Google may be bringing back the option to see 100 search results on a single page, more than a year after it quietly removed the feature. A search specialist spotted the old num=100 address parameter working again after clicking through a knowledge panel result, and counted 99 organic listings on the page that loaded. Google has not confirmed any change, and the sighting has not been reproduced by others so far, so the return remains unproven — but if it is real, it would reverse one of the company’s most visible anti-scraping moves.
What was spotted
Search specialist Brodie Clark said he noticed the parameter after running a search and clicking a knowledge panel result, only to find the page address included num=100. He wrote that Google seems to have brought back the ability to use num=100 in some capacity, and that the page showed 99 organic results. The one-result gap is unexplained.
Search Engine Roundtable editor Barry Schwartz tried to reproduce the result across multiple browsers and could not, a caveat the report states plainly. That failed replication matters most: one sighting, however detailed, is not a rollout. Google has said nothing about restoring the parameter, and no second observer has confirmed the same behaviour.
Why Google removed it in 2025
Google dropped the num=100 option in September 2025 as one of several measures aimed at stopping automated crawlers from scraping its search results. A page carrying 100 results is far more valuable to a scraper than a page carrying ten, so removing the parameter raised the cost of harvesting results at scale.
The removal was part of a wider campaign against result scraping, in which Google layered defences that make automated collection harder and less reliable. Third-party tracking tools have struggled since those defences arrived. The company’s defences against rank trackers show how seriously it has treated the scraping problem.
What it would mean for rank trackers
For search professionals, a working num=100 parameter would restore a fast way to scan a deep set of rankings without paging through ten results at a time. Rank tracking tools, which sample Google’s pages to report where sites sit for a keyword, would benefit most directly from a fuller single page.
Clark also pointed to data from SERP Lens suggesting that Google’s redirect links are bypassing previous workarounds, which he flagged as a likely problem for some rank trackers. The two observations paint a mixed picture: one old door may be reopening while another route is closing, and neither has been confirmed by Google.
What would confirm it
Confirmation would need either a second, independent sighting of num=100 returning 100 results, or a statement from Google itself. Until then, searchers can test the parameter themselves, though results may vary by account, browser, and location. The search community will likely settle the question quickly, since a working parameter is easy to check and hard to fake at scale.
Why It Matters
The story matters because it tests whether Google’s anti-scraping stance is softening or simply shifting. If the parameter returns broadly, search professionals regain a tool they lost last year, and auditing rankings gets easier. If it proves to be a quirk of one session, nothing changes — but the watch for cracks in Google’s defences continues.
It also fits a pattern of spotted changes to how Google displays results, where one observation can signal a wider shift. A recent example is the possible removal of citation cards from AI Overviews, noticed by individual observers rather than announced by Google. In both cases, the honest position is the same: report what was seen, and wait for confirmation.
Background
Google’s standard results page has long shown ten organic listings, with the num parameter offering a way to ask for more. The company removed the 100-result option in September 2025, and it has stayed unavailable since. Friday’s sighting is the first claim that it may be working again, and it stays unverified until Google confirms it or others reproduce it.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable report.
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