Google’s 100 Results Per Page Is Gone – Why Your SEO Data Looks Messy

For those who monitor their SEO metrics closely, you may have noticed some bizarre swings in Google Search Console and rank tracking tools over the past week. Don’t panic – it’s not just you, and it’s not your website. Google quietly made a change to how search results are delivered, and it’s temporarily throwing a wrench in SEO data across the entire industry. 

We caught wind of this early and reached out to clients who might be alarmed by their suddenly dropping impressions and spiking average position metrics. In this post, we’ll break down what happened, why all the tracking data looks so odd, and what you should (and shouldn’t) do about it.

What Google Changed: No More 100 Results Per Page

Late last week, Google removed the option to view 100 search results on one page – a feature many SEOs used with the &num=100 URL parameter. Until now, tools (and power users) could append &num=100 to a Google search URL to get up to 100 organic results in one go. Suddenly, that no longer works. 

Google now limits all standard searches to 10 results per page, no matter what. If you try &num=100 today, Google will just give you the first page of ~10 results, ignoring the request for more. 

Why does this seemingly minor parameter change matter? Because so many third-party SEO tools and rank trackers relied on it for efficient data gathering. By pulling 100 results in one query, a rank tracking tool could see where your site ranked even beyond page 1 without excessive querying. Now those tools have to fetch 10 pages to get 100 results – a 10x increase in effort and cost. This change was rolled out quietly (no announcement from Google yet), but its effects have been immediate and far-reaching.

Rank Tracking Tools Scramble to Adapt

This Google tweak essentially broke the methodology of many SEO rank tracking platforms overnight. Most SEO software companies have been rushing to adjust their systems so they can continue reporting rankings beyond the first page. Many have publicly acknowledged the issue and implemented workarounds.

Semrush

As one of the largest SEO platforms, Semrush was quick to reassure users that core data remains reliable. According to Semrush, “Top 10 & Top 20 results remain fully intact… Reporting is stable. Your metrics are unaffected, and performance remains consistent.”

In other words, Semrush built its infrastructure with scale in mind (processing billions of keywords per month), so their system handled the change smoothly. 

The most actionable ranking data (page 1 and 2 results) is still being tracked as usual on Semrush, though deeper rankings might refresh a bit less frequently for now.

AccuRanker

Smaller rank tracking tools faced a tougher challenge. AccuRanker openly announced it “will no longer track the Top 100 search results. Instead, AccuRanker will now track the first two pages (roughly 20 results) by default.”

To see beyond the top 20, they’re working on new solutions (like letting users choose to track top 30, 50, etc., at additional cost). AccuRanker explained that fetching results beyond page 2 requires loading extra result pages, and “each extra page significantly increases costs” for them.

In the short term, that means any keywords ranking lower than the 20th spot in SERPs may temporarily show up as “not tracked” or just “>20” in AccuRanker’s reports.

Other Tools

Many other rank trackers (Ahrefs, Moz, STAT, etc.) also had to update their systems. Some tools temporarily reduced how often they update rankings (e.g. every 2 days instead of daily) to cope with the higher Google query volume. Essentially, any SEO platform that used to pull 100 results in one go now has 10X the work to get the same data.

Enterprise-grade platforms with bigger infrastructure have handled it more gracefully, whereas some smaller or niche tools reported delays and missing data right after the change.

So if you’ve noticed gaps or weird jumps in your third-party rank tracking reports since around September 12th, this is likely why. The data might be “off” or incomplete – not because your rankings crashed, but because the tool is adjusting to Google’s new limits. 

The good news is most reputable platforms are adjusting quickly or already have fixes in place. Semrush, for example, said they’ve “implemented temporary solutions to keep data flowing” and that accurate top 10 results were never affected.

In short, page 1 rankings are fine; tracking deeper rankings just got more complicated.

Search Console Impressions Drop and Average Position Spike

Perhaps the most jarring effect for many was what showed up in Google Search Console (GSC) performance reports. Starting around September 12–13, many site owners saw a sharp decline in impressions on desktop search, coupled with a sudden increase in average position (average rank) in their GSC data. 

If you only have access to your own site’s Search Console, you might have thought Google Analytics missed a bunch of traffic or your rankings dramatically changed overnight – but neither is the case. This is a data issue affecting everyone, and it coincides with the 100-results change. 

In other words, this is an industry-wide blip. But why would removing the 100-results feature impact Search Console data? Google hasn’t officially confirmed the connection, but one theory is that it has to do with all those rank tracker scrapers. 

Many third-party tools essentially perform Google searches (sometimes at scale) to check rankings. It’s possible that when these scrapers could get 100 results at once, they were registering impressions for many websites (perhaps even counted in Search Console’s dataset). Now that those tools can’t retrieve beyond 10 results per query (and haven’t fully adapted yet), the extra “bot” queries might have dropped off, leading to a sudden decline in the total impressions counted on Google’s side.

In essence, some of the impressions you lost were likely never human to begin with – they may have been coming from automated SEO tools. 

Another angle: Google Search Console might be sampling or filtering data differently now that fewer results are viewed per query. If results on pages 2–10 are seen less frequently (by bots or users), there are fewer recorded impressions for those lower-ranking pages. Meanwhile, your average position metric could rise (appear better) because the total pool of impressions now skews more toward higher-ranked queries. 

