Since May 13, 2025, the impression data in Google Search Console has been incorrect due to a recording error. Google confirmed the issue at the beginning of April 2026 and is rolling out a gradual fix. As a result, a decrease in your impressions is expected in the coming weeks. Do not panic, this is normal.

Things to Remember:

  • A recording error caused an overestimation of impressions in Search Console starting from May 13, 2025.
  • Clicks and other metrics were not affected by this error.
  • Google is rolling out a gradual fix that will take several weeks: a decrease in impressions is expected in the performance report.
  • This change does not reflect a real loss of visibility in search results.

A Bug Active for Almost a Year

Google officially acknowledged on April 3, 2026, that there was a bug in the Search Console data recording system. Specifically, impressions shown in the Performance report since May 13, 2025, were artificially inflated, and webmasters were not informed of this situation.

As Pierre Sauvé noted on LinkedIn, "last summer many SEO experts felt a situation related to other data fields, but it was impossible to verify, especially the removal of num=100 affected this metric months later."

Google updated its page on data anomalies, stating that the error only "affected data records" and that other indicators like clicks and average position were not affected.

What to Expect in the Coming Weeks

The fix is in the rollout phase and will take several weeks. During this time, you will see a noticeable decrease in the number of impressions in your Performance Search Console report.

This decrease is not an indication of an SEO problem or penalty. It simply reflects a return to accurately measured data after nearly a year of overestimations.

What It Means Practically for Your SEO Tracking

If you are using impressions as a performance indicator in your reports, it is important to take this into account immediately. Any comparison of impression data after the fix with data from the period between May 2025 and April 2026 will be mechanically misleading.

It is advisable to note this period in your tracking tools and inform your teams or clients before the decrease becomes visible.