Google’s Removal of &num=100 Parameter: What SEOs Must Do Now to Protect Rankings & Search Console Metrics

My AI Assistant September 16, 2025

 


Introduction

In early September 2025, SEO professionals began noticing something strange: a sudden drop in desktop impressions in Google Search Console (GSC), an apparent rise in average position, and rank-tracking tools failing to retrieve data beyond certain positions. The culprit? Google appears to have disabled or is testing the removal of the &num=100 URL parameter, which used to let users pull up 100 search results in a single page.

This update has important ramifications for SEO, analytics, tool costs, ranking visibility, and reporting accuracy. In this post, you’ll learn what changed, why it matters, how to adapt, and what to watch out for. If you're managing websites, running SEO tools, or monitoring rankings, this is essential reading.

Table of Contents

  1. What Is &num=100 Parameter?

  2. What Changed & When

  3. Key Effects on SEO Tools & Reporting

  4. Why This Change Matters (Beyond Metrics)

  5. How to Adapt / Mitigation Strategies

  6. Tools & Workarounds

  7. Medium-Low Competition Keywords You Should Monitor

  8. Case Examples & Hypothetical Scenarios

  9. Predictions: What Comes Next

  10. Summary & Action Plan

  11. FAQs (20)

1. What Is &num=100 Parameter?

The &num=100 parameter is a query parameter you could append to a Google Search URL to force the display of 100 search results on one page, instead of the standard default of 10 per page. It was often used by:

  • Rank-tracking tools to gather large SERP (Search Engine Result Page) data in one request.

  • SEO analysts checking deep ranking positions (beyond page 1 and page 2).

  • Tools and scripts to compare keyword positions, competitor analysis, and visibility metrics.

Because it allowed a single HTTP request (or API call) to fetch more data, it made gathering broad sets of SERP data much faster and more efficient.

2. What Changed & When

  • Around September 10-14, 2025, many in the SEO community observed that using &num=100 started failing or returning inconsistent results. Sometimes the parameter would work, but often it would not. (Search Engine Journal)

  • Google Search Console data began showing sharp declines in desktop impressions, and average position metrics seemed to improve (numerically smaller – that is, appearing "better") around the same time. (Semrush)

  • Third-party SEO tools (rank trackers, keyword monitoring services) reported missing or partial data, failures or errors in SERP snapshots beyond certain ranking depths. They also observed increased cost or latency to fetch what used to be a single fetch. (Search Engine Journal)

  • Google hasn’t officially confirmed whether this is a permanent removal, partial experiment, or test. (Search Engine Journal)

3. Key Effects on SEO Tools & Reporting

Here are the major effects people have observed:

Area Effect
Desktop Impressions in GSC Many sites saw large drops. Because many impressions came from deep SERP positions that now may not count or being scraped via &num=100, the impression numbers are lower. (Search Engine Journal)
Average Position Since many low ranked (e.g. position 50–100) results are no longer being captured, the “average position” improves (moves closer to top) even though actual ranking shift may not have changed. (Search Engine Land)
Rank-Tracking Tools Tools that depended on fetching top 100 results in one request now need to make multiple requests, sometimes 10x more. This increases processing time, delay, costs. Some tools show missing data or error states. (PPC Land)
SERP Visibility (Below Page 2) Rankings beyond page 1 or 2 are less reliable, perhaps not visible or being pulled at all in many tools. (Search Engine Land)
Data Consistency & Historical Comparisons Comparing pre-September and post-September metrics is problematic. What appeared as impression spikes or “Great Decoupling” (impressions rising faster than clicks) might partially be due to inflated bot/scraper activity. (Brodie Clark Consulting)

4. Why This Change Matters (Beyond Metrics)

  • Cost & Infrastructure: Tools will need to make more requests, handle more traffic, resources, and maybe impose higher costs for users. This has financial implications for tool providers and end users. (Search Engine Journal)

  • Data Quality & Trust: If impressions included bot / scraper-driven traffic (via &num=100), then data might have over-represented visibility or ranking trends. Now, cleaner data may emerge, but with discontinuities.

