Chaos in Rank Tracking and New Challenges for Digital Marketing. The removal of the &num=100 parameter reshapes SEO tracking and forces marketers to rethink strategy
A silent but disruptive change
Google has quietly eliminated the option to display 100 search results per page, long accessed through the &num=100parameter. While technical on the surface, this move has caused immediate ripples: leading rank tracking tools now face significantly higher costs and complexity to collect accurate SERP data.
Impact on rank tracking tools
Previously, platforms like Semrush and Ahrefs could fetch the top 100 results with a single query. Now, it requires ten times as many requests.
The fallout:
- slower updates,
- higher costs for providers,
- and inconsistent reports reaching marketers.
Search Console anomalies
Even Google’s own Search Console is showing irregularities: sudden drops in desktop impressions, spikes in average position, and data curves that no longer align. Analysts, including Brodie Clark, suggest this might be linked to changes in Google’s data collection methods or attempts to curb excessive scraping.
Why it matters for SEO
For SEOs and digital marketers, inaccurate ranking data can lead to:
- misguided keyword strategies,
- flawed content performance evaluations,
- difficulty proving SEO ROI.
Still, most organic traffic flows through the top 10 results, where data remains reliable.
How marketers can adapt
- Prioritize top 20 rankings, where real growth happens.
- Treat deeper results (beyond page 2) as trend signals, not KPIs.
- Blend insights from Search Console, SEO tools, and on-site analytics.
Broader implications for digital marketing
This shift highlights the need to:
- strengthen on-page optimization and content quality,
- reset client expectations about rank reporting,
- value user engagement metrics over raw positions.
Turning confusion into strategy
While the loss of &num=100 sparks short-term uncertainty, it encourages a more mature SEO approach: focus on page one visibility, question data critically, and measure results by business impact rather than rankings alone.
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