If you opened Google Search Console recently and noticed a sudden drop in impressions, you’re not alone and you’re definitely not doing anything wrong. This shift wasn’t caused by an algorithm update or a ranking penalty. It’s the result of Google quietly removing an old URL parameter called num=100, which lets users and SEO tools load up to 100 results on a single search page, instead of the usual 10.
Now, that might sound like a small technical tweak. But under the hood, it’s had a big ripple effect, especially in how Google Search Console data is recorded and displayed. For years, automated tools and scrapers used that parameter to simulate deep searches, generating inflated impression numbers in the process. These were impressions for search results buried on page 5, 8, or 10 spots that real users rarely, if ever, reached. Once Google stopped counting that non-human traffic, those phantom impressions disappeared almost overnight.
The numbers back this up: after the change, about 87.7% of websites saw a sharp drop in impressions, according to industry analysis. But this isn’t a sign that your visibility has tanked. On the contrary, your clicks probably stayed the same, and your actual human audience hasn’t gone anywhere. What’s changed is the clarity of your reporting. You’re now seeing a more accurate picture of how people really interact with your site in search. So what does this mean for your strategy, your reports, and the way you read into your data?
In this blog, we’ll walk through five key ways the removal of num=100 is affecting SEO. From cleaning up inflated impressions and recalibrating your CTR to interpreting changes in keyword ranking and adapting your tools and reporting, we’ll break it all down. Whether you’re an SEO specialist, a digital marketer, or a business owner, this will help you make sense of the shift and turn cleaner data into smarter decisions.
Before this change, Google Search Console impression counts were often inflated by automated tools, or bots. These tools used the num=100 parameter to pull up to 100 results in a single query. Every time a bot saw your page, it generated an impression in Search Console even though no real person ever scrolled that far. In reality, most users rarely go past the first page or two of search results.
Once Google disabled num=100, those bot-driven impressions disappeared from reports. As a result, many sites saw a sharp drop in reported impressions, especially on desktop. But your audience hasn’t actually vanished, only the artificial impressions have. The Google Search Console data you now see more accurately reflects what real users encounter, counting impressions only when your site appears in the first 10–20 results that an actual person could see.
A direct outcome of this change is that low-ranking keywords may no longer appear in your Search Console reports. This can create gaps in impressions and keyword visibility, but it doesn’t mean your site lost real visibility. Your keyword ranking on queries that users actually see remains the same. For SEO specialists, this makes the Search Console metrics cleaner and more trustworthy, helping focus SEO analysis on meaningful, human-driven data rather than inflated numbers.
Also read: How to Set SEO Objectives & Goals
One reassuring fact for site owners is that clicks typically remain steady, even when impressions drop. Your real-world traffic hasn’t disappeared. What changed is the way Google Search Console metrics are counted. Think of it this way: if 100 bot-generated impressions vanish but 50 real users still click on your site, the clicks number stays the same.
Because CTR is calculated as clicks divided by impressions, a lower denominator naturally leads to a higher CTR. For example, if your page previously had 100 impressions and 5 clicks now you might have 10 impressions with the same 5 clicks. The apparent CTR jumps to 50%, not because your content suddenly became more compelling, but because the reported impressions now reflect only real user visibility.
This shift actually gives a more accurate picture of user engagement. A higher CTR now signals that your site is reaching the people who truly see your pages. This means interpreting the numbers with context: a rising CTR alongside stable clicks confirms that your actual search traffic is intact. Rather than fixating on the drop in impressions, it’s smarter to focus on click metrics, conversions, and meaningful interactions.
In short, the removal of num=100 cleans up the data, making CTR a more reliable measure of relevance and engagement. Sites may see spikes in CTR, but this reflects real human behavior, a valuable insight for refining your SEO analysis and optimizing pages that matter most.
With the removal of page 3–10 impressions, the way Google Search Console calculates average position has shifted. Since average position is only recorded when a result actually gets an impression, low-ranking results that previously dragged down your metrics no longer factor in with num=100 removal. This makes your site appear to rank better on average, even though nothing has changed in reality.
For example, if a keyword previously ranked #85 and generated bot-driven impressions, it pulled your average position down. Once those impressions were removed, your weighted keyword ranking moved closer to the results real users see, typically on page 1 or 2. Many sites have noticed that their average position now looks significantly higher, giving the impression of improvement.
At the same time, some lower-position keywords may disappear entirely from reports. Tools and dashboards may show gaps in your keyword ranking, but this is a reporting artifact, not a true drop in visibility. In fact, the change gives SEO specialists a clearer view of the terms that actually matter, those appearing in front of human searchers.
Put simply, the updated Search Console data focuses on what real users see. While average position might jump and some keywords vanish from reports, your real search visibility hasn’t changed, only the way it’s measured has become more accurate with the removal of num=100.