  • SEO Strategy Shift: SEOs will need to focus more on top 10 or top 20 rankings because deeper pages might not yield reliable data. Prioritize content and optimization that pushes pages to higher positions instead of relying on long-tail visibility deep in the SERPs.

  • User Behavior & SERP Features: With Google pushing more AI overviews, features, etc., changes like this could be part of a broader effort to filter scraping, reduce server load, ensure fairness, or encourage users to refine search queries rather than browsing large result sets.

5. How to Adapt / Mitigation Strategies

Here are actionable steps you can take now to adjust to this update.

  1. Set New Baselines From September 10-15, 2025
    Use this period as a “reset” for your reporting. Compare metrics before vs after, but remember that drops in impressions etc. may not reflect reduced user interest, just changed measurement.

  2. Focus on Top 1-2 Pages (Top 10-20 Positions)
    Since deeper positions (beyond page 2) may be less reliably captured, shift your priority to improving rankings in visible positions. Keywords that are close to page 1 should get special attention.

  3. Update Rank-Tracking Tools / Vendors

    • Check with tool providers whether they have updated processes.

    • Some tools may now track only the first 20 or so positions by default.

    • Ask about new pricing, data delays, or limits.

  4. Use Search Console & Verified Human Traffic Metrics
    Emphasize metrics less likely to be inflated by scrapers: clicks, CTR, user behavior, conversions. Use Search Console, Analytics, and similar tools.

  5. Audit Past Spikes & “Great Decoupling” Data
    If you saw periods where impressions rose a lot without matching clicks, consider whether scraper traffic or tool behavior caused part of that. Document anomalies.

  6. Optimize for Featured Snippets, AI Overviews, SERP Features
    Since browsing beyond the first page is harder for users, appearing in snippet, “People Also Ask”, Knowledge Panels, etc., could give visibility and clicks.

  7. Monitor Tool Costs & Efficiency
    As querying more pages costs more computational resources, optimize your keyword tracking list: trim keywords that are extremely low performance, low value or irrelevant.

  8. Document All Changes
    Keep detailed logs of when you recognized changes in your dashboards. Use annotations in Analytics/GSC to mark “&num=100 change event” so future reviews remember that this was a measurement-shift, not purely performance-drop.

6. Tools & Workarounds

Here are existing tools, or strategies, and workarounds that SEOs are using:

  • Pagination Approach: Instead of trying to fetch 100 results in one go, fetch pages of 10 or 20 results (via start= param, etc.). This means more requests but still possible to get deeper ranking info.

  • API / Third-party Data Integrations: Using APIs that respect Google’s current limitations. Some tools are already adjusting to fetch data only up to top 20 reliably.

  • Hybrid Tracking: For most important keywords, maintain manual or semi-manual checks (SERP screenshot, checks) while letting tools fill in the rest.

  • Rely More Heavily on CTR, Conversions, Behavioral Metrics: Since impressions metric could be less stable, focus more on what actions users are taking.

  • Tool Comparison & Choose Efficient Ones: Some tools may have better infrastructure, more efficient crawling or scraping strategies, or better adaptation to this change.

  • Alert Monitoring: Use tools that let you monitor when your rankings drop off more than expected — sometimes drop is just data missing, but could also be real.

7. Medium-Low Competition Keywords You Should Monitor

When adjusting content & SEO strategy, here are some keyword ideas (medium to low competition) related to this change that you might target. They can help you capture traffic from people looking for clarification, guides, or help post-update.

Keyword Phrase Why It’s Useful
“&num=100 Google update” Very specific query, likely low competition, high intent to understand the change.
“Google disable num100 SEO tools” SEO-tool owners & SEOs searching for info.
“impact of &num=100 removal” Analytical content.
“Google search console impressions drop desktop” Users seeing exactly that will search this.
“why average position improved suddenly” Many wondering why their average position looks better.
“rank tracking tools broken” Shared concern; you can attract alert SEOs.
“how to track rankings without &num100” Practical guide intent.
“Google SERP 100 results gone” Strong, descriptive.
“changes in Search Console data September 2025” Good for historical context.
“SEO tool costs increasing due to num100” Business impact angle.

