When Google quietly removed the “&num=100” parameter from its search URLs, it seemed like a small technical adjustment. Yet within days, SEO professionals and news publishers noticed that their rank tracker and keyword visibility reports had deteriorated. This change doesn’t change the way Google ranks content, but it does dramatically impact the way those rankings are reported and analyzed.
what actually changed
For years, adding “&num=100” to the end of a Google search URL has allowed users and SEO tools to display up to 100 results on a single page. It was never officially documented by Google, but it became a widely used shortcut for efficiently crawling search engine results pages (SERPs).
Starting in mid-September 2025, Google quietly disabled the feature, limiting the number of results that can be obtained at once. Tools that relied on this method now need to load multiple pages to collect the same data, increasing time, cost, and confusion for many people.
Why it matters for SEO reporting
Removing “&num=100” does not change the actual search rankings or how Google’s algorithm evaluates content. Instead, it has changed how SEO tools look at those results. Rank trackers that previously collected 100s of results at once now only collect data from a small subset of results. The immediate effect of this is a marked drop in reported keyword counts and search visibility metrics.
Many publishers initially feared a loss in rankings after seeing the sudden drop in visibility graphs. However, this is more of a measurement issue than a traffic or ranking issue. If the data in Google Search Console and Google Analytics remains stable, it means your real-world performance has not declined.
Implications for news websites
1. Drop in reported keywords
SEO dashboards that used to show hundreds of ranking keywords per article may now display very few. This does not mean that search reach will decrease. Long-tail keywords that appear on deep pages are no longer captured in the same way.
2. Misleading visibility reports
Publishers may see fluctuations in keyword visibility charts from third-party platforms. This does not reflect audience behavior, but rather a change in the way data is collected.
3. Increased cost of SEO tools
Because scraping data now requires multiple page loads per query, the tool is likely to incur higher operating costs. Some vendors have already warned users about pricing adjustments or reduced data frequency.
4. A reset for SEO strategy
The update is a useful reminder that not all metrics hold equal importance. For editorial teams, measuring impressions, clicks, engagements, and conversions is much more valuable than tracking raw keyword volume.
How can newsrooms adapt
Rely on first-party data: Use Google Search Console as your primary source of truth. This reflects actual user impressions and clicks rather than scraped estimates.
Make the context clear: When presenting reports internally, make clear that any decline in keyword count or visibility stems from changes in data collection, not from a drop in actual rankings.
Refine performance KPIs: Focus on metrics that show meaningful audience behavior, such as session length, repeat visits, article engagement, and subscription conversions.
Collaborate with SEO vendors: Ask your analytics partners how they have adopted the change and whether their reporting logic has been updated.
big picture
Google’s decision to turn off “&num=100” is part of its broader effort to limit large-scale scraping and tighten control over how search data is accessed. While this makes life harder for SEO tool developers, it also pushes the industry toward clean, user-centric measurement. For news organizations, this is a moment to rethink what really defines success in search, not the number of keywords crawlers can find, but the genuine attention and trust of readers.
The “No. 100” update is not a ranking crisis but a reporting improvement. Publishers who understand this difference can move past the panic and focus on what really matters: maintaining high-quality journalism that continues to work organically, no matter how the tools envision it.