1. Timeline & Rollout
- Start Date: August 26, 2025 (09:00 PDT)
- Completion Date: September 22, 2025 (00:00 PDT)
- Scope: Global, applied across all languages
- Type of Update: Spam Update
Google officially confirmed via the Search Status Dashboard that this was a spam-related ranking update, known as the August 2025 Spam Update. As usual, the rollout spanned multiple weeks, with final confirmation posted on September 21st, noting completion at the start of September 22nd.
2. Nature of the Update
The August 2025 update was part of Google’s ongoing effort to reduce low-quality, manipulative, and spammy content in search results.
- It specifically targeted tactics that violate Google’s spam policies, with a focus on:
- Automatically generated/spun content
- Link manipulation schemes
- Thin content designed to manipulate rankings
Webmasters across multiple industries noted ranking volatility throughout late August and early September, typical of spam-focused updates.
3. Third Party Tools and the Parallel &num=100 Parameter Issue
Around the same period (early to mid-September 2025), the SEO industry observed unexpected fluctuations in Google Search Console (GSC) metrics that were not directly tied to the spam update.
Barry Schwartz, founder of Search Engine Journal, highlighted these changes in Barry’s YouTube video on September 22, noting how the situation played out when using queries such as &num=100.
What Changed
- Google discontinued support for the &num=100 parameter in SERP requests.
- This parameter had been widely used by SEO tools and rank trackers to fetch 100 results per page for analysis.
The Impact
- Broken rank tracking tools: Many tools relying on this parameter failed to ingest full SERP data.
- Data gaps in GSC: The failure of these tools to capture data cascaded into misleading Search Console impression numbers.
- False impression drops: Many site owners noticed steep declines in impressions starting around September 10th, 2025, while click data and ranking positions appeared stable or even improved.
Why This Happened
- Impression reporting relies partly on SERP data collection. With tools broken, fewer results were recorded, giving the illusion of declining impressions.
- Clicks remained consistent → indicating real-world traffic was not equally affected.
As Barry Schwartz reported, this anomaly was more about data disruption than a real decline in visibility.
4. Industry Observations
- Barry Schwartz (Search Engine Roundtable / Search Engine Land) confirmed the technical issue with &num=100 and its impact on SEO tools and GSC data interpretation.
- SEO practitioners observed:
- A sharp drop in desktop impressions beginning around September 10th.
- A simultaneous increase in average position, creating a misleading picture of “improved ranking.”
- Normal click metrics, reinforcing the data-discrepancy explanation.
5. Key Takeaways
- Spam Update Effect:
- Expect reduced visibility for sites using manipulative tactics.
- High-quality, user-first content remains resilient.
- Data Anomaly Caveat:
- The impression drops many saw in September do not necessarily reflect a loss in search visibility.
- Instead, they stemmed from the &num=100 parameter discontinuation.
- Recommendations for SEOs & Site Owners:
- Do not panic over sudden GSC impression drops. Correlate with clicks and conversions.
- Monitor industry sources (Google, Search Engine Land, etc.) for updates on technical reporting issues.
- Use diversified rank tracking tools that are not dependent on deprecated parameters.
- Focus on long-term resilience through content quality and technical SEO best practices.
