IndexNow
IndexNow is an open protocol through which a website actively notifies search engines that content changed: a new page, an edit, a deletion. Instead of waiting for the crawler to come by, the server sends a simple ping with the URL. Bing, Seznam, Yandex and others support it. Google does not; it has its own paths.
In short
| What it is | A ping to search engines about a changed URL, instead of passively waiting for a crawl |
| Who supports it | Bing, Seznam.cz, Yandex and others. Not Google |
| Why Bing matters | ChatGPT and Copilot draw on Bing. Fast indexing in Bing means a faster route into AI answers |
| How to deploy | In WordPress with one switch in an SEO plugin, elsewhere with a key and a single HTTP request |
How IndexNow works
A key on the domain as proof of ownership
The site first generates a key: a string of 8 to 128 characters made of letters, digits and hyphens. The key is stored in a text file at the root of the domain, for example www.shop.com/abc123.txt, and the file contains nothing but the key itself. It must be reachable without login and return status code 200. On the first ping the engine fetches the file and compares the key: that verifies the changes come from the site owner, not a third party. The key can also sit in a subdirectory; its address then goes in the keyLocation parameter and only URLs under that directory may be submitted. AIOSEO, Rank Math and Yoast SEO Premium generate and publish the key themselves.
The ping: one URL or a batch
A change is announced with an HTTP request to the IndexNow endpoint of any participating engine, for example api.indexnow.org or www.bing.com. One address needs only a GET with the url and key parameters. For several addresses a POST with a JSON body is sent: host, key and a urlList array, up to 10,000 URLs per request. Sending to one engine is enough; it passes the ping on to the other participants. The response reports the outcome: 200 accepted, 202 accepted with key validation pending, 400 invalid format, 403 invalid key, 422 URLs do not belong to the host, 429 too many requests. A ping is not an indexing command, only a prompt to crawl; the engine decides on inclusion the same way as for any other page.
Who reads the pings and when to send them
The protocol is accepted by Bing, Yandex, Seznam.cz, Naver and Yep. Google has not joined; its crawler follows the sitemap, internal linking and Search Console. In WordPress the SEO plugin sends pings automatically on publish, update and deletion. From a custom system, a ping goes out when content that belongs in the index has changed: a new product, a changed price or availability, an edited article, a removed URL (which then has to return 404 or 410) and a redirect target. Do not ping unchanged pages, URLs that are noindexed or blocked in robots.txt, filters and parameters, the cart, staging, or every saved draft.
Worked example: an e-shop changes the price or availability of 300 products a day. If Bing's crawler visits 100 product pages a day on average without pings, it needs 3 days to reach all the changed ones, and only if it picks exactly those. One POST with 300 addresses in urlList covers the whole day: 9,000 URLs a month in 30 requests, each far below the 10,000-URL limit per request.
Why it is a GEO tool, not an SEO detail
Faster indexing in Bing looks like a marginal win until you consider who reads from Bing. ChatGPT and Copilot both build their web answers on the Bing index. Content that is not in it does not exist for them, and content that gets there fast can be cited before the competition. IndexNow is the cheapest lever for shortening that time.
From our own practice: publishing without manual requests
IndexNow is worth switching on through the SEO plugin (in AIOSEO it is a single toggle) and letting the pings go out automatically on every publish. Manual indexing requests in Search Console have a daily quota of roughly ten URLs, so they are not a realistic route when a larger batch of pages goes live.
The practical order is therefore different: the sitemap and internal linking get the pages into Google, IndexNow covers Bing and the assistants that draw from it, and manual requests stay for individual priority URLs.
Common mistakes
- Pinging everything all the time. The protocol is for changes. Mass repeated pings of unchanged URLs lead to being ignored.
- Expecting an effect in Google. Google does not support IndexNow. For Google the sitemap and internal linking still apply.
- Deploying without verifying. The key has to be reachable on the site and the pings actually have to leave. The check is one look into Bing Webmaster Tools.
Related terms
See also indexing, AI crawler, GEO and Microsoft Advertising.
Frequently asked questions
Does IndexNow replace the sitemap?
No, it complements it. The sitemap is the full list, the ping is the change notification. They work best together.
Is it worth it for a small site?
Yes, especially for small sites. Crawlers visit small sites rarely, so an active ping shortens the wait the most.
How do I verify it works?
Bing Webmaster Tools shows the number of received pings in its IndexNow section. If it is zero, something on the path is missing.
How we can help
Fast indexing and visibility in AI answers are part of our AI visibility agency service.