If your Google Search Console numbers have looked odd multiple times this year, you’re not imagining it.
Previously, our article on the sudden impressions drop many websites experienced walked through the logging error that under-reported impressions for almost a year. Turns out, that was just one entry on a much longer list.
2026 has been a messy year for Search Console data. Google has logged five separate anomalies so far, over the course of five months. These anomalies also came after the September 2025 sudden impression drop many users experienced when Google implemented their new bot-scrubbing measures.
This article lays out every confirmed anomaly from 2026, in the order Google logged them, so you can check your own data against the correct explanation instead of guessing.
Why this matters
Search Console is the tool most site owners trust to answer one question: is my visibility changing?
When a graph dips, the instinct is to look inward. Check your rankings. Check your latest content changes. Check what your competitors are doing.
But a chunk of the dips and gaps you’ve seen this year had nothing to do with your site at all. They came from Google’s own logging systems.
Knowing which anomaly hit which report saves you from chasing a problem that was never yours to fix. Many of these issues are data logging only, meaning that while the report numbers may be a bit skewed, it doesn’t mean you’ve actually had any more or less real people seeing or visiting your website. Therefore, things like lead numbers and ecommerce sales should not have been impacted.
The 2026 timeline
- March 2026: Missing Data From Bulk Data Exports
Two days worth of data (February 28th and March 1st, 2026) was missing from bulk data exports for some properties. Google has confirmed this data will not be recovered. If your bulk exports have a gap around this date, this is why.
- April 2026: Under-Reporting Impressions
On April 3rd Google confirmed a logging error that had been under-reporting impressions since May 13th, 2025. That’s nearly eleven months of affected data. Only impressions, CTR, and average position were hit. Clicks were untouched.
If your impressions line jumped or corrected itself around this date, or if you’ve seen a drop off when compared to around 2024, this issue and fix is likely one of the reasons. We covered this impression under-reporting issue before, and detailed all the specifics on its impact.
- April 2026: Under-Reporting Job Listing Impressions & Clicks
From April 16th to April 27th, a separate logging error stopped Search Console from reporting impressions and clicks for the “Job listing” and “Job details” search appearance types. If you run a jobs site, or your pages carry job structured data, this is the gap you’ll see in that specific segment.
- May 2026: Under-Reporting Discover Performance Report Impressions & Clicks
Then from May 7th to May 8th a logging error also hit the Discover performance report over these two days, reducing reported clicks and impressions. This was purely a data logging issue. On May 21th, another short logging error dented Discover clicks and impressions, this time for a single day. Again, data logging only.
- June 2026: Under-Reporting Discover Performance Report Impressions & Clicks Again
June 24th is the most recent confirmed anomaly from Google. A logging error reduced clicks and impressions on the Discover performance report for this date, similar to back in May. Additionally, properties that have access to the still in beta Generative AI features in Discover, reported impressions took a hit too.
What to check in your own data
Before you assume something’s wrong with your SEO, work through this list.
- Check the date range: Does your drop line up with one of the dates above?
- Check the report: Discover anomalies won’t touch your regular Performance report, and vice versa.
- Check the metric: Some of these issues affect impressions specifically, while others impact impressions and clicks. If your clicks are steady but impressions dropped, that’s a strong signal you’re looking at a logging issue rather than a ranking problem, especially if it occurred during May 2025 to April 2026.
- Check whether it’s a one off: A single day dip that recovers is very different from a sustained drop that continues week after week. Typically to measure SEO performance, it is wise to look at longer date ranges to get a more accurate understanding.
The bigger picture
Six anomalies in one year is a lot for a tool that so many businesses treat as ground truth.
None of this means Search Console is unreliable day to day. But it does mean you should treat any sudden, unexplained shift as a question first, not a conclusion. Search Console is still one of the best tools for monitoring and gauging website performance in 2026, but with the advent of AI search and changing markets it is important that we always look for the bigger picture instead of panicking.
