Google's adjustment to search parameters, particularly the removal of &num=100, has caused significant ripples in the SEO community. For years, this parameter simplified data retrieval for those of us who persistently seek efficiency in every system we encounter. It allowed bulk extraction of search result rankings, making it cheaper and faster for SEO tools and platforms to analyze SERP data all in one go.
But as a gamepreneur obsessed with systems, I see this development not as the end of straightforward methods, but rather as a crucial pivot that all entrepreneurs need to understand. Let’s uncover why this matters, what changes it brings, and how you can deal with these evolving mechanics.
What Used to Happen: The Old &num=100 Parameter
This wasn't just a random Google feature. The &num=100 parameter gave us the privilege of requesting 100 search results from Google at once. If you had SEO tools like Moz Pro or Ahrefs as part of your strategy, this simplification meant less strain on their infrastructure and lower costs for you as their customer. Fewer requests to Google also meant cleaner datasets since all results could be analyzed together without discrepancies from multi-query stitching.
More importantly, for businesses like yours, having access to positions 1 to 100 in one go enabled:
- Cannibalization spotting: Knowing if multiple pages of your site competed for the same keywords.
- Market visibility analysis: Seeing who ranks lower but consistently appears.
- Better budgeting for SEO campaigns: Determining ROI from targeting top positions versus ranking deep down.
The Big Change: No More &num=100
By September 2025, Google officially disabled bulk query capacity. Now, every query strictly returns just 10 results per page, and tools need to make ten requests to gather the same 100 listings. This impacts anyone who uses rank analysis or SERP scraping.
Here’s why this matters especially to startups, solopreneurs, or small business owners trying to leverage SEO:
- Higher operational costs for your tools: Companies like Semrush, STAT, and others will spend more resources gathering data, which could lead to subscription price hikes.
- Risk of less accurate insights: Stitched data might miss nuances, quick result shifts between pages, or small ranking fluctuations.
- Delayed updates: Your tool might now take longer to deliver results.
How to Adapt: Steps for Entrepreneurs
If you want to adjust seamlessly to this shift, incorporate these approaches:
- Reassess your SEO tools: Check which platforms are adapting well to Google’s change. Moz Pro has confirmed their ability to stitch SERPs without data loss, but others may struggle.
- Leverage multiple sources: Supplement rank tracking tools with additional methods, such as Google Ads keyword forecasts or SEO APIs, for richer competitor insights.
- Focus on first-page strategies: Since pulling lower ranks is now costly, set up campaigns targeting positions 1 to 10 more aggressively.
- Prioritize data clarity: Choose tools offering transparent methods of handling multi-query requests, as they indicate reliability.
Mistakes You Should Avoid
When adjusting to these changes, entrepreneurs often fall into the following traps:
- Staying passive: Don’t just stick with outdated tools whose costs silently creep up while navigating lower page data ineffectively.
- Overusing Manual Scraping: If this feels tempting, remember that Google detects frequent scraping and penalizes suspicious activity. A small penalty could harm your overall visibility.
- Ignoring updated methodology: Rank-tracking tools are actively solving these issues. Failing to follow their updates means falling behind competitors.
Deep Insights and Projections
Why would Google intentionally create this disruption? One plausible explanation is its attempt to reduce API abuse or excessive web crawling. Additionally, SERP dynamics have shifted with AI-driven overviews and organic feature-rich results. Businesses must focus solely on high-impact SEO versus wasting resources capturing an increasingly irrelevant tail end of data.
The question for startups and creatives like myself isn’t just how to scrape rankings anymore. Instead, it’s about simplifying output while staying innovative within Google’s rules. For example, smarter keyword segmentation, combined with knowing AI’s behavior in SERP features, might give you entirely new strategies.
Conclusion
Sometimes small technical tweaks, like Google disabling a handy parameter, reveal broader trends. Those who adapt quickly end up thriving. Learn how your SEO tools are evolving, scrutinize your expenses on platforms, and refine your methods to target high-impact rankings.
For entrepreneurs juggling multiple tasks, obsessing over data quality is necessary, not optional. As someone who constantly seeks to tie logical systems like parameter changes to broader business gains, my advice is simple: don’t stay static. Adjust, test, and continue forward. It’s this reflexive adaptability that builds companies into sharp competitors. No parameter change should make you lose sight of that.
FAQ on Google's &num=100 Parameter Removal
1. What was the &num=100 parameter?
The &num=100 parameter in Google search URLs allowed users and SEO tools to retrieve up to 100 search results on a single page instead of the default 10. It was widely used by rank trackers to collect bulk ranking data efficiently. Read more about the &num=100 parameter on Moz
2. Why has Google removed the &num=100 parameter?
While Google has not officially stated the reason, experts speculate it was to reduce automated scraping, manage server loads, or promote use of Google's paid APIs amidst changing SERP dynamics. Learn more from Logical Position
3. What is the impact on SEO tools?
The removal means tools must now make up to 10 separate requests to gather the same data, increasing operational costs, reducing efficiency, and potentially lowering data accuracy. Understand how SEO tools are affected on Locomotive Agency
4. How are SEO tools adapting to this change?
SEO platforms like Moz and STAT have rolled out multi-query scraping methods to compensate, collecting SERP data in smaller batches without significant data loss. Explore Moz’s solutions for &num= changes
5. How does this removal affect small businesses and startups?
Small businesses reliant on SEO tools may face increased costs or fewer insights due to the operational challenges posed by the removal. Learn more about SMB challenges on Optimizely
6. What strategies can SEOs use to adapt?
SEOs should focus on tools that provide reliable multi-query setups, prioritize high-ranking keywords, and explore alternate data sources like Google Ads. Get insights from Locomotive Agency
7. What are the risks of overusing manual scraping?
Excessive manual scraping risks detection by Google, resulting in penalties that could harm your site’s visibility. Using trusted tools is highly recommended.
8. Why is rank tracking now more challenging?
Without the &num=100 parameter, rank trackers must stitch results together from multiple queries, which risks inaccuracies due to rank shifts or discrepancies between requests. Discover how STAT addresses rank tracking
9. What makes targeting the first page of search results more crucial?
Since retrieving rankings beyond the first 10 results now requires more resources, focusing on first-page optimization provides a stronger ROI for SEO campaigns.
10. Has Google introduced other changes to SERPs recently?
Yes, Google is updating SERPs with AI-driven overviews and feature-rich results, pushing SEOs to adapt strategies to capture high-value positions. Learn more about evolving SERPs on Moz
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.