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Technical Guide

IndexNow Protocol: Instant URL Submission to Search Engines

Quick Summary
IndexNow is an open protocol that lets website owners notify search engines — including Bing, Yandex, and (via Bing) Google — the moment content is published or updated. Instead of waiting for crawlers to discover your pages, you push them instantly. This guide covers what it is, how to implement it, and how to automate submissions.
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What Is IndexNow?

IndexNow is an open-source protocol created by Microsoft (Bing) and Yandex that allows website owners to instantly notify participating search engines when new content is published or existing content is updated.

Before IndexNow, search engines had to discover your content on their own through passive crawling — a process that could take days or weeks. IndexNow flips this: you push a notification to search engines the moment content exists.

Key insight: IndexNow doesn't guarantee indexing — it guarantees that the search engine's crawler will visit your page quickly. Whether it gets indexed depends on your content quality and technical setup.

How IndexNow Works

1
Generate a verification key
Create a unique API key (any UUID or random string). This authenticates your ownership of the domain.
2
Host the key file
Create a text file at yoursite.com/{your-key}.txt containing just the key. This proves you control the domain.
3
Make an API call
POST to api.indexnow.org/indexnow with your key, host, and the list of URLs you want crawled.
4
Search engines receive the signal
Bing, Yandex, and other participating engines receive the notification and prioritize crawling those URLs.
5
Pages get crawled and indexed
The engines crawl your URLs, evaluate them, and index them based on content quality — typically within hours.

The IndexNow API Request

Here's what a valid IndexNow bulk submission looks like:

POST https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow
{
"host": "yoursite.com",
"key": "your-verification-key",
"urlList": [
"https://yoursite.com/page-1",
"https://yoursite.com/page-2"
]
}

A 200 response means the submission was accepted. 422 means invalid format. 429 means rate limited — slow down.

IndexNow Best Practices

  • Submit URLs immediately after publishing — don't batch and wait
  • Re-submit whenever you significantly update a page's content
  • Only submit pages you want indexed — don't submit noindex pages
  • Use bulk submission (up to 10,000 URLs) for large content migrations
  • Combine with Google Search Console submission for maximum coverage
  • Host your key file at both the root and any subdirectories you use

How New Site Index Uses IndexNow

New Site Index is built on top of the IndexNow protocol. When you submit your URLs to our platform, we handle the API calls, key verification, and bulk batching on your behalf — so you don't have to manage the technical setup.

We also submit to multiple indexing signals beyond just IndexNow, including directory listings and backlink pages — all indexed references that push crawl priority toward your URLs.

Related Guides
→ How to Get Pages Indexed Fast→ Why Are My Pages Not Indexing?→ How to Index Backlinks Fast→ Compare Indexing Tools
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Frequently Asked Questions

Does IndexNow work with Google?
Yes, indirectly. When you submit to Bing via IndexNow, Bing shares that data with other search engines in the IndexNow network. Google has not officially joined IndexNow, but the signal still influences crawl prioritization. For Google specifically, combine IndexNow with Google Search Console URL submissions.
Is IndexNow free to use?
Yes — the IndexNow protocol is completely free. You generate a verification key, host a text file on your site, and make API calls to the IndexNow endpoint. New Site Index automates this entire process for you.
How quickly do search engines crawl after an IndexNow ping?
Bing typically crawls within minutes to a few hours. Yandex is usually within hours. Google's behavior is less predictable, but pages submitted via IndexNow to Bing often appear in Google within 24–48 hours.
How many URLs can I submit via IndexNow at once?
The IndexNow API supports bulk submissions of up to 10,000 URLs per request. This makes it ideal for large-scale content operations or programmatic SEO sites.
Do I need to re-submit pages I've already indexed?
You should re-submit whenever you make significant content updates. Search engines prioritize crawling pages they know have changed. For minor changes, re-submission is optional.