Google drops &num=100 parameter – How it changes rank tracking in Morningscore

Over the past few days, the SEO world has been buzzing more than usual. Google has quietly removed support for the&num=100 search parameter. For years, this parameter has been the backbone of SEO rank tracking tools because it allowed them to fetch the top 100 search results in one single request.

With it gone, the way third party rank trackers like Morningscore collect ranking data is fundamentally changing. And to be clear, this is not a bug in Morningscore. This affects all third party rank tracking tools worldwide.

TL;DR

Google has removed support for the &num=100 search parameter, which allowed SEO tools to pull the top 100 results in one go. From now on, Morningscore (and all other rank trackers) can only show exact rankings up to position 20 (or add 10x the cost = huge price increases). Keywords ranking beyond page 2 will appear as “20+” in Morningscore. This is not a bug but a global change from Google. The top 20 results still cover where almost all search traffic comes from, so your main SEO insights remain unaffected.

What changed

Until now, SEO tools could use the &num=100 parameter to pull the top 100 results from Google in one go.

Example: &num=100 told Google “give me the top 100 results for this query.”

Without it, Google now only returns 10 results at a time. This means that instead of one request for 100 results, tools would need to make 10 separate requests to collect the same data, which increases costs and slows down data collection.

Several SEOs have noted that the parameter does not fail for every search just yet, but only works some of the time. Barry Schwartz reported that it appears to be in testing or a gradual rollout rather than a full switch.

How it impacts rank tracking

Because of this change, rank tracking tools can no longer reliably fetch rankings beyond page 2 of Google’s results (positions 20+).

Here is what that means in Morningscore:

• Positions 1–20: still detected and tracked as usual.

• Positions 21–100: will no longer show an exact ranking.

As a result, Morningscore is adapting by showing anything beyond position 20 as simply “20+” instead of the previous “100+.” This is not a limitation unique to Morningscore. It is a change from Google that impacts the entire SEO industry.

Why is Google doing this

Google has not officially confirmed the reasoning, but the SEO community has raised a few strong theories:

• Preventing scraping abuse, making it harder for bots and automated tools to extract large amounts of search results.

• Protecting their APIs and reducing strain on Google’s systems.

• Possible connection to AI Overviews and new search features, which may require technical adjustments to how search results are delivered.

Should you worry

Not really. The most important SEO insights still come from the top 20 results, because:

• The top 10 is where most traffic goes. Studies such as FirstPageSage’s CTR research show that position 1 alone captures close to 40 percent of clicks, and positions 2 and 3 still drive significant traffic.

• Positions 11–20 are highly relevant for optimization opportunities and can often provide the “low hanging fruit” for SEO growth.

• Positions 21–100 rarely bring measurable traffic and mostly serve as indicators that a page is indexed.

That said, there will be some side effects. Brodie Clark and others have already observed changes in Google Search Console data, where impressions have shifted and average position metrics look distorted. In addition, keyword and competitor research will become harder, since SEOs often relied on results beyond the top 20 to discover new content ideas and missed opportunities.

With that said, we do acknowledge that this cause some pain points as we know that large parts of our users were actively using lower positions as a marker for both SERP competition, monitoring if things go the right way, etc – we have even tought people doing this on our SEO Academy so this is indeed a change that makes it increasingly difficult.

What you should do as a Morningscore user

If you use Morningscore, you will continue to see accurate ranking data for your keywords within the top 20. Anything outside the top 20 will now show as “20+.” To adapt:

• Focus on improving rankings for keywords already in positions 11–20, since these are the most achievable wins.

• Keep an eye on Search Console for indexing signals, as this is now a better source for understanding whether a page exists in Google’s wider index.

• Remember that historical data might not line up exactly, since the “20+” bucket replaces the “100+” bucket going forward.

You might experience a drop in keywords, a lot of “lost” keywords, etc. which is normal due to the change from detecting top 100 to top 20 (keywords ranking 21-100 is “lost”).

Short breakdown

The removal of &num=100 is a major change in how SEO tools track rankings, and it affects the entire industry, not just Morningscore.

You will continue to see accurate ranking data for your top 20 keywords. Anything outside the top 20 will now show as “20+.”

We will keep monitoring the situation and explore potential solutions as the SEO community adapts. In the meantime, focus your efforts on improving visibility in the top 20, since websites are basically invisible if they are not found on the first page.

And finally, to repeat what matters most: this is not a bug in Morningscore. It is a global change from Google that affects every third party rank tracking tool.