Using these in titles, headings, meta descriptions, etc., will help attract relevant search traffic.

8. Case Examples & Hypothetical Scenarios

Let’s imagine typical use-cases and how they have been or will be affected.

Case A: Publishing Site with Long-tail Keywords

A site ranks for many long-tail keywords in positions 50-120. Before the change, those keywords contributed impressions (via GSC) because tools + bots loaded pages deep with &num=100. After the change:

  • Many of those keywords’ impressions vanish → GSC impression count drops.

  • Average position improves (because low positions are no longer included).

  • Traffic (clicks) may stay similar if users rarely go beyond page 5 anyway.

  • SEO strategy needs to shift to push those long-tail keywords into page 1-2, or focus more value from higher volume, more visible keywords.

Case B: SEO Tool Vendor

Tool used to fetch top 100 results in single API call for clients. Now:

  • They have to make 10 separate requests for same data.

  • Costs (in bandwidth, server, throttling, possible blocking) increase.

  • Tool provider may reduce depth (e.g. only track top 20) to manage costs.

  • Feature update needed: they may provide settings: “track deeper results (cost extra)” etc.

Case C: Local Business SEO Manager

You manage a local business’s website. You notice GSC reports drop in impressions for desktop, but traffic via mobile or via direct/organic from primary keywords remains stable. You might conclude:

  • The drop is due to parameter change, not content or ranking loss.

  • Use this opportunity to tighten content on primary keywords, refine high-impact pages.

  • Perhaps drop tracking of very low volume/deep terms that don’t matter.

9. Predictions: What Comes Next

Here are predictions (educated guesses) on how things may evolve in the coming weeks/months:

  1. Google Provides Clarification or Update
    Might officially confirm whether &num=100 removal is permanent, or give new filtering/reporting tools.

  2. Rank-Tracking Tools Redefine Depth of Tracking
    Many will make “top 20” the standard default; deeper term tracking may become a premium option.

  3. Pricing Adjustments
    Tools may increase prices (for deeper tracking) or change business models to manage increased cost of data collection.

  4. More Emphasis on Quality over Quantity in Impressions
    SEOs and analytics teams will shift focus to metrics like clicks, conversions, CTR, dwell time.

  5. Scraping / Bot Detection Improved
    Google likely wants to reduce undesirable scraping; this change may be part of anti-bot and infrastructure protection.

  6. New SERP Features & Overview Data
    Google may introduce or extend features that change how results are displayed (AI Overviews, continuous scroll etc.), which could further alter click/impression dynamics.

10. Summary & Action Plan

Here is a distilled action plan to act quickly and protect your SEO performance:

  1. Review your Search Console data, especially desktop impressions & average position, from around September 10-15.

  2. Annotate this date in your analytics tools as a measurement shift.

  3. Talk to your SEO tool vendors: ask how they are adapting (depth of tracking, cost, delays).

  4. Prioritize high-value keywords in close proximity to page one.

  5. Reallocate resources away from very deep low-volume keywords to those with potential for higher visibility.

  6. Monitor clicks, CTR, conversions — focus on what actually drives business.

  7. Check for anomalies: sudden big drops in impressions may not be loss in ranking—just data changes.

  8. Stay updated: follow Google’s announcements and tool vendor updates.

11. FAQs (20)

Here are frequently asked questions about this update:

  1. What is the &num=100 parameter?
    It’s a Google Search URL parameter that used to show 100 search results on a single page instead of the default 10.

  2. When did Google disable/remove &num=100?
    Around September 10–14, 2025, many SEO users began to observe that it stopped working or became inconsistent.

