Google’s Removal of &num=100
In September 2025, Google quietly made a change that sent shockwaves through the SEO industry. Without warning or official announcement, the search giant disabled the &num=100 URL parameter (a seemingly minor technical adjustment that has fundamentally altered how SEO professionals track rankings and measure performance).
If you’ve noticed unusual drops in your Google Search Console impressions, incomplete data from your rank tracking tools, or confusion in your SEO reports, you’re not alone. Here’s everything you need to know about this change, what it means for your SEO strategy, and how to move forward effectively.
What is &num=100 Parameter?
For years, the &num=100 parameter allowed users and SEO tools to view 100 search results per page, rather than Google’s default of 10. While Google removed the user interface option for this back in 2018, the URL parameter continued to work behind the scenes, and the entire SEO industry came to depend on it.
Rank tracking tools use this parameter to efficiently gather comprehensive ranking data with a single request. One query returns positions 1 through 100, enabling cost-effective, quick tracking of keyword performance across multiple pages of search results.
What Changed in September 2025?
Around September 11-14, 2025, Google disabled the &num=100 parameter entirely. The change occurred without an official announcement, and when asked for comment, Google stated, “The use of this URL parameter is not something that we formally support.”
The impact was immediate and industry-wide. Before the change, one request would return 100 results. After the change, it now takes 10 requests to get the same 100 results. This represents a 10x increase in infrastructure costs, server load, and data collection complexity for every SEO tool provider that relied on this functionality.
Why Did Google Make This Change?
While Google hasn’t provided detailed reasoning, industry analysis suggests several motivations. First, the change helps combat aggressive AI scraping. As AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity increasingly scrape search results to train models and generate answers, Google wants to protect its infrastructure and data. Second, it reduces server load. Most real users only view the first page of results, so serving 100 results per request was expensive for a limited actual benefit. Third, the change nudges businesses toward paid APIs. By making free scraping more difficult, Google encourages companies to use official API access. Finally, removing bot-generated impressions makes Search Console metrics more representative of actual user behavior, improving overall data quality.
The Widespread Impact on SEO Tools and Data
Rank Tracking Tools Hit Hard
Major SEO platforms experienced significant disruptions. SEMrush acknowledged that the change forced them to execute 10 separate requests instead of one, multiplying operational costs by 10x. Ahrefs confirmed the change affects their ability to track beyond Google’s first page. AccuRanker announced that it would only track the top 20 results by default instead of 100. Several smaller rank tracking tools either shut down entirely or drastically reduced their capabilities.
Many tools are now implementing hybrid approaches, tracking the top 20-30 positions daily while checking positions 31-100 less frequently (weekly or bi-weekly) to manage costs.
Google Search Console Data Anomalies
Perhaps most surprisingly, the change revealed something about our own data. Around 77% of websites experienced dramatic drops in desktop impressions, with some seeing decreases of 40-70% overnight. At the same time, average positions appeared to improve significantly.
What happened? SEO industry experts, including consultant Brodie Clark, discovered that rank tracking bots using the &num=100 parameter had been inflating impression counts for years. When these tools scraped 100 results at once, Google Search Console recorded impressions for positions 50, 70, or even 99 (rankings that real users rarely see).
The key insight: Your actual search visibility didn’t decrease. The data became more accurate by removing bot-driven impressions that did not reflect real user behavior.
Crucially, click data remained stable because bots never clicked on results. This confirms that the change affected measurement, not actual performance.
How Google’s Removal of &num=100 Impacted Ahrefs
When Google disabled the &num=100 parameter in September 2025, Ahrefs was among the major SEO platforms significantly affected by the change. The company quickly acknowledged the industry-wide disruption and began working on solutions for their users.
Ahrefs publicly confirmed that the parameter change impacts their ability to track keyword rankings beyond Google’s first page. The company stated on their blog: “Google recently made changes to a specific parameter that impacts the ability to view the first 100 results for any search query.” This affected not only Ahrefs’ own systems but also their third-party data providers who relied on the num=100 functionality to assess website presence in search results.
While rank tracking represents just one component of Ahrefs’ comprehensive SEO toolkit, it’s an essential feature for many users. The change didn’t affect Ahrefs’ update frequency, but it did reduce the number of results they could efficiently check beyond Google’s first page for each keyword.
Ahrefs’ Response and Solutions
Unlike some smaller tools that shut down or drastically reduced capabilities, Ahrefs took a measured approach to solving the problem. By early October 2025, the company announced that tracking the top 100 results is now possible in their Rank Tracker for Enterprise customers. However, they noted they’re “still investigating potential solutions to scale these changes” for other plan tiers.
