Why Google Is Losing Clicks & How Mumbai Businesses Can Survive Without Traffic

If you run a business in Mumbai — whether it’s in Bandra, Andheri, Lower Parel, or Navi Mumbai — you may have noticed something unsettling recently: your website traffic from Google has been quietly shrinking, even if your rankings haven’t changed. You’re not imagining it. Something fundamental has shifted in the way Google works, and it’s affecting businesses across India and the world.

At Velocity Consultancy, we work closely with Mumbai-based businesses to navigate exactly these kinds of shifts. In this post, we’ll break down why Google is delivering fewer clicks than ever before, what the data says, and — most importantly — what your business can do right now to not just survive, but grow.

What Is Happening to Google Search?

In May 2024, Google fully launched its AI Overviews feature (previously called SGE — Search Generative Experience) across the United States, and it has since rolled out to over 200 countries and 40 languages, including India. The idea is simple: instead of just showing you a list of blue links, Google now generates an AI-written answer at the very top of the results page.

For users, this is convenient. They ask a question and get an instant answer without clicking anything. For your business’s website? It’s a disaster.

Here is what the latest data tells us:

• Zero-click searches jumped from 56% to 69% between May 2024 and May 2025, according to Similarweb — meaning nearly 7 out of 10 searches on Google never result in a website visit.
• When an AI Overview appears, click-through rates plunge to just 8%, compared to 15% for traditional search results.
• Google’s March 2025 core update doubled the number of queries that trigger an AI Overview overnight.
• Major brands have been hit hard: HubSpot reportedly saw 70–80% traffic declines, and traffic to top 50 news sites fell from 2.3 billion to under 1.7 billion monthly visits in a single year.
• In Google’s new AI Mode, a staggering 93% of searches end without a single click to any external website.

Which Industries Are Hit the Hardest?

Not every type of business is impacted equally. Understanding where you fall on the spectrum is the first step to building a resilient strategy.

• Informational / How-To Content: DIY blogs, health guides, recipe sites, tutorials — these see 40–70% traffic drops as Google’s AI can now answer these questions itself.
• Education & Insurance: AI Overview coverage exceeds 60–90% of queries in these sectors.
• News & Media: As seen with DMG Media reporting nearly 90% declines for certain searches, this is the hardest-hit category.
• Product Comparison / Affiliate Sites: AI now directly recommends “best” products, bypassing review sites entirely.
• Relatively Safer: Local & Transactional Queries: Searches like “best CA in Mumbai” or “digital marketing agency Andheri” trigger AI Overviews less than 5% of the time. This is crucial for Mumbai businesses.

The Mumbai Angle: Why Local Businesses Have a Unique Advantage

5 Ways Mumbai Businesses Can Survive & Thrive Without Depending on Google Clicks

Adapting to this new reality doesn’t mean abandoning SEO — it means expanding your strategy. Here are the five pillars we recommend at Velocity Consultancy:

Should You Still Invest in SEO?

Absolutely — but your definition of “SEO success” must evolve. The old metric of organic traffic volume is no longer the whole story.

The clicks you do receive in this zero-click era tend to be significantly higher quality. AI Overviews act as a pre-filter — users who still click through after seeing an AI summary are more engaged, more curious, and far more likely to convert into a paying customer or client. Focus on traffic quality over traffic quantity.

Think of impressions and brand visibility in search as primary KPIs alongside clicks. If your Mumbai business appears in Google’s AI Overview for a relevant query, that is brand exposure even without a click — similar to appearing on Page 1 used to be.

A Final Word: The Mumbai Opportunity

Mumbai is one of India’s most competitive markets — and that also makes it one of the most rewarding. The businesses that move quickly to adapt their digital strategy right now will create a significant gap between themselves and slower-moving competitors.

The companies that win in Mumbai’s digital landscape over the next two years will be those that:

• Treat their Google Business Profile as a primary marketing asset, not an afterthought
• Combine strong local SEO with a genuine, trust-building content strategy
• Own their audience through email and community — not rent it from Google
• Optimise to be cited by AI, not just ranked in blue links
• Use paid search and social advertising as precision tools, not crutches

At Velocity Consultancy, we help Mumbai businesses do exactly this — build digital strategies that are resilient, multi-channel, and designed for the AI era. Whether you are a startup in Malad, an established firm in Nariman Point, or a growing SME anywhere in the MMR, we have the expertise to help you adapt and grow.