Google Search has many hidden settings and search parameters that customise outcomes pages. Sadly, one in all them is not working reliably, and is likely to be eliminated solely sooner or later: the “num” choice.
Google usually exhibits ten web page hyperlinks on every web page of search outcomes, requiring you to click on the following web page hyperlink on the backside to see extra outcomes. There was a hidden technique to show as much as 100 outcomes on one web page: you simply had so as to add &num=100 to the top of the search URL. These extra outcomes normally aren’t useful for fast data queries, however generally it was useful to see extra outcomes with out clicking backwards and forwards between pages.
Sadly, the “num” function is not reliably working. The choice for &num=100 used to offer a single lengthy search web page with 100 outcomes, however now it normally returns the identical variety of outcomes per web page as a default search. Search Engine Roundtable reported that it “works about half the time,” but it surely appears completely damaged for me. Different hidden search attributes just like the “&udm=14” choice that turns off AI Overviews, are nonetheless working in my internet browser.
Google Search switched to infinite scrolling in 2021, which continued loading new outcomes as you scrolled down the web page, although desktop platforms didn’t get that change till 2022. That change was reverted in mid–2024, bringing again the separate web page outcomes with the “Goooooooooogle” navigation. The “num” trick allowed individuals to see extra outcomes with out ready for extra pages to load, till just lately.
Although the choice isn’t well-known among the many common public, it’s a fashionable instrument for SEO (search engine optimization) individuals. Many third-party instruments for monitoring an internet site’s placement in a given search question use that hack whereas doing internet scraping on Google’s search pages. With that choice gone, a few of these instruments are not working correctly.
Google hasn’t confirmed the function’s removing, so this may simply be a brief bug. Hopefully, it comes again quickly.
Supply: @SEowner on Twitter/X through Search Engine Roundtable
