "2026-10-30" category: "Insights & Learnings" --- Monday morning, monthly report. Rankings are green, clicks are red. Your "What is …?" guide still ranks second, yet its form barely brings in contacts. Leadership wants answers. The most likely answer: zero-click search. Google answers many questions right on the results page, and your article delivers the answer without anyone clicking. Webinars with MEETYOO Show give you a channel people sign up for themselves: with name, email, consent and the campaign source per person. ## What the 2026 data says about zero-click search Since March 26, 2025, Google has also shown AI Overviews in Germany, Austria and Switzerland ([Google, March 26, 2025](https://blog.google/intl/de-de/produkte/suchen-entdecken/uebersicht-mit-ki-start/)). Of the four studies, only the one by SparkToro and Similarweb reports Germany separately. | Study | Data basis | Finding | |---|---|---| | [Grey Matter, "The Great Declick"](https://gogreymatter.com/research/the-great-declick/) (July 2026) | 18 B2B accounts, Search Console data Q2 2025 vs. Q2 2026, 5,159 queries (1,672 with stable position) | Informational CTR −38%, branded queries −2% | | [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/blog/ai-overviews-reduce-clicks-update/) (February 2026) | 300,000 keywords, desktop, Dec 2023 vs. Dec 2025 | Position-one CTR about 58% lower by Ahrefs' calculation when an AI Overview appears | | [SparkToro/Similarweb](https://sparktoro.com/blog/in-2026-less-than-one-third-of-google-searches-still-send-a-click/) (June 2026) | Clickstream panel Jan–Apr 2026, desktop and mobile browser, Google app excluded | 68.01% of US searches end without a click, 62.1% in Germany | | [Seer Interactive](https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/aio-impact-on-google-ctr-2026-update) (April 2026) | 53 brands, 5.47M queries, 2.43B organic impressions | Organic CTR with an AI Overview: 1.31% (Dec 2025), 2.36% (Feb 2026) | ### Informational queries take the biggest hit Grey Matter compared Search Console data from Q2 2025 and Q2 2026 for 18 B2B accounts. At a stable position (no more than two places of drift), CTR on informational queries fell 38%, from 0.90% to 0.56%. Commercial queries lost 20% (1.63% to 1.30%). Branded queries held almost flat at −2%. For informational queries, impressions rose 7% while clicks fell 39%. Among page-one queries with at least 100 impressions, the share with near-zero clicks (under 1% CTR) grew from 53% to 82%. :::callout Context: Grey Matter is an agency sample of 18 B2B accounts. Grey Matter and Seer both describe a correlation and acknowledge they cannot prove the cause. ::: ### Larger datasets confirm the pattern Ahrefs analyzed 300,000 keywords. When an AI Overview appears, position-one CTR is about 58% below the expected value without one, by Ahrefs' calculation. According to SparkToro and Similarweb, 68.01% of US Google searches ended without a click between January and April 2026. For Germany, the [country breakdown](https://sparktoro.com/blog/zero-click-searches-highest-in-the-uk-lowest-in-germany-and-france-has-the-most-efficient-searchers/) from the same panel shows 62.1%, the lowest of the six countries studied. There, a search followed directly by another search also counts as zero-click. Neither figure includes the Google app. ### Early 2026: a partial recovery Seer Interactive sees a countermovement: organic CTR on queries with an AI Overview climbed from a low of 1.31% in December 2025 to 2.36% in February 2026. That is still below January 2025 (3.19%), and two months don't make a trend. If your brand is cited in the AI Overview, Seer measures 120% more organic clicks per impression than when it isn't. Compared with searches that show no AI Overview at all, you are still 38% behind. So the direction is clear, while the size of the effect varies by study. Informational content is hit hardest, branded search holds steady. ## What zero-click means for your B2B lead generation Your top-of-funnel content can still be cited in AI answers and informs interested people. But it brings fewer visits and therefore fewer completed forms. We see two starting points: 1. **Brand demand.** In the Grey Matter study, branded queries are the most stable group. The agency calls it "the defensible moat". 2. **Direct, opt-in relationships:** newsletters, communities and events. Webinars can deliver both: they put your team in listeners' minds (more on that below) and give you contact data with consent. ## Why webinars give you first-party data First-party data is data someone gives you themselves: at sign-up, in a question, in a poll. ### A sign-up delivers contact data with consent When someone signs up for a webinar, they give you their name and email address themselves, optionally company and role, and agree to the data processing. How many of them then attend depends on the study and the definition: [ON24](https://www.on24.com/blog/key-takeaways-from-the-webinar-benchmarks-report/) reports an average of 60% of registrants for 2025, Goldcast 40% (both based on the vendor's own platform data). We explain the differences in our [webinar benchmarks 2026](/resources/webinar-benchmarks-2026). MEETYOO is ISO 27001-certified and processes this data in line with GDPR on EU servers, Made in Germany. What matters when you choose a tool is covered in our article on the [GDPR trap](/resources/gdpr-compliant-webinar-platform). Which access mode fits which goal is compared in the guide to [registration and access modes](/resources/access-modes). ### Interaction reveals interest Questions, poll answers, downloads and viewing time show what someone cares about. According to the [Goldcast 2026 benchmark](https://www.goldcast.io/reports/b2b-webinar-benchmark-report-2026) (26,190 webinars, 2025 data), Q&A was used in 56.1% of webinars. A question about pricing shows buying intent more clearly than an anonymous page view. ### Webinars can strengthen your brand We're not aware of a study that directly proves webinars trigger branded searches. The hypothesis is plausible, though: anyone who has listened to your team for an entire webinar will remember your name. And if branded queries are the most stable group, every format that grows awareness pays off. :::callout Quick check: compare branded queries in Search Console in the weeks before and after a webinar. Your own data shows whether the