Google's 100-Result Limit Change Impacts SEO Tracking

Zac J.
Sep 17
2 min read

Google has removed the ability to display 100 search results per page, a change that is significantly affecting both third-party SEO tracking tools and Google Search Console data. This update makes it harder for SEO professionals to accurately monitor organic rankings and performance.

What Changed?

Previously, users and SEO tools could use the &num=100 URL parameter to view up to 100 search results on a single page. Google has now disabled this feature, limiting all search result pages to the standard 10 or so results.

Impact on SEO Tools

Many third-party SEO rank trackers relied on the 100-result parameter to efficiently gather large amounts of data. Now, to track positions beyond the first page, these tools must perform ten times as many queries.

This not only increases the cost and time required for data collection but has also led to inaccurate or missing data in many reports. Tools like Semrush and Accuranker have acknowledged the issue and are working on a solution.

Inaccurate Google Search Console Data

In addition to third-party tools, many users are reporting that Google Search Console (GSC) performance data is also off.

There has been a notable decline in desktop impressions, which has led to a sharp, and likely inaccurate, increase in average position metrics. This discrepancy is causing confusion as SEOs try to analyze their site's organic performance.

What This Means for SEOs and Marketing Teams

This change has created uncertainty in the SEO community. It's unclear if the removal of the 100-result parameter is a permanent change or a bug. The connection between this change and the issues in Google Search Console is not fully understood.

Until these issues are resolved, it's important to be aware of the potential inaccuracies in your organic search data. When reviewing your SEO performance reports this week, keep in mind that the numbers may be misleading due to these ongoing tracking challenges.

How to Stay Ahead of the Curve

You can use these RegEx filters to segment your GSC queries into different query buckets:

1 word queries:

^[^" "]*$

2-4 word queries:

^([^" "]*\s){1,3}[^" "]*$

5-8 word queries:

^([^" "]*\s){4,7}[^" "]*$

9-12 word queries:

^([^" "]*\s){8,11}[^" "]*$

13-20 word queries:

^([^" "]*\s){12,19}[^" "]*$

20+ word queries:

^([^" "]*\s){19,}[^" "]*$

Different query lengths often indicate different user intents. and shorter query might mean that it is user conducting broad research or utilizing a navigational query.

Longer queries might have a more specific intent or may be utilized within AI prompts.