The removal of num=100 has changed the way SEO tools gather data. Many rank trackers used this parameter to fetch 100 results at once, but now they must paginate through multiple pages, which can slow down updates or create gaps in keyword ranking reports. As a result, some dashboards may show missing keywords or delayed Search Console metrics for lower-position results.
For SEO specialists, this means shifting focus. Keywords beyond page 3 or 4 may no longer appear in reports, so it’s more effective to concentrate on the pages and queries that genuinely drive traffic. Pay attention to page-level performance, core topic clusters, and the queries that still generate impressions and clicks.
Even with these changes, the most important signals remain stable. Track clicks, CTR, conversions, and user engagement on landing pages, rather than chasing every deep-page keyword. This ensures your SEO analysis is based on meaningful data. Remember, any drop in impressions around mid-September 2025 reflects reporting changes, not a real decline in visibility.
In short, this update forces SEO teams to adapt to cleaner, more accurate data. Many previously tracked keywords may become invisible, but the Google Search Console data now highlights the results that truly matter: strong page-1 keyword ranking, genuine clicks, and real user engagement. By focusing on these metrics, specialists can make smarter optimization decisions without being misled by inflated or outdated numbers.
Small businesses and local SEO campaigns are particularly affected by the removal of num=100. Many local business owners rely on Google Search Console metrics to understand performance, so a sudden drop in impressions or changes in keyword ranking can feel alarming. The key thing to remember is that this is a reporting adjustment — your actual visibility hasn’t decreased.
For local businesses, most queries already appear on page 1 or 2. Previously, Search Console counted lower-page results, inflating impression numbers. Now, those non-human or deep-page impressions are gone, leaving only the metrics that reflect real user activity. A café, dentist, or boutique may notice smaller impression totals for neighborhood searches, but clicks and engagement from actual users remain steady.
This shift can also affect agencies and small SEO teams that use budget-friendly tools. Some tracking platforms have adjusted pricing or tracking depth in response to the change, but the upside is cleaner data. Local SEO specialists can now focus on what truly matters: interactions that drive business, such as calls, form submissions, store visits, and CTR on top-performing queries.
In practice, this means strategy should pivot from chasing inflated impressions to optimizing pages and queries that genuinely generate traffic. By emphasizing real-world engagement and local keyword ranking that users see, SMBs get a more accurate picture of their search performance and can make smarter marketing decisions.
The lesson is clear: cleaner, more accurate Google Search Console data isn’t something to fear, it’s an opportunity to see the truth about your search performance. Look at the numbers from brands we work with: the picture becomes undeniable.
These results prove a key point: raw impressions aren’t the whole story. Even when impressions drop, the right content and SEO strategy drives real users to click and positions improve, reflecting genuine visibility rather than inflated bot-driven metrics. Brands that understand this, like the ones above, don’t panic at sudden drops in Search Console metrics. They focus on engagement, relevance, and the queries that actually matter.
At Brightbrain, this is how we approach SEO: we cut through noise, focus on meaningful clicks, CTR, and keyword ranking, and optimize for what real users see. The numbers don’t lie, cleaner data shows who’s winning the search engines and who’s just being misled by inflated impressions.
The truth is in the metrics. When you understand them, adapt your strategy, and optimize smartly, you don’t just survive Google updates you ace them. The brands above didn’t just weather the changes; they leveraged them to outperform, rank higher, and attract real traffic. That’s the Brightbrain approach: precision, insight, and results you can measure.
The drop reflects Google filtering out non-human traffic after removing num=100, yielding more accurate Search Console data — not a loss of real visibility.
Yes — Google removed num=100, which was commonly used to fetch 100 results at once and inflated impression counts.
In many cases, yes. Automated tools and scrapers generated artificial impressions that real users never produced.
Not necessarily. Clicks often remain steady, indicating your real human visibility is intact.
Low-ranking results that previously contributed impressions no longer factor into averages, so the weighted average position often improves.
No — stable clicks with lower impressions usually means CTR is more accurate and your real traffic is intact.
Prioritize clicks, CTR, keyword ranking for visible queries, conversions, and page-level performance over raw impressions.
Tools now paginate through fewer results and may show gaps for deep keywords; focus on top-page results and meaningful impressions going forward.
Use the post-September 2025 Search Console data as your new baseline since it reflects human-visible impressions after num=100 removal.
Explain that drops in impressions are a reporting cleanup — clicks remain steady and average position improvements reflect real visibility rather than lost traffic.
Suhail Bajaj is the CEO of BrightBrain Marketing Technologies LLP that has now grown into a full-fledged digital marketing agency with 55+ employees and clients from 7+ countries – all under his supervision. Graduated with an MBA from the esteemed Cass Business School, he brilliantly puts his learnings into practice, helping brands meet their business goals and succeed in a digital-first world.
