Google’s Search Reporting Shake-Up: Impact on eCommerce SEO

Google quietly made a set of changes in September that are shaking up the foundation of SEO reporting. If you’ve noticed sudden drops in impressions, odd jumps in “average position,” or rank tracking tools failing to show results beyond page one — it’s not your imagination. The way Google delivers and counts search results has changed, and it’s already affecting how brands track visibility, measure performance, and make growth decisions. 

What Changed?

Several updates came through almost simultaneously, each affecting how search results are displayed, tracked, and attributed. Together, they explain why your dashboards may suddenly look very different.

1. Removal of the &num=100 Parameter
Until recently, SEO tools could request up to 100 search results in a single query using a parameter (&num=100). Google disabled this functionality, meaning tools can no longer fetch results beyond page one in bulk. Now, to capture the same data, tools need far more requests, which introduces delays, higher costs, and sometimes incomplete datasets.

2. SERPs Capped at 10 Results
In practice, Google is effectively capping most automated queries at the first 10 results. That makes it far harder to track rankings beyond page one reliably, and visibility into “positions 11–100” is now much less reliable.

3. Stronger Anti-Scraping Measures
Google has also tightened restrictions on automated scraping. This means that search queries are now more likely to trigger roadblocks, such as CAPTCHA, stricter limits on the number of requests that can be sent, and search results that require JavaScript to load. For SEO platforms, this makes it much harder to collect clean, consistent ranking data at scale. In practice, your rank tracking tools may refresh less frequently, cost more to operate, or show occasional inconsistencies compared to the past.

4. AI Mode Attribution Changes
At the same time, Google’s new “AI Mode” in search has introduced reporting inconsistencies. For a period, clicks from AI Mode didn’t pass referrer data into Google Analytics or Search Console, causing that traffic to appear as “direct” or “unknown.” Some fixes have been applied, but attribution gaps remain, especially for eCommerce brands that monitor paid vs. organic traffic closely.

Why This Matters for eCommerce Brands

These updates aren’t just behind-the-scenes technical changes. They directly impact how you interpret SEO performance, measure progress, and decide where to invest. Here’s what they mean in practice:

1. Less Visibility Into Lower Rankings
In the past, you could see exactly where you stood across the top 100 results. That meant you could spot “rising” keywords in positions 20–40 and track their movement as you worked on growth. With Google now capping reliable results closer to the top 10, those early signals are harder to capture. This limits visibility into long-tail or mid-tier opportunities that often fuel eCommerce growth.

2. More Complexity and Cost for Tools
To gather the same depth of data, SEO tools now need to make many more requests to Google, each one with a higher risk of being blocked or throttled. For brands, this could mean data updates are slower, less frequent, or even more expensive, depending on the tools’ pricing adjustments.

3. Analytics Gaps in Reporting
With AI Mode introducing attribution issues, some organic traffic may show up in Google Analytics or Search Console as “direct” or “unknown.” For eCommerce brands where even a 5–10% shift in reporting can distort ROI models, this creates a real risk of under-valuing SEO’s contribution.

4. Misleading Performance Metrics
Drops in impressions and sudden “improvements” in average position don’t always reflect reality. For many brands, it’s not that rankings have improved; it’s that impressions from deeper positions are no longer being counted. This means you may see positive-looking dashboards that don’t align with actual sales or traffic.

5. A Shift in Strategic Focus
With reliable data narrowing around the top 10 results, eCommerce SEO strategies will need to lean harder into what drives page-one dominance: technical health, high-quality product content, AI-ready optimizations, and authority signals. The lower-tier positions may still matter, but they’re becoming harder to measure, which means prioritization and precision matter more than ever.

What’s Happening in Google Search Console (GSC)?

If you’ve opened your Search Console reports recently, you may have noticed some strange shifts:

• Impressions dropping sharply (especially on desktop).
• Average position improving, sometimes dramatically, even when you haven’t made major SEO changes.
• Data that doesn’t add up when you compare weeks or break it down by country, device, or query. 

