Google update September 2025: why your impressions drop in Search Console

Since mid-September 2025, many website owners and SEOs have reported a sudden decline in impressions in Google Search Console. Numbers often drop by 30 to 60 percent – sometimes without any change in clicks or positions. This causes uncertainty: is it a ranking loss or just a reporting change? I summarized the background and share my own experience.

My own observation: minus two thirds of impressions

I noticed the drop myself on scinet.eu. On September 11, 2025, my impressions suddenly fell sharply – from one day to the next I lost about two thirds of impressions. Interestingly, my clicks stayed stable. That suggests it is not a real ranking loss, but a change in how Google counts impressions.

What changed at Google

Google made several adjustments that directly affect how impressions are counted. The changes are confusing right now, but not necessarily bad.

1. Bot and scraper traffic is filtered out

A large part of previously counted impressions did not come from real users, but from automated queries. This includes SEO tools, bots and scrapers that fetch search results to analyze rankings. Google now filters these impressions more strongly. The result: cleaner numbers and clearer signals from real user interactions.

2. Removal of the “&num=100” parameter

Many tools used the &num=100 parameter to request the top 100 results of a query. Google has disabled this parameter. That means third-party tools can no longer pull large sets of SERP data in a single request. Those requests previously generated impressions in GSC – that effect is now gone.

3. AI Mode is integrated into the data

Google is experimenting with AI-generated search experiences, often referred to as “AI Mode”. Impressions from these new areas are now officially counted once the feature is no longer just a Labs test. This can make your numbers fluctuate depending on how often your site appears in these AI areas.

Why the drop is not automatically bad

Fewer impressions do not automatically mean your website ranks worse. If clicks and average position are stable, it is likely just a reporting change. Google is removing data that was previously inflated by bots and tools.

What you should check now

To find out whether the drop is critical for you, go through these steps:

• Compare clicks: check whether clicks also dropped or only impressions.
• Check positions: if rankings are stable, it is not a real SEO loss.
• Cross-check analytics: compare with GA4 or another analytics tool.
• Watch updates: follow Google announcements and reputable SEO news.

Conclusion: stay calm and look closely

The current Google changes lead to cleaner, more “real” impression data in Search Console. A sudden drop – like the one I experienced – is therefore not automatically a warning signal. What matters is how clicks and rankings develop. If you consistently publish high-quality content and keep your technical SEO clean, you are fine.