Why Google Search Console data suddenly looks so different (and why you don’t need to worry)

You may have already noticed this when you last checked Google Search Console (GSC for short): your figures seem to be all over the place. Where you initially thought ‘we’re doing well!’, you’re now suddenly seeing strange fluctuations. But don’t worry, because this has nothing to do with your SEO results; it’s all down to an update that Google itself has implemented.

What you’re likely to see

• An increase in your average rankings
• A sharp drop in your impressions (sometimes as much as 30%)
• A significantly higher CTR

And best of all: your clicks simply remain the same. Below is a great example of one such account with rising rankings.

What exactly has Google changed?

Until recently, scrapers such as OpenAI, Perplexity and SEO tools used a special parameter, n=100. This allowed them to retrieve 100 search results in one go, rather than the 10 that you and I normally see. Google has removed that parameter.

This has two major consequences:

• Scrapers now have to scrape 10 separate SERPs instead of just one, making the process ten times more expensive and complex. Many of these systems have not yet been technically adapted to this.
• All impressions that previously came from bot traffic in positions between 10 and 100 will now disappear completely from your GSC data.

For you, this means that:

• Your clicks will remain the same (after all, bots don’t click).
• Your impressions are falling sharply.
• Your CTR increases because the ‘ clicks ’ remain the same, whilst the number of impressions decreases.
• Your average ranking improves, as the ‘low rankings’ from bot traffic no longer count towards it.

In other words: your data has been cleaned up and has become more reliable.

What does this mean for rank trackers?

You’re not the only one noticing this effect. Rank trackers such as SEMrush, Ahrefs and SE Ranking also used the n=100 parameter to measure rankings efficiently. Now that this method is no longer available, they are also unable to track rankings accurately until their technology is updated. And there’s a good chance this will come at a significant extra cost.

This means that many commercial rank trackers are currently less reliable. The only truly reliable source for your search data is now Google Search Console itself.

What does this mean for your SEO results?

• Fewer impressions → but these are only impressions from bots that you’re missing out on.
• Higher average rankings → because that meaningless data is filtered out.
• Higher CTR → your clicks remain the same, but the impression count goes down.

The most important thing to know is that your actual SEO results will not change. You will still attract just as many visitors from Google as before.

Can you do anything about this?

Short answer: no. But that isn’t necessary either. This is purely a reporting update from Google. Your visibility in the search results remains the same and your SEO strategy does not need to be adjusted.

All you need to do is not let the sudden drop in impressions get you down. On the contrary: see it as a positive, because your figures are now cleaner and more realistic.

Would you like us to take a look at your account? Then please get in touch!