These aren’t isolated glitches. They’re symptoms of the same changes Google has made to how results are delivered and logged.

Why This Is Happening

There are a few forces at play:

1. Reduced Visibility Beyond Page One
   Search Console impressions often came from results beyond the top 10 — those “page two and three” spots where users might occasionally click. With Google restricting how those impressions are logged, a big slice of your historical data may now be missing.
2. Bot Traffic No Longer Inflating Metrics
   Previously, some impressions were unintentionally inflated by SEO tools scraping results (using the old &num=100 method). Those “bot impressions” sometimes looked like real search visibility. With scraping trimmed, those inflated signals disappear, causing impressions to fall while average position appears to rise.
3. Shifts in How Google Logs Impressions
   Even legitimate impressions from deeper positions may no longer count consistently. That doesn’t mean your site suddenly jumped 20 spots. It means those lower positions aren’t being recorded the same way anymore.

What It Means for Your Reporting

• Impression drops ≠ lost visibility. They often reflect reporting changes rather than real declines.
• Average position can be misleading. Improvements may simply be an artifact of fewer low-ranking impressions being logged.
• Comparisons across time are tricky. Week-over-week or pre-September vs post-September reports may not align. You’re not comparing apples to apples anymore.

How eCommerce Brands Should Respond

Rather than panic over dashboards that suddenly look “off,” eCommerce brands should treat this as a reset moment:

1. Anchor to Reliable Metrics
   Traffic, conversions, and revenue remain the north stars. If impressions fall but sales and organic sessions hold steady, your visibility hasn’t truly declined.
2. Segment by Device & Country
   Most of the impression declines are showing up on desktop, while mobile remains less affected. Breaking out reports helps isolate where changes are real vs. where they’re reporting artifacts.
3. Focus on Page-One Performance
   The clearest, most consistent data will now come from the top 10 positions. This is where your strategy and investment should focus since it’s also where nearly all clicks come from.
4. Maintain Historical Baselines
   Archive pre-change reports so you always have a “before vs. after” reference point. This will help contextualize performance trends moving forward.
5. Expect Tool Adjustments
   Platforms like Ahrefs and Semrush are already testing workarounds. Over time, they’ll adapt, but in the meantime, expect some inconsistencies.

Key Takeaways & Forward Strategy

Google’s recent changes are more than a temporary reporting glitch. They mark a fundamental shift in how search visibility is measured. For eCommerce brands, the risk is clear: if you interpret these metrics at face value, you could draw inaccurate conclusions about performance, allocate budget poorly, or miss emerging opportunities.

Here’s what matters most moving forward:

• Don’t chase the noise. Impressions dropping or average position rising isn’t necessarily bad or good; it’s often just a reporting artifact. Anchor your decision-making to traffic, revenue, and conversions.
• Page one is the battleground. With less reliable data beyond the first 10 results, focus on breaking into and holding those top spots. That’s where the data is cleanest, and where the real customer clicks happen.
• Use GSC and external tools together. GSC gives authoritative click and impression data, while third-party tools (even if less complete) help track keyword movement. Together, they paint the best picture.
• Segment and contextualize. Look at device, country, and query-level trends rather than topline numbers. Many of the anomalies are concentrated in desktop data.
• Expect volatility. Tools are adapting, and Google is iterating on how it delivers and logs results. We’re in a transition period, so treat all ranking data with caution until patterns stabilize.

Final Word

At the end of the day, this change is a reminder that eCommerce SEO success has never been about obsessing over every ranking fluctuation. It’s about:

• Building a technically sound site.
• Creating content that’s optimized for both users and Google’s evolving search formats (including AI-powered experiences).
• Securing authority through brand reputation and trust.
• Tracking the metrics that truly matter for growth: organic traffic, engagement, and revenue.

The data may look different, but the fundamentals haven’t changed: win on page one, own your category, and keep adapting as Google evolves.

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