Why Your Google Search Console Numbers Just Dropped (And What It Actually Means)
If you logged into your Google Search Console in mid-September and saw a big drop in impressions with a random jump in average position, you're not alone. And no - it's not your SEO falling apart. This one's on Google.
Around September 10–11, 2025, SEO tools and the web community noticed a strange dip across the board. Some people saw 50% fewer impressions overnight. At the same time, their rankings "improved." That sounds like a contradiction... because it is.
Essentially - it's a data anomaly caused by a behind-the-scenes change in how Google handles search result pages for bots and tools. The update mostly affects how impressions were being counted. If your traffic and click counts stayed steady, your visibility hasn't changed - but your reporting just got cleaned up.
What Caused the Google Search Console Impression Drop?
This wasn't a penalty. It wasn't an algorithm update. It was a cleanup job.
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Google quietly removed the
&num=100parameter - a trick that let bots and tools pull 100 search results per page instead of the default 10. - SEO bots were triggering false impressions for your site, even when you ranked way down on page 9 or 10 - places real people rarely go.
- With that parameter disabled, those ghost impressions disappeared. That means what's left is a more honest picture of your organic SEO performance.
- Your average position may now look better, but that's just math. It's because the low-performing keywords (positions 20–100) aren't factored in anymore.
This isn't your SEO taking a hit. It's just Google finally filtering out the noise.
What This Means for Your SEO Moving Forward
It's not every day Google changes how they count things - but when they do, you've got to know how to read the new numbers.
- If your clicks and traffic look the same, don't panic. You didn't lose visibility. You lost bots.
- Treat September 10, 2025, as a reset point. Comparing impressions before and after won't be apples to apples anymore.
- Clicks matter more than impressions anyway. Especially with AI Overviews showing up in search - real users clicking through is what counts.
- Your CTR (click-through rate) now paints a clearer picture. With those junk impressions gone, you can see how well your title tags and meta descriptions are really performing.
- Tools that relied on pulling deep search results will have noisy data for a while. So expect some turbulence in third-party dashboards.
If you're working with a contractor marketing team or doing your own local SEO, it's important to know that this isn't a ranking drop. This is Google finally letting go of some inflated data.
And if you're using third-party SEO tools that track rank position beyond page one? Expect some hiccups. Ahrefs was one of the first to call it out - check out their update here.
Bottom Line
This change helps remove the fluff and gives you a better idea of how your site performs with actual humans. That means your SEO data is now more useful - not less. It's a win for anyone tired of chasing vanity metrics.
If you're focused on real traffic, real leads, and real business growth - not just pretty graphs - then you're already on the right path. And if you want help cutting through the noise, our team at Footbridge Media is here to make the numbers make sense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not exactly. Your average position went up because low-ranking impressions from bots were removed. But your actual rankings probably stayed the same.
Nope. If your clicks and traffic held steady, you haven't lost visibility with real users. It's just cleaner data now.
Focus on clicks, leads, and engagement. Those numbers reflect real user interest. Impressions are useful, but now they're just more honest.
About Chris Lonergan
Chris Lonergan has over 13 years of contractor marketing experience with Footbridge Media. With a background in web design, print design, content creation, and online marketing, Chris is focused on providing quality marketing and business solutions in the construction and service industries - helping small business owners to more efficiently manage their companies and grow their operations.
Chris Lonergan has previously contributed to and/or been featured in PM Magazine (Plumbing & Mechanical | Contractors x Engineers), theNEWS (ACHR - Air Conditioning | Heating | Refrigeration), Turf Magazine (For Landscaping and Green Industry Professionals) Service Roundtable's blog, inPAINT Magazine, the SMB Marketing Agency Show, and the Green Industry Podcast. Chris is also a past SGI/CertainPath breakout session presenter.
