What changed
In mid-September 2025, Google quietly disabled or blocked the use of the &num=100 (or similar) URL parameter, which for many years allowed users and SEO tools to force Google to show 100 search results on one page.
As a result, searching with that parameter now fails or is ignored; Google now appears to stick to its default setup (≈ 10 results per page) and forces pagination for deeper results.
Some have observed that the parameter still works inconsistently for certain users (signed out vs signed in, or in different sessions), which suggests a rollout, test, or staged deprecation.
Google has responded that the URL parameter is “not something that we formally support.”
They did not offer a justification or roadmap for removal.
Why this matters
The change may seem technical, but for SEO practitioners, it has far-reaching consequences.
Disruption to rank tracking & SERP tools
Many rank-tracking and SEO tools relied on &num=100 to fetch 100 results in one request. With it gone, they now need to make 10 separate requests (for 10 pages × 10 results) to gather the same depth of data.
Some tools have already admitted to service degradation: AccuRanker announced they will no longer track the top 100 results, instead limiting to top 20 by default.
Other platforms (e.g. Semrush) say that their top 10 rankings remain unaffected, but deeper rankings (beyond page 1) may see gaps or delays as they re-engineer how they pull data.
Shifts in reported metrics (Search Console / impressions / average position)
Many site owners have reported sharp drops in desktop impressions in Google Search Console around the time of the change.
Simultaneously, average position has “improved” (i.e. moved higher) for many sites – partially because impressions from deeper positions (which now may no longer be recorded) are being reduced.
Some in the SEO community believe that historical Search Console data may have been “polluted” by impressions generated by scraping bots (using &num=100). With that effect removed, the data may now be “cleaner” and more representative of what real users see.
Possible motives (speculative)
Because Google has stayed mostly silent, most explanations are hypotheses in the SEO world:
- Anti-scraping / anti-bot control: Removing the efficient crawl method may make large-scale scraping of Google’s results more resource-intensive and costly.
- Data integrity / cleaner analytics: By limiting scraping from bots, Google may reduce artificial “impressions” and make Search Console metrics more reflective of real user behaviour.
- Infrastructure / load management: Serving 100 results in one go is heavier; forcing pagination reduces the instantaneous load per request.
- Encouraging use of official APIs / tools: By making scraping more difficult, Google nudges users toward Google’s own data pipelines (e.g. Search Console, APIs) rather than relying on third-party extraction.
What to watch / what to do
Expect tool providers to adjust their architectures. Some may reduce the depth they support (e.g. only top 20 or top 30). Others will find more efficient pagination or batching strategies.
Be cautious when comparing metrics before and after mid-September 2025 – many apparent drops or shifts probably stem from this change, not actual performance.
Via Google Analytics and Google Search Console focus more on clicks, conversions, engagement metrics rather than raw impressions and average positions, especially for deeper rankings.
Keep an eye on announcements from Google – whether this is a permanent removal or a test remains unclear.
Monitor how the change affects long-tail / lower ranking keyword visibility over time -some of those may become harder to track reliably.
Read more:
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-modifies-search-results-parameter-affecting-seo-tools/556080/
- https://searchengineland.com/google-search-rank-and-position-tracking-is-a-mess-right-now-461984
- https://searchengineland.com/google-num100-impact-data-462231
- https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-drops-100-results-parameter-40097.html
Need help?
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