How to Set Up IndexNow for Instant Search Indexing

Waiting weeks for search engines to discover your new content is frustrating. You publish a blog post, update a product page, or launch a new section, and it sits invisible in search results while competitors rank for the same topics.

IndexNow solves this by letting you proactively notify search engines the moment content changes. Instead of waiting for crawlers to stumble upon your updates, you push a notification directly to Bing, Yandex, and other participating engines.

This guide walks you through the complete IndexNow setup process, from generating your API key to submitting thousands of URLs in seconds.

What is IndexNow?

IndexNow is an open-source protocol developed by Microsoft and Yandex in 2021. It enables website owners to instantly inform search engines about content changes through a simple HTTP request.

The traditional crawling model:

1. You publish content
2. Search engine crawlers eventually visit your site
3. They discover the new/changed page (could take days or weeks)
4. The page gets indexed

The IndexNow model:

1. You publish content
2. You send a ping to IndexNow endpoints
3. Search engines receive instant notification
4. Crawlers prioritize your URL immediately

The protocol is free, requires no registration with individual search engines, and works across all participating engines with a single submission.

Which Search Engines Support IndexNow?

As of 2026, IndexNow is supported by:

Search Engine	Market Share	Notes
Microsoft Bing	~3% global	Primary backer of IndexNow
Yandex	~1% global, 60% in Russia	Co-creator of the protocol
Naver	Dominant in South Korea	Joined in 2022
Seznam.cz	Dominant in Czech Republic	Joined in 2022
DuckDuckGo	~2% global	Uses Bing’s index (indirect benefit)

Notable absence: Google doesn’t support IndexNow and has stated they have no plans to adopt it. Google relies on its own crawling algorithms and offers a separate Indexing API that’s officially limited to job postings and broadcast events.

Even without Google, IndexNow is valuable. Bing powers Yahoo Search, DuckDuckGo, and many voice assistants. Combined with Yandex, you’re reaching roughly 10% of global search traffic, and much higher percentages in specific regions.

Step 1: Generate Your API Key

An IndexNow API key is a unique identifier that proves you own your domain. The key must be:

• 8 to 128 characters long
• Alphanumeric (a-z, A-Z, 0-9) and hyphens only
• Unique to your website

You can generate a key manually or use our IndexNow Wizard which creates a valid 32-character hex key instantly.

Example key: a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678abcdef12

Keep this key safe. Anyone with your key and the ability to host files on your domain could submit URLs on your behalf.

Step 2: Host the Key Verification File

Search engines need to verify you actually own the domain you’re submitting URLs for. This is done by hosting a text file containing your key at your website’s root directory.

File requirements:

• Filename: [your-key].txt (e.g., a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678abcdef12.txt)
• Location: Root directory (e.g., https://yoursite.com/a1b2c3d4e5f6789012345678abcdef12.txt)
• Content: Just the key itself, nothing else
• Encoding: UTF-8

How to upload:

WordPress/CMS users:

1. Go to your CMS file manager or media library
2. Upload the .txt file to the root folder (same level as wp-content for WordPress)
3. Verify it’s accessible by visiting the URL directly

FTP/SFTP users:

1. Connect to your server
2. Navigate to the public HTML root (public_html, www, or similar)
3. Upload the .txt file
4. Set permissions to 644 (readable by everyone)

Static site generators (Astro, Next.js, Hugo):

1. Add the file to your public or static folder
2. The file will be copied to the build output automatically

Step 3: Validate Your Setup

Before submitting URLs, verify that your key file is correctly hosted and accessible.

