diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 75bd53f..92c885b 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -50,6 +50,20 @@
 - Improved result rendering:
   - search cards now show source snippet/description separately from AI reason to reduce confusion between asset metadata and Gemini commentary
 
+## Current Session Update (2026-03-13, Regression Fix)
+- A regression was found after search optimization:
+  - Envato and Artgrid disappeared entirely for some real searches while Google Video still returned results
+- Root cause:
+  - the first optimization reduced query-variant breadth too aggressively
+  - the first 3 query variants were not enough to recover Envato/Artgrid in some real SearXNG result sets
+- Fix applied:
+  - search now runs in two stages
+  - stage 1 searches only the first few variants for speed
+  - stage 2 searches additional variants only for sources that still returned zero results
+- Intent:
+  - keep the anti-timeout optimization
+  - recover Envato/Artgrid recall when the early pass is too narrow
+
 ## Local Self-Test Workflow
 - Primary command:
   - `bash scripts/selftest.sh`
diff --git a/backend/services/cse.go b/backend/services/cse.go
index dff937b..7b74180 100644
--- a/backend/services/cse.go
+++ b/backend/services/cse.go
@@ -92,47 +92,58 @@ func (s *SearchService) SearchMedia(queries []string, enabledPlatforms map[strin
 	results := make([]SearchResult, 0, 90)
 	var lastErr error
 
-	baseQueries := limitQueries(queries, 3)
-	for _, base := range baseQueries {
-		base = strings.TrimSpace(base)
-		if base == "" {
-			continue
-		}
-		for _, source := range sources {
-			if len(enabledPlatforms) > 0 && !enabledPlatforms[strings.ToLower(source.name)] {
+	baseQueries := limitQueries(queries, 6)
+	primaryQueries := baseQueries[:minInt(len(baseQueries), 3)]
+	runSearchPass := func(bases []string, onlyMissing bool) {
+		for _, base := range bases {
+			base = strings.TrimSpace(base)
+			if base == "" {
 				continue
 			}
-			if sourceCounts[source.name] >= source.maxResults {
-				continue
-			}
-			for _, searchQuery := range source.build(base) {
-				if sourceCounts[source.name] >= source.maxResults {
-					break
-				}
-				items, err := s.search(searchQuery, source.categories, source.engine, source.name)
-				if err != nil {
-					lastErr = err
-					items, err = s.search(searchQuery, source.categories, "", source.name)
-				}
-				if err != nil {
-					lastErr = err
+			for _, source := range sources {
+				if len(enabledPlatforms) > 0 && !enabledPlatforms[strings.ToLower(source.name)] {
 					continue
 				}
-				for _, item := range items {
-					if item.Link == "" || seen[item.Link] || !source.accept(item) {
-						continue
-					}
-					seen[item.Link] = true
-					results = append(results, item)
-					sourceCounts[source.name]++
+				if sourceCounts[source.name] >= source.maxResults {
+					continue
+				}
+				if onlyMissing && sourceCounts[source.name] > 0 {
+					continue
+				}
+				for _, searchQuery := range source.build(base) {
 					if sourceCounts[source.name] >= source.maxResults {
 						break
 					}
+					items, err := s.search(searchQuery, source.categories, source.engine, source.name)
+					if err != nil {
+						lastErr = err
+						items, err = s.search(searchQuery, source.categories, "", source.name)
+					}
+					if err != nil {
+						lastErr = err
+						continue
+					}
+					for _, item := range items {
+						if item.Link == "" || seen[item.Link] || !source.accept(item) {
+							continue
+						}
+						seen[item.Link] = true
+						results = append(results, item)
+						sourceCounts[source.name]++
+						if sourceCounts[source.name] >= source.maxResults {
+							break
+						}
+					}
 				}
 			}
 		}
 	}
 
+	runSearchPass(primaryQueries, false)
+	if len(baseQueries) > len(primaryQueries) {
+		runSearchPass(baseQueries[len(primaryQueries):], true)
+	}
+
 	if len(results) == 0 && lastErr != nil {
 		return nil, lastErr
 	}