Honestly, if you looked at your rank tracking software this morning and nearly choked on your coffee, you aren’t alone. The SEO world is basically on fire today.
By September 21, 2025, we’ve reached a weird breaking point where the "old way" of measuring search success has officially collided with Google’s aggressive push into an AI-first reality. It isn’t just one thing. It’s a messy cocktail of a finished spam update, a massive technical change to how we track rankings, and a legal battle that might actually change what shows up on your screen.
The August/September Spam Update is Finally Done
Google just confirmed that the August 2025 Spam Update officially finished its rollout on September 21. It took 27 days. That’s a long time for a "spam" tweak.
Usually, these things are quick. This one was different because it targeted the new wave of "AI-assisted" spam—those massive sites churning out 500 mediocre articles a day using LLMs without any human oversight. If your traffic took a nosedive over the last month, this is likely why. Google isn't just looking for bad links anymore; they are hunting for "scaled content abuse." Basically, if a site looks like it was built for a bot rather than a human, it got hit.
Why this rollout felt so painful
Unlike previous updates where you’d see a sharp drop and then a recovery, this one was a slow bleed. SEOs across X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn have been complaining about "zombie traffic"—impressions that stay high while clicks disappear.
The Great &num=100 Parameter Disruption
This is the news that has every SEO tool developer pulling their hair out today. Google has effectively killed the &num=100 URL parameter.
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For years, if you wanted to see the top 100 results for a keyword on one page, you just added that little bit of code to the end of the URL. SEO tools used this to "scrape" rankings quickly. Now? It’s gone. Or at least, it’s so unreliable it might as well be gone.
Google says they don't "formally support" it. Kinda convenient timing, right?
The fallout is huge:
- Rank trackers are broken: Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and specialized trackers are showing "unranked" for keywords where you might actually be sitting at position 15.
- The "Reporting Math" Quirk: Since tools can't see past position 10 easily, your "average position" in some reports might actually look like it’s improving. Don't celebrate. It’s just because the lower rankings (positions 11–100) are being dropped from the data set.
- Search Console Ghosting: Many users are reporting a 15% drop in total impressions in Google Search Console. It’s not that people aren't seeing you; it’s that Google is filtering out the bot-heavy "deep" searches that used to inflate those numbers.
Basically, if you aren't on page one, you're becoming invisible to the tools we use to measure success. It’s page one or bust now.
AI Mode is the New Default
If you’re in the US, UK, or one of the 180 countries Google just expanded into, you’ve noticed the "AI Mode" button is getting way more prominent.
Logan Kilpatrick from Google recently hinted that AI Mode is becoming the default search experience. This isn't just a "box at the top" anymore. It’s a full-on synthesis. Instead of giving you ten blue links, Google is using Gemini 2.5 to read those links and write a summary.
The "Great Decoupling"
We are seeing a trend experts call the "great decoupling." Impressions are going up because your site is being "read" by the AI and cited in the summary. But clicks? Clicks are falling.
Why would a user click your link to find out "how to fix a leaky faucet" when the AI Mode summary just gave them the five steps right there?
Penske Media vs. Google: The Legal War
In a massive piece of SEO news September 21 2025, Penske Media (the folks who own Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety) just officially sued Google.
They aren't just mad; they are alleging that AI Overviews are effectively "stealing" their journalism. They claim Google uses their reporters' work to generate an answer so good that the user never needs to visit the actual article.
This matters for you because if Penske wins (or settles), it could force Google to change how citations work. We might see bigger, more clickable links within AI Mode, or Google might have to start paying publishers—which would likely mean fewer AI summaries for smaller, independent sites. It’s a high-stakes game of chicken.
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What You Actually Need to Do Right Now
Stop panicking about your rank tracker. Honestly. If the data looks weird today, it’s probably the &num=100 change, not a penalty.
1. Shift to "Journey Completion"
Google’s algorithm is now rewarding "User Journey Completion." It’s a fancy way of saying: "Don't just answer the question; tell them what to do next." If someone searches for a product, don't just give them specs. Give them a comparison, a "how-to," and a troubleshooting guide all on one page.
2. Audit Your "Experience" (E-E-A-T)
With the August/September spam update finished, the survivors all have one thing in common: First-hand experience. * Use original photos. No more generic Unsplash stock.
- Write in the first person. "I tested this," not "It is known that."
- Link to your real-world credentials.
3. Check Your Local Store Widgets
If you run e-commerce, Google just launched a new "Store Widget." You can embed this on your site to show Google-verified reviews and shipping info. It sounds like extra work, but it’s a massive trust signal that helps you stand out in the new AI-curated shopping results.
4. Watch Your GA4, Not Just Search Console
Since Search Console impressions are acting wonky due to the parameter changes, look at your GA4 Organic Sessions. If your actual traffic from humans is steady, ignore the "impression drop" in Search Console. It’s just noise.
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The reality of search in late 2025 is that Google is trying to keep users on Google. To win, your content has to be so specific, so personal, or so technically authoritative that an AI summary simply isn't enough to satisfy the user.
Next Steps:
Go into your Google Search Console and compare your "Average Position" to your "Total Clicks" over the last 28 days. If your position is "improving" while clicks are "dropping," you are likely being affected by the rank tracking data disruption. Your next move should be to identify which of your top-performing pages are being "summarized" in AI Mode and add "Value-Add" sections (like proprietary data or downloadable templates) that the AI cannot replicate in a text summary.