What’s going on with Google Console Results in Ireland?
Has your average position in Google Ireland suddenly plummeted?
Does your Average Position on Google Search Console look anything like the above when filtering for Irish traffic?
Like me, you probably thought you’d been hit by some Google Penalty, the below graph for Click Through Rate in Ireland also paints a very bleak picture.
My average position and CTR have both plummeted – what’s going on?
On the 30th of June 2025, Google commenced with yet another Core Update, which ran until 17 July 2025. During and since the update, the Google Search Engine Results have been very different in Ireland.
So no, your site has probably not been hit with a Google Penalty; it’s just the effects of this recent Core Update.
I looked at the effects of this recent update on 25 Irish websites. Data is taken from 26 days before the Core Update, compared to the 26 days since the Core Update. I found similar results throughout.
All 25 sites experienced the same effects, such as:
1: All 25 sites experienced a drop in Average Position; the average drop was 11.2 positions, with one site dropping only 4.8 positions, but another lost 21.6 positions.
2: All sites experienced a drop in click-through rate. The overall click-through rate dropped by an average of 40.8%. The variation is 22% to 89% loss in CTR.
3: All 25 websites experienced a massive jump in Impressions. Ranging from a 2.6% increase to a 926% increase. The overall average increase was 67%
However, the actual Clicks remained consistent with a mere 1.2% drop in overall traffic across all 25 sites, the variations range between a 40% loss to a 12% gain.
Two Observations.
1: Search terms that maintained a steady average position received considerably more impressions after the Core Update. This may be due to recent AI overview changes.
2: Sites ranked for more Search Terms, our own website gained rankings for about 30% more search terms.
Google is consistently updating its algorithm to reward those websites with better quality content. This Core Update was no different. Sites with good quality content are now receiving better exposure.
The drop in Click Through Rate is simple maths:
Click Through Rates = Clicks / Impressions. (As Impressions have increased significantly and Clicks have remained constant, the CTR will drop.)
The drop in Average Position is a little more complicated.
Google only assesses search terms that rank in the top 100 positions in its Average Position calculations. Anything that ranks outside of the top 100 is ignored.
New search terms normally enter the rankings at low levels, for example, 80th or 90th position. A sudden jump in new search terms of 30% will negatively affect the Average Position calculation.
Example.
Your website ranks for 100 search terms, ranging from position 1 to 50, with an Average Position of 25 in the Google SERPs, but suddenly, you gain 30 new search terms that all rank in the 90s. This will drag your Average Position down closer to 65, making it look like your website is not performing as well as it did when, in fact, it has actually improved.
So if your site is experiencing the same change in Google Search Console, don’t worry, you are not alone; we are all going through the same changes with Google. The results may either settle over time, or we are looking at a new norm.
