When you publish a new page, the old way to get it noticed is to wait: wait for a crawler to swing by, wait for it to re-read your sitemap, wait for it to notice something changed. IndexNow flips that around. Instead of waiting to be found, your site raises its hand the instant a page goes live or gets updated — a one-line "hey, this URL changed, come look" sent straight to participating search engines.
The takeaway up front: IndexNow is a genuinely useful, free, and legitimate way to shorten the gap between publishing and crawling — but it is not a magic indexing button, and it does not include Google. Understanding exactly what it does, and what it doesn't, is the difference between using it well and expecting miracles from it. This guide covers what IndexNow is, which engines honor it, how to set it up in minutes, and where it fits in a healthy submission routine.
What IndexNow actually is
IndexNow is an open protocol — originally introduced by Microsoft Bing and Yandex — that lets a website notify search engines whenever a URL is added, updated, or deleted. Rather than a search engine polling your site over and over to check for changes, your site pushes a small signal the moment something happens.
Two features make it more powerful than a single-engine ping:
- It's shared. When you submit a URL to one participating engine, that engine shares the notification with the others in the IndexNow network. Ping one, and the rest hear about it — you don't submit to each separately.
- It's a change signal, not just a "new page" signal. IndexNow is meant for updates and deletions too, so an engine knows to re-crawl a page you revised or drop one you removed, not only to discover brand-new URLs.
Be clear on one point that trips people up: IndexNow requests a crawl, not an index. It tells engines "this changed, come look sooner." Whether they then index the page still depends on the page's quality, uniqueness, and the engine's own judgment — the same factors that decide any page's fate. If a page is thin or duplicate, faster crawling won't rescue it; it'll just get skipped sooner. (Our guide to why pages get crawled but not indexed unpacks that distinction.)
Which search engines support IndexNow
This is where honesty matters most, because the single biggest misconception is that IndexNow speeds up Google.
Engines that support IndexNow include Microsoft Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam, and Yep. Because submissions are shared across the network, one notification reaches all of them.
Google does not participate. Google ran a public evaluation of IndexNow and has said it's testing the idea, but as things stand it does not use IndexNow to crawl your pages. For Google, you still rely on the established path: a clean, submitted sitemap; solid internal linking; and Search Console's URL Inspection tool for the occasional manual nudge.
So the realistic value proposition is: IndexNow gives you faster, push-based crawling on Bing and its partner engines — which matters more than many site owners assume. Bing powers more than its own results (it feeds other search experiences and assistants), and reaching Yandex, Naver, or Seznam can be meaningful depending on your audience and region. It's a real, free coverage boost — it's just additive to your Google work, not a replacement for it.
How IndexNow works under the hood
The mechanism is refreshingly simple, and understanding it makes setup obvious.
- You generate an API key — a random string that acts as proof you own the site.
- You host that key as a text file at your domain's root (for example,
https://www.example.com/{your-key}.txt), with the key as its contents. This lets the engine verify the submission genuinely comes from someone who controls the site. - You submit URLs by sending a request to an IndexNow endpoint that includes your host, your key, and the URL (or list of URLs) that changed.
That's the whole protocol: prove ownership with a hosted key, then POST the URLs that changed. You can submit a single URL or batches of them. The good news for non-technical owners is that you almost never have to touch this directly — the automation below handles it for you.
How to set up IndexNow (three routes)
Pick the route that matches how your site is built. All three are free.
Route 1: A CMS plugin (easiest for most sites)
If you run WordPress or a similar CMS, an SEO plugin is the least-effort path. Popular plugins such as Yoast SEO, Rank Math, and All in One SEO include IndexNow support, and Microsoft offers a dedicated IndexNow plugin as well. You enable the feature, and the plugin generates the key, hosts the key file, and automatically pings the network every time you publish or update a post. Set it once and forget it.
Route 2: Your CDN or host
Some hosting platforms and content delivery networks can handle IndexNow at the infrastructure level. Cloudflare, for instance, offers a "Crawler Hints" setting that uses IndexNow to notify engines when your content changes — turn it on and it works site-wide without touching your CMS. Check your host or CDN dashboard; if this option exists, it's the most hands-off setup of all.
