What Google’s September 2025 Update Means for Your Analytics. A clear, no-nonsense guide to understanding the dramatic changes in your tracking data.
If you’ve logged into Google Search Console recently and felt your heart skip a beat at what appears to be a catastrophic drop in impressions, take a deep breath. You’re not alone, and more importantly, your website probably hasn’t lost any real visitors.
What you’re seeing is the result of a significant but little-publicized change that Google made in September 2025, which fundamentally altered how search data is collected and reported. This change affects nearly every website owner, SEO professional, and business relying on Google’s data to make marketing decisions.
The Change That Shook the SEO World
On September 12-14, 2025, Google quietly disabled a technical feature called the &num=100 parameter. For over a decade, this obscure URL setting allowed users and automated tools to view 100 search results on a single page instead of the standard 10.
Why was this parameter so important?
- SEO tools are used to efficiently track keyword rankings beyond page one
- Automated crawlers relied on it to gather comprehensive search data
- Research platforms leveraged it to analyze competitive landscapes
- Your Google Search Console was indirectly influenced by the massive amount of data this parameter generated
When Google turned off this feature, it didn’t just affect SEO tools—it revealed that much of what we thought were “real” impressions in Google Search Console were actually artificial views generated by bots and scrapers.
What Your Analytics Are Really Telling You Now
The Numbers Don’t Lie, But They Tell a Different Story
Recent analysis of 319 websites shows the widespread impact:
- 87.7% of sites experienced impression drops in Google Search Console
- 77.6% of sites lost visibility for keywords they were previously tracking
- Average impression declines ranged from 30-50%
- Average position metrics paradoxically improved for most sites
But here’s the crucial part: In most cases, actual website traffic, clicks, and conversions remained stable or even improved.
Understanding the Impression Drop
Those “lost” impressions were largely artificial. When SEO tools loaded 100 results at once, they artificially inflated impression counts for websites ranking in positions 11-100. These were positions that real users rarely, if ever, actually viewed.
Think of it this way:
- Old data: Included both real human searches AND automated tool views
- New data: Reflects primarily genuine human search behavior
Your website appearing at position 65 for a keyword would previously count as an “impression” every time an SEO tool scraped that data. Now, it only counts when a real person actually sees it.
Why Your Average Position Improved
With artificial impressions from deep rankings removed, Google Search Console’s average position calculations became more accurate. If your average position jumped from 25 to 15, it doesn’t mean you suddenly ranked better—it means the data now excludes those artificially inflated low-ranking impressions.
The Three Key Metrics That Actually Matter
With cleaner data now available, focus on these reliable indicators of real performance:
1. Clicks and Click-Through Rates
These represent genuine user engagement and haven’t been affected by the change. If your clicks remained stable while impressions dropped, you’re actually performing better than the old data suggested.
2. Actual Website Traffic (Google Analytics)
Your real visitor numbers tell the true story. If Google Analytics shows consistent or growing organic traffic despite Search Console impression drops, your SEO performance is intact.
3. Conversions and Business Metrics
Revenue, leads, sign-ups, and other business outcomes remain the ultimate measure of success. These metrics weren’t inflated by bot activity and provide the clearest picture of performance.
What This Means for Different Stakeholders
For Business Owners:
- Don’t panic about impression drops—they likely reflect data cleanup, not performance loss
- Focus on revenue metrics rather than vanity metrics like impression counts
- Use this as an opportunity to establish more realistic performance baselines
For Marketing Managers:
- Re-baseline your reports starting from September 2025
- Adjust client expectations by explaining the data accuracy improvements
- Emphasize meaningful metrics like traffic quality and conversion rates
For SEO Professionals:
- Update your tracking methods, as many tools adapt to the new reality
- Concentrate efforts on page-one rankings since deeper positions have less visibility
- Diversify data sources beyond just Google Search Console
How to Adapt Your Analytics Approach
1. Annotate Your Data
Mark September 10-15, 2025, in all your analytics platforms. Any historical comparisons made around this date require proper context to be meaningful.
2. Cross-Reference Multiple Sources
Don’t rely solely on Google Search Console. Compare with:
- Google Analytics traffic data
- Server log analysis
- Third-party SEO tools (though these are also adapting)
- Direct business metrics
3. Adjust Your KPIs
Shift focus from impression volume to engagement quality:
- Click-through rates over raw impression counts
- Time on page and engagement metrics
- Conversion rates and business outcomes
- Top-10 ranking performance rather than deep position tracking
4. Communicate Changes Clearly
If you report to clients or stakeholders:
- Explain that drops represent data accuracy improvements
- Show that actual traffic and business metrics remain stable
- Provide context about industry-wide changes
- Focus discussions on meaningful performance indicators
The Bigger Picture: Why Google Made This Change
While Google hasn’t provided detailed explanations, industry analysis suggests several motivations:
Combating AI Scraping
The timing coincides with explosive growth in AI chatbots that scrape search results. Google may be protecting its data from being harvested to train competing AI models.
Infrastructure Protection
Serving 100 results per query consumes 10 times more server resources than serving 10. With billions of searches daily, this change significantly reduces computational load.
Data Quality Improvement
By filtering out bot traffic, Google can provide more accurate insights to both website owners and advertisers about genuine user behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Will my rankings recover?
A: Your actual rankings likely haven’t changed. Only the measurement and reporting of those rankings have been affected.
Q: Should I be concerned about the impression drops?
A: No, if your actual website traffic and business metrics remain stable. The drops likely represent the removal of artificial bot traffic from your data.
Q: How do I explain this to my boss/client?
A: Focus on the fact that your data is now more accurate and reliable. Show them that real traffic and conversions weren’t affected, just the reporting methodology.
Q: Will SEO tools start working normally again?
A: Many tools are adapting by changing their data collection methods. Expect some temporary gaps, but functionality is expected to return, albeit potentially at higher costs.
Q: Is this change permanent?
A: While Google hasn’t confirmed this officially, the industry consensus is that this change is permanent and part of a broader strategy to control data access.
Looking Forward: The New SEO Reality
This change represents more than just a technical adjustment; it signals a fundamental shift toward more accurate, human-focused analytics. While it may take time to adjust to the new baseline, the improved data quality ultimately benefits everyone making decisions based on search performance.
The key is to embrace this transition as an opportunity to focus on what really matters: creating valuable content that engages real users and drives genuine business results. With cleaner, more accurate data at your disposal, you’re actually in a better position to make informed decisions about your digital strategy.
Remember: Good SEO was never about gaming the system or optimizing for bots. It was always about creating the best possible experience for real human users. Google’s changes simply make it easier to measure how well you’re achieving that goal.
Still seeing concerning changes in your analytics? Before making drastic changes to your SEO strategy, cross-reference your Search Console data with Google Analytics traffic numbers and actual business metrics. The full picture will likely show that your real performance remains strong.