Google Search Console Data Shifts After num Parameter Block

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Google Search Console Impressions Drop Impact With Google Blocking Bots

Google dropped the num parameter to see more search results on a page…

Link to Article

Barry Schwartz reports that Google’s removal of the num parameter — which allowed more search results per page — is causing sharp changes in Google Search Console data.

Tyler Gargula reviewed 320 profiles and found that 87.7% of sites saw impression drops and 77.6% lost unique ranking keywords. Similarly, Serge Bezborodov tracked ~25% impression declines across 1,000 sites.

Short- and mid-tail keywords are most impacted, and ranking distributions look different as inflated impressions are stripped out.

In short, what we’re seeing is not necessarily a traffic crash but a correction of inflated data, especially from scraper tools.

Takeaway: SEOs should expect Search Console to look “cleaner” going forward — but reporting to clients may require careful explanations about these sudden drops.

  • velocitywp

  • Tech & Traffic

  • September 24, 2025

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