The End of the “100” Era – Why an Unremarkable Parameter Is Turning SEO Strategy 2025 Upside Down

The September Shock

Between September 10 and 14, 2025, Google quietly removed the URL parameter &num=100.For years, this parameter had been essential for retrieving up to 100 search results per page — the foundation of countless SEO analyses and competitive research.Overnight, that option was gone.

Google merely stated that the parameter had “never been officially supported.”A casual remark — with serious consequences.

The Data Gap That Changes Everything

The impact was immediately measurable:

• 87.7% of websites saw noticeable drops in impressions,

• 77.6% lost trackable keywords,

• SEO tools had to send up to ten times more API requests to gather comparable data.

For many marketers, this meant: higher costs, lower transparency.

Why Rankings Now Mean Something Different

A surprising side effect of the change was the realization that a significant share of Search Console impressions didn’t come from real users — but from bots.These automated queries had inflated data in the past, leading to distorted interpretations.

Today, for the first time, the metrics reflect actual human search behavior.You could say it’s closer to the truth — though bots are still around.

CTR and position data have therefore become more meaningful, while the illusion of broad visibility is fading.

New Priorities in SEO Analysis

In this new reality, quality outweighs quantity. Tracking movements beyond the top 10 is becoming increasingly pointless. What matters is where visibility truly occurs — on the first pages, in AI-generated results, and in branded searches.

The OTC-Cube Keyword Optimizer, for example, takes a modern approach: it automatically detects when rankings start to drop or competitors gain ground — and sends alerts before performance losses become visible. This ensures control even as the data landscape shifts.

Conclusion

The removal of &num=100 marks the end of an era.

Not because Google is withholding data, but because it’s forcing the industry to think more precisely.

Fewer data points don’t mean fewer insights — quite the opposite: Those who measure the right metrics now understand search behavior better than ever before.