The company also warned users that “Google is closing even more doors on getting more than 10 SERP results” and that while “some options remain, probably not for long.” This suggests Ahrefs is preparing for an evolving landscape where deep rank tracking may become increasingly difficult or expensive.
For most Ahrefs users, the practical impact means reliable tracking for top 10-20 positions with limited or less frequent data for deeper rankings, particularly on non-Enterprise plans.
Current Updates
- Update 29th Oct: We’re now gradually restoring the ability to show up to 100 results per query in Ahrefs tools. The rollout is ongoing, and extended SERPs will start appearing as the update progresses.
- Update 8th Oct: Tracking the top 100 results is now possible in Rank Tracker for Enterprise customers. We’re still investigating potential solutions to scale these changes.
- Update 3rd Oct: Google is closing even more doors on getting >10 SERP results. Some options remain, but probably not for long.
Let’s hope Ahrefs starts to figure this out. Ahrefs is easily my favorite SEO tool, but at this price point, I need to start wondering if there is something else I could be investing in.
What This Means for Your SEO Strategy
The Good News
Your actual rankings haven’t changed. Real users still see the same search results they always did. This is purely a data collection and measurement issue, not an algorithmic update.
The Challenges
Tracking keywords ranking on pages 2-10 is now more expensive and less reliable, limiting visibility beyond page one. Comparing current metrics to pre-September data requires context about the methodology change, creating historical data inconsistencies. Many SEO platforms are passing increased costs to users through price hikes or reduced features. Additionally, sudden drops in impressions and improvements in average position may alarm clients or stakeholders who don’t understand the changes, leading to confusion in reporting.
The Strategic Shift
This change reinforces what has always been true but is now mathematically enforced: first-page rankings matter most. The focus should shift from tracking position 67 to concentrating efforts on breaking into the top 10 positions where real users actually engage with content.
Finding the Right Tools in the New SEO Landscape
With the industry disrupted, many SEO professionals are re-evaluating their tool stack. The question isn’t just “which tools still work?” but rather “which tools provide the best value for what I actually need?”
When rank tracking becomes more expensive and less comprehensive, the importance of innovative keyword research increases. Rather than tracking 10,000 vanity keywords in hopes of finding winners, successful SEO strategies now require more strategic keyword selection from the start, better understanding of keyword difficulty before investing resources, focus on keywords you can realistically rank for on page one, and identification of long-tail opportunities with more apparent conversion intent.
This is where a tool like KWFinder becomes particularly valuable in the post-num=100 landscape.
KWFinder ❤️
I’m an OG at KWFinder. I think I have been a subscriber since 2016. Something about their UI works for me. I love the straightforward metrics and color-coded scoring.
Unlike pure rank-tracking tools, which took the biggest hit from Google’s change, KWFinder is primarily a keyword research and analysis tool, which means it’s naturally less affected by the num=100 removal. KWFinder analyzes the top 10 search results (the positions that actually drive traffic). It shows you accurate keyword difficulty scores based on current top-ranking pages, search volume data and trends over time, competitor analysis for the pages that matter, and SERP metrics including Domain Authority, Page Authority, and backlink profiles.
Since most of this analysis happens within the top 10-20 results, KWFinder’s core functionality remains robust and reliable despite Google’s changes. KWFinder consistently receives praise for its clean, user-friendly interface. In an industry where many tools feel overwhelming or overly complex, KWFinder lets you find keyword opportunities in seconds (not hours), filter results by search volume, keyword difficulty, and word count, identify long-tail keywords with high potential and low competition, and export data easily for client reports or team collaboration.
KWFinder is particularly well-suited for small to mid-size agencies that need professional tools without enterprise pricing, freelance SEO consultants who want comprehensive capabilities in one affordable package, content creators and bloggers focused on finding rankable keyword opportunities, local businesses doing their own SEO with limited technical expertise, and anyone prioritizing smart keyword strategy over comprehensive position tracking.
If you’re looking for something different, I highly recommend the KWFinder tool.
Practical Steps Moving Forward
Regardless of which tools you choose, here’s how to adapt to the new SEO landscape. Start by auditing your current tool stack to identify which capabilities you actually use versus what you’re paying for. Re-baseline your metrics and note that data from September 2025 onward is collected under a different methodology. Focus on page-one rankings by concentrating efforts on keywords where you can realistically reach the top 10. Prioritize keyword research to make smarter decisions upfront rather than tracking everything and hoping for the best. Communicate changes to stakeholders by explaining the num=100 change to clients or management to prevent misinterpretation of data shifts. Finally, consider value over features, remembering that more expensive doesn’t always mean better, especially if you’re paying for capabilities that are no longer reliable.
