Seeing Strange SEO Numbers? Here’s What’s Really Going On.

Ever have that heart-in-your-throat moment when you open your SEO reports and everything’s… wrong? A sudden, terrifying nosedive in rankings or a chart that looks like it fell off a cliff?

If you’ve felt that pang of panic recently, take a deep breath. It’s not just you.

Across the industry, business owners, marketing managers, and SEO pros are staring at their screens, wondering why their data looks so strange. Third-party rank trackers are glitching, and Google Search Console is reporting some truly bizarre figures.

So, what’s happening? Is it a Google update? A penalty?

Nope. The short answer is that Google switched off a tiny feature that the entire SEO world quietly relied on, and it’s caused a temporary data meltdown. Let's unpack what's going on, why your reports are acting up, and why it’s actually good news in the long run.

The Tiny Change That Caused a Big Mess

Have you ever searched for something on Google and clicked to page two, then three, then four? Each page usually shows 10 results.

For years, however, there was a little-known URL trick that allowed users (and, more importantly, the software we use) to see 100 results on a single page. It was called the &num=100 parameter. Think of it like ordering one giant 100-slice pizza instead of ten small 10-slice pizzas—way more efficient, right?

Well, around mid-September, Google got rid of it. The Google num=100 parameter is no more.

Now, to see what’s on page ten, you have to go through all ten pages. This seems like a small tweak, but it’s had a massive ripple effect on SEO reporting issues everywhere.

Why Your Rank Tracking Tools Are Haywire

If you use a tool to track your keyword rankings (like Semrush, Ahrefs, or Moz), you’ve probably seen the impact firsthand.

Those platforms were built on the efficiency of that 100-result trick. It allowed them to check thousands of keywords for their customers quickly and affordably. Now, with the change, their job is literally ten times harder and more expensive.

The result? Many tools are struggling to adapt, leading to:

• Gaps in your ranking data.

• Keywords showing as "not found."

• Volatile and unreliable position tracking.

  
  

The crucial thing to remember is that this reflects a problem with rank tracking tool accuracy, not a problem with your website's actual performance on the SERP. Your search visibility hasn't vanished; the tools just have a temporary blind spot.

The Big One: What on Earth Is Happening in Google Search Console?

This is where it gets really weird. You might think Google’s own tool would be immune, but many of us have been seeing two very specific, very alarming trends.

1. The Mystery of the Dropping Impressions

Have you logged into GSC and seen your Google impressions dropping? Like, a sheer drop-off for desktop traffic?

It’s alarming, but here’s the most likely theory: Those "lost" google impressions might never have been from real humans in the first place. They were probably from the thousands of scraper bots used by SEO tools. These bots were constantly pinging Google with &num=100 searches, artificially inflating impression counts for every site on the page.

Now that the bots can't do that anymore, the impression count has dropped to a more realistic, human-only level. It's not a loss of visibility; it's a correction.

Why are my Google impressions dropping?Your Google impressions are likely dropping because Google removed the &num=100 search parameter. This has stopped automated SEO bots from scraping 100 results at once, removing their artificial inflation from your data and revealing a more accurate, human-driven impression count.

2. The Confusing “GSC Average keyword spike”

To make things even more confusing, as impressions have dropped, many have seen their average position improve.

Confusing, right? But it's just a quirk of maths. The average position in GSC is calculated based on impressions. If your impressions suddenly get cut in half but your clicks remain roughly the same, the formula sees that as a much better performance, and your average position shoots up.

It doesn’t mean you suddenly jumped to the top spot. It's just another phantom symptom of this data recalibration.

Okay, So What Should I Do Now?

The most important thing is not to panic or make any sudden strategy changes based on this wonky data. This is a moment for calm communication and focusing on what matters.

• If you’re a business owner: Don’t worry. This is a reporting blip, not a performance disaster. The best measure of success is still the same: are you getting calls, leads, and sales from your website? Focus on those real-world results while the data settles.

• If you’re a marketing manager: Now is the time to manage expectations. Proactively explain the SEO data fluctuations to your team or clients. Shift the focus of your reports for a month or two towards more stable metrics like click-through rate, conversions, and overall organic traffic from your analytics.

• If you’re an SEO professional: This is our new reality. It’s a chance to educate our clients and demonstrate our expertise. Reassure them, explain the Google scraping changes, and guide them through the noise. This is all part of a larger conversation about understanding SEO data more deeply.

  
  

The long and short of it is this: the data was a bit inflated before, and now we’re getting a cleaner, more accurate picture. It's messy right now, but it's a positive step towards more honest search visibility reporting.

So, have you seen these strange trends in your own data? It’s a strange time, but at least we’re all in it together.