Route 3: Manual or API (for custom sites)
If you run a custom site or want direct control, do it yourself:
- Generate a key (Bing Webmaster Tools has a key generator, or use any random hexadecimal string of the required length).
- Save it as
{your-key}.txtat your site root, containing exactly that key. - Send URLs to an IndexNow endpoint. A single-URL submission is as simple as a GET request:
https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=https://www.example.com/new-page&key=your-key-here
For bulk submissions, send a POST request with a JSON body listing your host, key, key location, and an array of URLs. Most sites wire this into their publishing workflow so it fires automatically on every change.
Whichever route you choose, you can confirm it's working in Bing Webmaster Tools, which reports IndexNow submissions and their status.
Using IndexNow well — the sensible rules
IndexNow is easy to misuse in ways that waste it. A few guardrails:
- Only submit URLs that actually changed. The protocol is for genuine additions, updates, and deletions. Re-submitting the same unchanged pages in bulk to look "active" helps nothing and signals low-quality automation. Quality of signal beats volume — the same principle that governs submitting your website the right way.
- Submit the canonical URL. Ping the real, indexable version of a page, not a parameter-laden or redirecting variant.
- Don't expect it to fix indexing problems. If good pages aren't getting indexed, faster crawling won't change that. The cause is usually content quality, thin or duplicate pages, or site-wide crawl priority — not slow discovery.
- Keep your sitemap anyway. IndexNow is a push signal for participating engines; your XML sitemap is still the backbone for Google and a fallback for everyone. They complement each other — they're not either/or.
Where IndexNow fits in your routine
Think of getting found as a set of layered signals, each doing a job the others can't:
- Sitemaps give every engine a complete, authoritative map of what exists on your site.
- Internal links show engines which pages matter and give crawlers paths to follow.
- Search Console / Webmaster Tools let you monitor coverage and manually request the occasional recrawl.
- IndexNow adds a fast, automatic "this just changed" push to Bing and its partner network.
None replaces the others. IndexNow simply removes the waiting on the engines that support it — so a page you publish or fix today can be crawled by Bing in minutes or hours instead of days. The full mechanics of crawling, sitemaps, and coverage live in our search engine indexing guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does IndexNow work with Google?
No. Google does not currently use IndexNow to crawl your pages. It has publicly tested the protocol but hasn't adopted it. IndexNow speeds up crawling on Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam, and Yep. For Google, keep relying on a submitted sitemap, strong internal linking, and Search Console's URL Inspection tool.
Is IndexNow free, and is it safe to use?
Yes on both counts. IndexNow is an open, free protocol backed by major engines, and using it correctly — submitting only genuinely new, updated, or deleted URLs — is entirely legitimate. It's the opposite of a spammy bulk-submission gimmick: a lightweight, honest change notification, not an attempt to trick anyone.
Will IndexNow get my page indexed faster?
It gets your page crawled faster on participating engines, which can lead to faster indexing — but only if the page deserves to be indexed. IndexNow requests a look; the engine still decides whether to index based on the page's quality and uniqueness. It shortens discovery time; it doesn't override quality judgments.
Do I need technical skills to set up IndexNow?
Usually not. If you use WordPress or a similar CMS, an SEO plugin can enable IndexNow with a checkbox and handle everything automatically. Some hosts and CDNs (like Cloudflare) offer a one-click setting too. Only custom sites need to generate a key and call the API directly.
Should I still use a sitemap if I have IndexNow?
Absolutely. A sitemap remains essential — it's the complete map Google and every other engine relies on, and it's your fallback for engines that don't support IndexNow. Use both together: the sitemap for coverage, IndexNow for speed on the engines that honor it.
Get your pages found sooner
IndexNow is one of the easiest, most honest wins in getting a site found: turn it on once, and every new or updated page gets pushed to Bing and its partner engines the moment it changes — no waiting to be discovered. Just keep expectations grounded. It's a crawl signal, not an index guarantee, and it complements your Google work rather than replacing it. Enable it through your plugin, host, or the API, keep a clean submitted sitemap alongside it, and make sure the pages you're pushing are genuinely worth indexing. Then get your site submitted and listed everywhere it counts with AddTopWebsite.