effect occurs. ::: ### A webinar outlives its live date The on-demand recording with AI chapters and [AI search](/ai-features) stays available as an asset. If you put it behind a sign-up, every view becomes a contact you can follow up in the Audience tab: who watched it, when and for how long? Our article on [webinar recordings as post-event content](/resources/webinar-recording-post-event-content-roi) shows how to use it. ## How to put this into practice with MEETYOO Show MEETYOO Show brings the building blocks that turn a sign-up into a usable lead. All details are on our [Marketing & ROI page](/solutions/marketing-roi). | Building block | What it does for you | Learn more | |---|---|---| | Flexible registration | Quick login with name, long form with custom fields, HubSpot form, webhook & SSO. You decide per campaign how much friction fits. | [Optimize your registration page](/resources/webinar-registration-page-optimize) | | CI branding | Banner, logo and description text of the registration page in your design. The AI Brand Builder creates a matching event theme from your website URL. | [Branding features](/branding) | | Campaign parameters per person | UTM and custom parameters from the event URL land in the attendee profile and are visible in the participant list and CSV export. This works with registration and with login with custom fields, once you define the parameters as fields. Available on all plans, including the Forever Free Plan. | [Track campaigns with UTM](/resources/track-webinar-campaigns-utm-query-parameters) | | Pseudo-Live | A recording starts at the scheduled time for everyone at once, with a countdown. Reach without a live production. | [Pseudo-Live](/resources/pseudo-live) | | Engagement toolkit | Surveys, polls, Q&A and public chat. Every interaction becomes a signal for your follow-up. | [Viewer engagement](/resources/viewer-engagement), [Engagement features](/engagement) | | Analytics for lead scoring | See per person whether they watched live, on demand or both, plus their interactions. CSV export for your CRM. | [Analytics & reporting](/resources/webcast-analytics-reporting), [CRM integration](/resources/webcast-crm-integration) | | Post-event redirect | When the session ends, attendees land automatically on your demo, offer or thank-you page, with the user ID passed via placeholder. | [Follow-up playbook](/resources/webinar-follow-up-b2b-playbook) | Teams or Zoom are built for meetings and usually show only who attended (yes or no). MEETYOO Show adds watch time, questions, poll answers and campaign source per person. ![Participant list in MEETYOO Show showing UTM parameters for campaign source](/uploads/utm_2026_10_06_utm_parameter_for_event_attendees_qsugg_a9b90048c6.webp) :::callout Forever Free Plan: campaign parameters and event series are included from day one. You get up to 500 registrations per event, 2 hours of live streaming per month and 10 hours of on-demand, permanently free, no expiry date, no credit card required. ::: ### Build a returning audience with an event series A single webinar delivers contacts. An event series gives them a reason to come back: all videos sit behind one access point. Use it as a series with several dates or as a media library for finished videos. The event series is available on all plans, starting with the Forever Free Plan. ![Event series in MEETYOO Show used as a media library with several videos](/uploads/es_2026_10_30_es_series_overview_cbnvv_c54604d376.webp) Attendees reach every video through a single access point. AI search answers questions across all videos in the series, with sources. Prerequisite: the videos are transcribed and chat with the webcast is enabled. With RSVP and emails to dedicated subgroups, you reach exactly the people who care about a topic. Read more in [Event series: connect your Content Hub and webcasts](/resources/event-series-content-hub-connect-webcasts). ![AI answer with sources drawn from several videos in an event series](/uploads/es_2026_10_30_es_ai_results_qqubs_43ec8c194b.webp) ## What to measure differently from next quarter - Alongside organic sessions, report impressions, branded queries (Search Console, filtered on brand terms) and webinar registrations by campaign source. - Per webinar, track registrations, live and on-demand attendance, interactions per person, conversions on the redirect target page and pipeline. - To turn this into ROI, read our guide on [measuring webinar ROI](/resources/webinar-roi-kpis-measurement). ## Conclusion Even with zero-click search, content stays your entry point. Your next step: guide interested people from search into formats that require a sign-up. Webinars give you your own contacts for that, with campaign source and interaction data per person. Commerzbank, Mercedes-Benz, Allianz GI and Merck rely on MEETYOO Show. Start with the [Forever Free Plan](/app/index.html), permanently free, no expiry date and no credit card required. Or [talk to us about your webinar use case](/#contact). ## FAQ ### What is a zero-click search? A search after which nobody clicks a result. Often the answer already appears on the results page, for example in an AI Overview or a snippet. In the SparkToro and Similarweb measurement, a search followed directly by another search also counts. Between January and April 2026, 68.01% of US Google searches ended without a click, and 62.1% in Germany. ### How much do AI Overviews reduce clicks? It depends on the study. Ahrefs calculates a position-one CTR about 58% lower, Grey Matter a 38% drop in CTR for informational B2B queries. Seer sees a partial recovery in early 2026. ### Which content is hit hardest? Informational content such as definitions, how-tos and comparisons. According to Grey Matter, branded queries remain largely stable. ### Why are webinars a first-party channel? First-party data is data someone gives you themselves. Attendees register with consent, and their questions, poll answers and viewing time can be analyzed per person. With MEETYOO Show, the campaign source also lands in the attendee profile. ### Should I give up on SEO? No. Your content can still be found and cited in AI answers. SparkToro also advises keeping up your website, because its content influences Google's AI answers. Add impressions, branded queries and registrations to your sessions, and guide interested people into sign-up formats such as webinars.