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Google Search Console's 50-Week Impressions Logging Error Is Fixed

Google has resolved a logging error that caused Search Console to over-report impressions for roughly 50 weeks. The fix applies going forward from late April 2026. The historical data from 13 May 2025 through 27 April 2026 will not be corrected.

What the error was

A logging fault introduced around 13 May 2025 caused Search Console to record more impressions than actually occurred. Google quietly acknowledged the problem on 3 April 2026 via an update to its Data Anomalies in Search Console support page, which noted a logging error had been over-reporting impressions since that date.

The fix rolled out gradually through April 2026 and was marked resolved as of 27 April 2026.

What was affected and what was not

Only impressions were logged incorrectly. Because CTR and average position are both derived from impressions, those figures were skewed for the same period. Clicks were not affected by the error.

The 50-week window of inflated impression data is permanent. Google has confirmed it will not retroactively correct the figures, so any reporting or benchmarking that draws on Search Console impression data from May 2025 onwards contains inaccurate numbers.

Why impressions may look like they are falling now

As the fix rolled through, sites began seeing lower impression counts in the Performance report. For teams monitoring Search Console regularly, the drop can look alarming without context.

If your impressions have fallen sharply in late April or May 2026 but clicks, sessions, and conversions remain broadly stable, the most likely cause is the reporting correction rather than an actual decline in visibility or rankings. Impressions are returning to an accurate level; clicks were never affected.

Average position and CTR figures will also shift as a consequence, since both are calculated from impressions. Neither change reflects a real movement in how pages rank.

What this means

For most practical reporting purposes, treat impression data from 13 May 2025 through 27 April 2026 as unreliable. Year-on-year comparisons that span this window will be distorted, particularly any metric derived from impressions.

Clicks remain the most reliable signal from this period. If you need to assess organic performance for the affected months, weight click and session data more heavily than impressions or CTR.

Going forward, the data is accurate again. If your reporting infrastructure exports Search Console data to a dashboard or data warehouse, flag the affected date range so that historical comparisons account for the inflated figures.

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