Why Your Google Impressions Dropped in Fall 2025

‍If You Noticed a Major Drop in Impressions in September, You Aren’t Alone‍

If your website experienced a noticeable decline in impressions during Fall 2025, you're not imagining things – and you're definitely not the only one. According to Search Engine Land, 88% of websites have reported significant impression drops recently.

So, what happened? Google quietly removed the num=100 parameter, a URL setting that once let users see up to 100 results on a single page. This update has impacted the way we track rankings, interpret performance data, and understand SEO visibility. 

Let’s explore what happened and what it means for your strategy. 

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What was the num=100 rule?

The num=100 query parameter was a Google Search URL modifier that instructed the search engine to display up to 100 organic results on a single page, instead of the default 10.  

While originally intended for convenience, it became a widely used tool among SEO professionals and rank tracking platforms.

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By enabling access to results in positions 11 through 100 in a single view, this allowed marketers to: 

• Audit keyword rankings across the first 10 pages of search results 
• Track long-tailed keyword visibility beyond the first page of Google
• Gather more granular SEO data for performance insights and reporting 

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In short, it offered extended visibility into the full breadth of a site's search presence—not just what ranked on the first page. 

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What Changed: Google's Quiet Update

Google has now depreciated the num=100 parameter. Regardless of whether the parameter is included, search results are now capped at 10 organic listings per page. This effectively reduces what both users and tools can see in search.

What this really means:

• Results beyond position 10 are harder to see.
• Impression data beyond Page 1 is no longer surfaced the same way
• AI tools and rank trackers that relied on those deeper results are now blind to them.

Google just shrunk the visible SERP (Search Engine Results Page) window, cutting off access to what was previously available through bulk scraping or extended result views.

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What Does This Mean for Your Website?

This isn’t just a technical change. It has a measurable impact on SEO performance data, especially in Google Search Console. 

In Google Search Console, most websites are seeing changes to key metrics: 

Drops in total Impressions (how many times a user saw a link to your site in search results). Because impressions from search positions 11–100 are no longer captured the same way, total reported impressions are dropping—even if rankings haven’t.

Increases in average position. 

Since only top 10 results are being counted, your site’s average position may now appear higher (better), simply because lower-ranking positions are excluded from reporting.

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Greater Impact on New or Mid-Tier Websites

Websites that are primarily ranked on Page 2 or beyond are seeing the most significant data loss. In some cases, these sites appear to have lost rankings, when in reality they’ve only lost visibility into those rankings. 

Before, a site could rank for 200+ keywords, many of which appeared on Page 3 or lower. Now, those same keywords may no longer generate any reported impressions.

So while your actual rankings may not have changed, your data—and therefore your perception of SEO performance—likely has.

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User Behaver: Page 1 or Bust 

Let’s be honest—when was the last time you clicked past the first or second page of Google to find what you needed? 

Today, most users don’t. 

Now with  AI search engines like Chat GBT, Google AI answers and featured snippets, users don't have to dig through multiple pages of Google to find what they're looking for.

This change just reinforces the importance of ranking on the first page of search results. 

What’s This Means for Your SEO Strategy 

Search is changing. We’re moving from a more predictable, link-based SERP model to one driven by AI, context, and personalization. 

To stay competitive, your SEO approach needs to evolve too.

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Prioritize AI-Friendly (Human Friendly) Content 

Like humans, AI looks for immediate concise answers to questions. They also want to read content that’s organized and easy to understand. 

Make sure your content is: 

• Structured 
• Digestible 
• Easy to read 
• To the point!
• Actually answers the question

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Emphasize E-E-A-T

Build content and backlinks that reflect Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. These are key indicators that Google and AI search engines use to assess credibility. 

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Focus on Real User Experience

Move beyond the keywords. Your content should solve real problems, answer user questions, and offer great on-site experience. 

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Conclusion: SEO Is Changing – Are You Ready?

The removal of &num=100 might seem like a technical tweak—but it’s part of a much larger shift in how search works.

This is your cue to rethink how you define success in SEO. 

At WD Strategies, we help brands adapt to this new reality. That means going beyond traditional keyword rankings and looking at the full picture of your AI search presence—including how your content performs in AI-generated results, local experiences, and across multiple devices.

If you’re trying to navigate this change in the search landscape, our team of SEO & GEO professionals are here to help. 

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Book a Consultation with Us Today!

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