  3. Why do impressions in GSC drop after this change?
    Because deep SERP positions (50-100) that were previously included via scraping or API requests are no longer being retrieved; those impressions disappear from reports.

  4. Why does my average position look better even though I didn’t improve rankings?
    Average position is calculated based on impressions recorded. If low ranking positions are no longer being captured, the average shifts upward.

  5. Are rankings actually improving on Google, or is this just a reporting issue?
    For most sites, rankings likely did not improve significantly. The changes are largely in data collection and reporting.

  6. How are rank-tracking tools affected?
    Tools that relied on &num=100 to fetch deep SERP data now need to make many more requests or limit depth. It increases cost and reduces data completeness.

  7. Is mobile search also affected?
    Most reports focus on desktop search impressions and desktop tools. It’s less clear whether mobile search metrics behave the same; mobile search tends to use default settings more, so impact may differ.

  8. Does this change impact all regions and languages?
    Likely yes, though effect magnitude may vary. SEO communities in different regions are already reporting similar observations.

  9. Can I still see 100 results per page via another method?
    As of now, using &num=100 is unreliable or failing. Some signed-out searches may still work occasionally, but generally, it’s not dependable.

  10. What should I do if my tool doesn’t update?
    Push the vendor for updates, consider switching tools, or reduce reliance on deep SERP positions and instead focus on higher visibility keywords.

  11. Will this change affect Click-Through Rate (CTR)?
    CTR may not change directly; unless your pages are beyond page 2, which see low CTR anyway. Indirectly, if rankings decline or visibility drops, CTR can suffer.

  12. Is there any way to see historical data for deep positions?
    Yes — you can using archived reports or your tool’s historical exports. But going forward, data for deep positions will likely be less frequent or accurate.

  13. Are tools raising prices because of this?
    Many tools are experiencing higher operational costs; some signal pricing changes or new pricing tiers for deeper tracking. (PPC Land)

  14. Does this affect SEO strategy for small/niche websites?
    Yes — small sites that relied on many long-tail keywords ranking in deep positions will see impression drops; they will need to focus more on content that ranks higher.

  15. How can I detect if bot / scraper traffic was inflating my impressions?
    Look for mismatches: large impression spikes without corresponding click increases, high impressions from low positions, or when tools show many keywords on page 5-10 but low real traffic.

  16. Will Google Search Console reporting be updated to clarify this?
    Many expect Google to issue clarification, new reporting filters, or updated metrics to help distinguish human vs bot impressions. No public statements yet.

  17. Should I change my monitoring KPIs because of this?
    Yes — put more emphasis on clicks, conversions, user engagement, not just impressions and average position.

  18. Does this impact paid search / Google Ads?
    No direct impact reported yet; this change is specific to organic SERP scraping and result collection. But indirect effects (visibility etc.) may influence SEO vs. paid strategy.

  19. Do I still need to track keywords beyond page 2?
    You might, for diagnosing problems or future growth, but it will be much more expensive / less reliable. Prioritize page 1 & page 2.

  20. How long will this change last?
    It’s unclear — Google has not confirmed if it's permanent or experimental. It may stabilize over weeks or months. SEO community is watching closely.

Conclusion

Google’s likely removal or disabling of the &num=100 parameter marks a meaningful shift in how rank-tracking, SERP-scraping, and Search Console data will be recorded and used. While metrics such as impressions and average position may appear to change dramatically, many of these shifts are measurement artifacts rather than dramatic changes in real user behavior.

If you act proactively—reset baselines, focus your strategy on higher visibility keywords, work with tool vendors, track what matters—you can avoid being misled by the noise and keep growing your organic traffic.

📣 Call to Action

If you manage SEO or run a website, check your Search Console ASAP — look for drops in desktop impressions or sudden average position improvements. Document your findings, compare with your tool reports, and adjust your strategies. If you want help auditing your metrics or choosing tools that adapt well to this update, let me know — I can put together a list of reliable tools & checklists customized for your site.

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