What Is IndexNow?
IndexNow is an open protocol developed by Microsoft (Bing) and Yandex that lets website owners push URLs directly to participating search engines in real time. Instead of waiting for crawlers to discover content, you notify them the moment content changes.
The protocol is simple: you host a verification key file on your server, then send an HTTP POST request with the URLs you want indexed. Participating engines process the submission and update their indexes accordingly.
Which Engines Support IndexNow?
As of 2026, IndexNow is supported by:
- Bing — Microsoft's search engine
- Yandex — Russia's largest search engine
- Seznam — Czech Republic's primary search engine
- Naver — South Korea's leading search engine
Google does not participate in IndexNow. For ordinary Google pages, use Search Console, sitemaps, and internal links. Google's separate Indexing API supports only eligible JobPosting and livestream BroadcastEvent pages.
How IndexNow Works
Step 1: Generate a key — any random alphanumeric string.
Step 2: Host the key file at https://yourdomain.com/{your-key}.txt containing only the key as its content.
Step 3: Submit URLs via POST:
{
"host": "yourdomain.com",
"key": "your-key-string",
"keyLocation": "https://yourdomain.com/your-key-string.txt",
"urlList": [
"https://yourdomain.com/new-page",
"https://yourdomain.com/updated-article"
]
}Benefits of IndexNow
- Speed — Bing typically processes submissions within minutes
- No authentication complexity — just a key file, no OAuth
- Batch submissions — up to 10,000 URLs per request
- Free — no cost
- Multi-engine — one submission notifies all participating engines
IndexNow vs Google Indexing API
These protocols are not universal equivalents. IndexNow can notify participating engines about general URL changes. Google's Indexing API is limited to eligible JobPosting and livestream BroadcastEvent pages. For other Google URLs, rely on Search Console, sitemaps, and crawlable internal links. Compare the boundaries in our IndexNow workflow guide.