It’s a bit ironic – your average position can improve simply because Google isn’t counting the times you appeared at, say, #50 as much as before! Google’s Search Liaison and analysts have so far been quiet on explaining this. As of this writing, Google has not issued any statement about whether killing the &num=100 parameter was a deliberate change or a bug.

They also haven’t commented on the Search Console data oddities yet. The SEO community is watching closely, and we anticipate Google will clarify it soon. In the meantime, rest assured your site didn’t suddenly lose SEO visibility last week – the way data is being collected and reported just changed.

Google Ads Glitch Adds to the Chaos

As if organic search data changes weren’t crazy enough, the past week also saw a bizarre Google Ads bug that had marketers shaking their heads. Early on September 17, users around the world reported seeing Google search results pages loaded almost entirely with ads – in some cases 20+ sponsored links and virtually no organic results in view.

Imagine searching on Google and the whole page is just ads, ads, ads… It was real, and it was widespread (though intermittent). This was confirmed to be a bug on Google’s end, not a permanent change (thank goodness). Google’s systems had a hiccup that failed to serve the proper number of organic results, overwhelming the search results page with advertisements.

The issue lasted only a few hours (approx. 1 AM to 6 AM ET on Sept 17) before things went back to normal. While this Ads bug was short-lived, it’s a reminder of how turbulent the search landscape can be. One day, Google flips a switch that breaks SEO tracking tools, not even a week later, a bug floods the search results with paid ads. It’s been a wild week in the search world, to say the least.

What Should Marketers and Business Owners Do Now?

First off, don’t panic. These changes can sound scary, but they don’t mean your SEO performance has truly tanked or skyrocketed. Here’s our advice on navigating this turbulent period:

• Take Search Console with a Grain of Salt (for Now): If you see a big drop in impressions after September 11th in your Google Search Console, understand that it’s likely a reporting quirk, not an actual traffic loss.
• Before reacting to the drop, check your actual organic traffic in Google Analytics or whatever analytics you use: Chances are, your clicks and traffic did not drop correspondingly. The same goes for average position: if it suddenly improved, it’s probably not because all your keywords jumped to page 1 overnight, but because of the math change in impressions counted.
• Monitor Third-Party Tools for Updates: If you use rank trackers (Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, AccuRanker, etc.) be aware that their data collection methods are adjusting. Some rankings beyond page 1 might not be tracked or might appear delayed or missing in the short term. Refer to any announcements from your tool provider – many have posted updates in their blogs or on social media explaining the situation. For example, Semrush assured users that their “visibility” metrics and top 20 rankings remain reliable, while AccuRanker informed customers of the new 20-result default. Knowing this, you might avoid pulling reports on deep rankings for a week or two until things stabilize. Focus on your most important keywords (page 1 positions) or use Search Console’s own ranking report for broad trends.
• Communicate with Your Team/Clients: If you report SEO metrics to a team or client, make sure they understand this is an industry-wide anomaly. It’s not that your SEO suddenly failed or that a competitor knocked you out for thousands of keywords. We’ve been proactively telling our clients that this strange data is affecting all sites, not just theirs – providing much-needed context so no one jumps to the wrong conclusion. Sharing reputable articles (like the ones we’ve cited here, or this article!) can help reassure stakeholders that Google’s change is the culprit, not a mistake on your part.
• Adjust Expectations and Analytics Goals: In the short term, you might need to adjust how you interpret certain KPIs. For instance, your total impression count in GSC might remain lower than before, due to the scraping change – that doesn’t necessarily mean your reach truly shrank. Likewise, average position might be higher (numerically worse) once the dust settles, if those beyond-20 rankings aren’t counted as much. Use other metrics to guide you for now: organic clicks, conversion rates, and overall traffic are more reliable indicators of performance. In a way, this cleanup might even be positive – it could be filtering out “noise” impressions that never had a chance to click in the first place.
• Stay Informed (We’ve Got Your Back): The SEO world is constantly evolving. Google is always testing new ways to display results, integrating AI answers, tweaking algorithms – change is the only constant. The good news is, our team lives and breathes this stuff so you don’t have to. We stay on top of industry shake-ups (often spotting them before Google even confirms anything publicly) and we adjust our strategies accordingly. Our priority is to ensure you have the real story behind your marketing data. So if you’re ever unsure about a sudden change or strange metric, just ask us. We’re here to provide clarity when Google delivers confusion.

Key Takeaways to Report Back to Your Team

The disappearance of the 100-results-per-page feature has made a messy splash, but it’s not a reason to lose sleep. Your SEO fundamentals haven’t changed – only how the data is being collected and reported has. The industry is already adapting, and normalcy should return to your reports soon. 

Keep focusing on creating quality content and a great user experience (those things remain unchanged by Google’s whims), and leave the nerdy tracking tweaks to us. We’ll keep you informed of any lasting impacts. 

As always in SEO, adaptability is key, and we’ll make sure you stay a step ahead, even when Google throws a curveball. Stay tuned for updates if Google officially addresses this change (we’re watching closely). 

In the meantime, remain calm, carry on with your strategy, and know that weird data blips like this are just part of the adventure in the ever-evolving world of search.