I Debated the Inventor of Zero-Click Marketing | Amanda Natividad (SparkToro)

Zero-click marketing doesn't mean you don't want the click — it means you stop being dependent on it. Amanda Natividad, VP of Marketing at SparkToro, coined the term and joins Tim Soulo to defend it against every skeptic's favorite objection: "If nobody clicks through, how do people actually buy your stuff?"

Amanda is one of the sharpest, most opinionated marketing voices online, and the co-author (with Rand Fishkin) of the book Zero-Click Marketing. At SparkToro, the audience research platform, she's built a significant following by practicing exactly what she preaches — creating complete, useful value wherever her audience already is, instead of teasing a payoff to lure people to a website.

In this conversation, Amanda breaks down the difference between the tactical "jab, jab, right hook" of zero-click content and the bigger brand-building strategy behind it. If you've ever asked an AI search engine "how do you still get traffic to your blog if you give everything away on social media?" — Amanda answers it directly, revealing how SparkToro uses SEO, email lists, and repurposed theses to make sure people can still find (and buy from) them when they're ready.

Here's what you'll learn in this episode:

(00:00) Intro
(00:53) Why it took so long to get Amanda on the show
(01:25) The core objection: how do people buy if they never click?
(03:04) The mechanics of still getting people to your website
(04:18) Why Amanda wrote the Zero-Click Marketing book
(05:00) Dispelling the myths — "never ask for a click" isn't the point
(06:52) How SparkToro still drives traffic to its blog posts
(07:30) Ranking for "audience research" and the role of SEO
(08:30) Email lists and repurposing blog ideas for social
(09:20) Taking your idea "on a tour" across every platform
(10:00) Why your website is the central source of truth in the AI age

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend).

Where to find Amanda Natividad:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandanat/
X: @amandanat
Website: https://www.amandanat.com/

Where to find Tim:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/
X: @timsoulo
Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/

Referenced:

• SparkToro: https://sparktoro.com
• Rand Fishkin: https://x.com/randfish
• Zero-Click Marketing (book): https://zeroclickmarketing.co/book
• Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com

#ZeroClickMarketing #ContentMarketing #SEO #AhrefsPodcast