Performance report desktop impressions dropped and average position rose after Google disabled num=100

After Google removed the ability to show 100 results per page (around September 12, 2025), many properties saw desktop impressions fall sharply and average position improve in Search Console, consistent with bot-driven scraping no longer registering impressions.

Google's statement on September 18 acknowledged the parameter change was not formally supported and did not confirm a reporting bug; the shift is widely read as a data-quality improvement rather than a traffic loss.