Manual validation:

1. Open a browser
2. Navigate to https://yoursite.com/[your-key].txt
3. The page should display only your key (no HTML, no extra characters)

Automated validation: Use our IndexNow Wizard to validate automatically. Enter your domain and key, and we’ll check that:

• The file exists and returns HTTP 200
• The content matches your key exactly
• No redirects or authentication blocks access

Common issues:

• 404 error: File is in the wrong location or named incorrectly
• Content mismatch: Extra whitespace, newlines, or BOM characters in the file
• 403 error: Server blocking access (check .htaccess or server config)

Step 4: Submit URLs

Once validated, you can submit URLs to IndexNow. There are two methods:

Single URL Submission (GET Request)

For individual pages, use a simple GET request:

GET https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=https://yoursite.com/new-page&key=your-key

You can paste this directly in a browser or use curl:

curl "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=https://yoursite.com/new-page&key=your-key"

Bulk Submission (POST Request)

For multiple URLs (up to 10,000), use a POST request with JSON body:

curl -X POST "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
  -d '{
    "host": "yoursite.com",
    "key": "your-key",
    "keyLocation": "https://yoursite.com/your-key.txt",
    "urlList": [
      "https://yoursite.com/page1",
      "https://yoursite.com/page2",
      "https://yoursite.com/page3"
    ]
  }'

Our IndexNow Wizard handles bulk submission automatically. Just paste your URLs (one per line) and click submit.

Response Codes

Code	Meaning
200	OK, URLs submitted successfully
202	Accepted, key validation pending
400	Bad request (check URL format)
403	Key not valid for this host
422	Invalid URLs in request
429	Rate limited (slow down)

Automating IndexNow

For dynamic sites with frequent updates, automate IndexNow submissions:

WordPress Plugins

Several plugins support IndexNow out of the box:

• Yoast SEO Premium - Auto-submits on publish/update
• Rank Math - Built-in IndexNow support
• AIOSEO - Automatic submissions
• Microsoft’s official IndexNow plugin - Lightweight, single-purpose

Build-Time Submission

For static sites, ping IndexNow during your build/deploy process:

// Example: Post-build script
const urls = getChangedUrls(); // Your logic to detect changes
const payload = {
  host: 'yoursite.com',
  key: process.env.INDEXNOW_KEY,
  urlList: urls
};

fetch('https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify(payload)
});

Webhook Integration

Many CMS platforms support webhooks on content changes. Configure a webhook to hit your IndexNow submission endpoint whenever content is published or updated.

Best Practices

Do submit:

• New blog posts and pages
• Significantly updated content
• New product listings
• Deleted pages (helps remove from index faster)

Don’t submit:

• Minor typo fixes
• The same URL repeatedly
• Pages you don’t want indexed (use robots.txt instead)
• Thousands of URLs that haven’t actually changed

Rate limiting: IndexNow doesn’t have strict rate limits, but submitting the same URL multiple times in quick succession may trigger HTTP 429 errors. Only submit URLs that have genuinely changed.

Multiple search engines: IndexNow endpoints share submissions automatically. Submitting to api.indexnow.org notifies all participating engines. You don’t need to submit separately to Bing and Yandex.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does IndexNow guarantee my pages will rank?

No. IndexNow only speeds up discovery. Your pages still need quality content, proper SEO, and backlinks to rank well. Think of IndexNow as removing one obstacle (slow discovery), not as a ranking boost.

Should I use IndexNow if most of my traffic comes from Google?

Yes, if you also want visibility on Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, or regional engines. Setting up IndexNow takes minutes and runs automatically. The marginal traffic from Bing/Yandex adds up, especially for high-volume sites.

Can I use IndexNow with CDN caching?

Yes. IndexNow works independently of your caching setup. Just ensure the key file is accessible (not blocked by firewall rules or authentication).

What happens if I change my API key?

You’ll need to update the key file on your server and use the new key for all future submissions. Old submissions remain valid; they are not retroactively invalidated.

Is IndexNow free?

Yes, completely free. There are no paid tiers, no submission limits (beyond 10,000 per request), and no registration required with individual search engines.

Get Started Now

Ready to set up IndexNow? Use our free IndexNow Wizard to:

1. Generate a secure API key
2. Get step-by-step hosting instructions
3. Validate your setup automatically
4. Submit URLs in bulk to all IndexNow engines

No sign-up required. Your key never leaves your browser until you’re ready to validate.