Google Just Shrunk the SERP for Bots. Here’s What That Means for Your SEO

In mid-September 2025, Google quietly removed the &num=100 URL parameter that let people and tools load 100 results on a single results page. The practical cap is now 10 results per page. Rank trackers, scrapers, and AI assistants that used to pull deep pages in one go must paginate through many requests, and some simply stop at page 2. Multiple SEO sources and trade sites confirmed the change and its fallout for reporting.

If your Google Search Console impressions dipped hard in September while rankings and traffic looked steady, you likely felt this change. Many teams reported that impression counts fell even when user demand did not. The likely reason is fewer automated queries and fewer deep-page views being counted.

Below is a clear look at what changed, why your graphs moved, and how to respond. The short answer is that it is even more important to rank on page 1 for specific long-tail searches, because AI tools and trackers see less of the “long tail” of results than before.

What exactly changed

• Google disabled the 100-results view. The &num=100 parameter no longer works in standard Google Search. Tools and scripts now get 10 results per page and must request the next page to see more. This was an intentional policy change, not a bug

• Bots and AI assistants cannot skim deep pages as easily. The old one-request method that pulled 100 results made large-scale scraping simple. Limiting to 10 per page increases cost and friction. Several industry posts connect this to curbing scraping for AI training and bulk rank tracking.

• Measurement artifacts shifted. If impressions in GSC were padded by automated scanning of deep results, removing that activity drops impressions without changing real human visits.

Why your impressions fell in September

Impressions in Search Console register when a URL appears on a viewed results page, even if the user does not click. When bots and some tools loaded 100 results at once, your pages ranked 30–90 could accrue “visibility” impressions. When Google removed that 100-result view and limited automated access, those pseudo-impressions vanished. Many SEOs documented sharp declines starting around Sept 10–15.

Three key points:

1. Your rankings likely did not crash. The algorithm did not demote you just because impressions dipped. The display and counting changed.

2. Your human traffic may be stable. If clicks and conversions did not drop, the lost impressions were noise, not demand.

3. Your reports need context. Month-over-month charts that span September need a footnote so stakeholders do not misread the decline.

Why this matters for AI search and “SEO for AI”

Large language models and AI assistants often combine API calls, crawling, and SERP sampling to build answers and pick citations. When it is harder to pull deep sets, two things happen:

• Citations cluster around page-one sources. If assistants see fewer deep results, they rely more on top results and trusted knowledge bases. Your best shot at being cited is to already rank near the top with clear, quotable answers.

• Thin, deep pages are less discoverable. Content that sits on page 3–10 will be seen less often by tools that used to pull 100 results per view. If AI assistants lean on what is easiest to fetch and most authoritative, your deep pages lose surface area.

Pair this with the separate rise of AI Overviews at the top of some searches and you get a simple rule for 2025: build content that earns top-page placement and that can be quoted cleanly.

What to do now

1) Re-baseline your reporting

• Add an annotation in analytics and GSC for mid-September 2025 so charts are read correctly.

• Track clicks, CTR, and conversions by page group, not just impressions. These reflect real user behavior.

Authoritative trade coverage confirms the change, so include the reference in your internal decks when you explain the graphs.

2) Double down on page-one for long-tail queries

Long-tail intent is where practices win revenue. Your plan should target very specific questions with pages that deserve a top-five spot:

• Dentists: “same day emergency dentist [neighbourhood],” “Invisalign refinements timeline Toronto,” “dental implant healing stages week by week.”

• Lawyers: “uncontested divorce timeline Toronto,” “what to bring to initial personal injury consult,” “spousal support variation Ontario examples.”

Structure each page around one dominant question. Put a 40–60 word direct answer near the top, add detailed sections below, and include a clear booking or contact path. This helps both Google and AI pick you as a source.

3) Make your answers quotable

Add short, self-contained definitions, comparisons, and step lists:

• “Professional whitening results typically last 6 to 12 months. Intake of coffee and red wine can shorten this window. Touch-ups and home care help maintain shade.”

• “For mild to moderate alignment, Invisalign often finishes in 6 to 12 months. Complex movements may take longer. A digital scan confirms your timeline.”

These blocks are easy for assistants and AI Overviews to cite. Keep FAQ schema and headings clean.

4) Strengthen E-E-A-T and entity clarity

For both dentists and lawyers, show credentials, license numbers, and first-hand evidence. Use LocalBusiness, Dentist, or Attorney schema and keep NAP data consistent across your site and profiles. This increases your chances of being chosen when AI and Google look for reliable sources on sensitive topics.

5) Build what a SERP or summary cannot replace

Interactive tools pull clicks even when summaries answer basics:

• Dentists: implant cost range estimator, CDCP co-pay checker, emergency decision tree, post-op checklists.

• Lawyers: eligibility screeners, fee range calculators, intake document checklists.

Tools raise time on site and conversion rate and give you value that cannot be harvested by a one-line AI summary.

6) Clean up thin deep pages

Audit content that lives beyond page 2. Decide whether to improve, consolidate, or remove it. Focus crawl budget and internal links on pages that can reach page one for clear intents. With fewer deep pages being “seen” by bots and tools, quality beats quantity.

7) Watch the right signals

• Rankings and clicks by high-intent pages

• Calls, forms, booked consults

• Branded search growth after you publish new long-tail assets

These show whether you are winning real demand while impression math shifts.

What this means for your practice

Google did not kill SEO. It reduced an avenue that bots and tools used to view deep results. The side effect is cleaner impression data and a stronger incentive to win page one for the specific questions that lead to revenue. If assistants and AI overviews favor top results, then the path forward is simple. Own the long tail with clear answers, strong credentials, and pages that convert.

If you want help turning this change into an advantage, clickguru can re-baseline your reporting, identify long-tail gaps, and build pages that earn page-one visibility for dentists and law firms. We map every target to booked revenue so you see the impact in chairs filled and calendars booked.

Need a plan to protect visibility after September’s change? Contact clickguru for a free audit and a practical page-one strategy for your long-tail terms.