IndexNow is an open protocol that allows website owners to inform participating search engines immediately when a URL on their website has been created, updated, or deleted.

Instead of waiting for a search engine crawler to revisit the website and discover the change naturally, your website can send a notification to an IndexNow endpoint.

The search engine then knows that a particular URL has changed and can prioritize crawling it.

Microsoft Bing describes IndexNow as a recommended URL-submission method and states that it can notify Bing and participating search engines when URLs are added, updated, or deleted.

IndexNow should therefore be viewed as a change-notification system, not as a replacement for normal SEO, crawling, XML sitemaps, internal linking, or quality content.

Does IndexNow Guarantee Google or Bing Ranking?

No.

This is one of the most important points to understand.

IndexNow can tell a search engine:

“This URL has changed. Please consider crawling it.”

It does not tell the search engine:

“Index this page immediately and rank it on page one.”

A successful IndexNow submission only confirms that the notification was received.

Search engines still decide:

• whether to crawl the URL;
• when to crawl it;
• whether the URL should be indexed;
• which canonical URL should be indexed;
• how frequently the URL should be revisited;
• whether the content is useful;
• and where the page should rank.

IndexNow and XML Sitemap Are Different

Many website owners confuse IndexNow with sitemap submission.

They perform different jobs.

XML Sitemap

An XML sitemap provides search engines with an organized inventory of URLs available on your website.

For example:

https://example.com/sitemap.xml

It may contain:

<url>
    <loc>https://example.com/article1.php</loc>
    <lastmod>2026-08-18</lastmod>
</url>

IndexNow

IndexNow actively sends a notification when something changes.

For example:

Article published
        ↓
IndexNow notification sent
        ↓
Search engine learns that URL changed
        ↓
Crawler may visit URL
        ↓
Search engine decides whether to index it

The official IndexNow guidance recommends using IndexNow and sitemaps together. IndexNow is useful for recent changes, while XML sitemaps provide search engines with the broader inventory of website URLs.

Recommended SEO Architecture

For the best discovery coverage, use:

Website
   │
   ├── robots.txt
   │
   ├── sitemap.xml
   │
   ├── Google Search Console
   │
   ├── Bing Webmaster Tools
   │
   └── IndexNow

These technologies complement one another rather than replace one another.

How IndexNow Works

Suppose you publish:

https://example.com/view_article.php?id=2001

Your website submits a notification similar to:

https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?
url=https://example.com/view_article.php?id=2001
&key=YOUR_INDEXNOW_KEY

IndexNow then validates that you control the website using the verification key file.

If validation succeeds, the URL notification can be processed.

The protocol allows participating search engines to share IndexNow submissions with other participating engines.

STEP 1 – Make Sure Your Website Is Ready for Indexing

Before installing IndexNow, verify that your website works correctly.

Check:

https://example.com/

Your important articles should return:

HTTP 200 OK

Avoid submitting URLs returning:

404 Not Found
500 Internal Server Error
503 Service Unavailable

unless you intentionally want search engines to discover that a previously indexed page has been removed.

STEP 2 – Create an XML Sitemap

Your website should preferably already have an XML sitemap.

Common sitemap URLs include:

https://example.com/sitemap.xml

or:

https://example.com/sitemap_index.xml

A sitemap could look similar to:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">

<url>
<loc>https://example.com/</loc>
<lastmod>2026-08-18</lastmod>
</url>

<url>
<loc>https://example.com/article1.php</loc>
<lastmod>2026-08-18</lastmod>
</url>

</urlset>

For an article website or knowledgebase, the sitemap should preferably be generated automatically from the database.

STEP 3 – Use Accurate <lastmod> Dates

A particularly important sitemap field is:

<lastmod>2026-08-18</lastmod>

It should indicate when the page actually received a meaningful update.

Do not automatically change every sitemap URL to today's date every time the sitemap is regenerated.

For example:

<url>
<loc>https://example.com/article1.php</loc>
<lastmod>2026-08-15</lastmod>
</url>

If the article was last materially modified on August 15, keep that date until it actually changes.

Accurate lastmod information also helps surface older changes that happened before IndexNow implementation.

STEP 4 – Submit Your Sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools

If you have not already done so, add your website to:

Bing Webmaster Tools

After verifying your website, open approximately:

Bing Webmaster Tools
        ↓
Your Website
        ↓
Sitemaps
        ↓
Submit Sitemap

Enter:

https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Then submit it.

Bing will periodically revisit the sitemap.

STEP 5 – Generate an IndexNow API Key

IndexNow requires a unique verification key.

A valid IndexNow key should be between 8 and 128 characters using the permitted characters defined by the protocol.

For example:

bison2026IndexNowA8F93B72

For better security, generate a longer unpredictable value, such as:

A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9

Do not copy this example for production.

Generate your own key.

STEP 6 – Create the IndexNow Verification File

Suppose your generated key is:

A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9

Create this file:

A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9.txt

The contents of the file must be:

A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9

Nothing else is required.

Save the file as plain UTF-8 text.

STEP 7 – Upload the Key File to Your Website Root

Upload the text file into your public website root.

On many hosting accounts this is:

/public_html/

For a subdomain, it may be:

/public_html/subdomain/

or a separately assigned document root.

The official IndexNow documentation recommends hosting the key file in the root directory of the host.

After uploading, this URL should work:

https://example.com/A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9.txt

Opening it in the browser should display:

A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9

STEP 8 – Verify the IndexNow Key File

Open your browser and test:

https://example.com/YOURKEY.txt

The result must normally be accessible publicly.

Make sure it does not:

• redirect to the homepage;
• return 404;
• require authentication;
• return PHP output;
• get blocked by firewall rules;
• get blocked by .htaccess;
• return an HTML error page.

The content should simply be your IndexNow key.

STEP 9 – Submit Your First URL Manually

IndexNow supports a general API endpoint.

The IndexNow FAQ currently lists the general endpoint in the following form:

https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url={URL}&key={KEY}

For example:

https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=https://example.com/article1.php&key=A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9

You can request this URL using a browser, PHP, PowerShell, cURL, or your application.

STEP 10 – Submit Directly to Bing

You may also submit using Bing's IndexNow endpoint:

https://www.bing.com/indexnow?url=https://example.com/article1.php&key=YOURKEY

Example:

https://www.bing.com/indexnow?url=https://example.com/article1.php&key=A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9

However, you generally do not need to send identical notifications repeatedly to every participating engine.

IndexNow's participating search engines are designed to share submitted URL information.

STEP 11 – Understand the HTTP Response

When submitting IndexNow requests, the HTTP response code provides important information.

HTTP 200

200 OK

The URL submission was successfully received.

HTTP 202

202 Accepted

The URL was received, but IndexNow key validation may still be pending.

HTTP 400

400 Bad Request

Usually indicates an invalid request format.

HTTP 403

403 Forbidden

Usually indicates the API key could not be validated.

Check:

https://example.com/YOURKEY.txt

HTTP 422

422 Unprocessable Entity

Possible causes include:

• URL does not belong to the submitted host;
• invalid host;
• key mismatch;
• key-location restrictions.

HTTP 429

429 Too Many Requests

You may be sending excessive requests.

These response meanings are documented by IndexNow.

STEP 12 – Submit Multiple URLs at Once

For larger knowledgebases, individual GET requests are inefficient.

IndexNow allows multiple URLs to be submitted using a JSON POST request.

Example:

{
    "host": "example.com",
    "key": "A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9",
    "urlList": [
        "https://example.com/article1.php",
        "https://example.com/article2.php",
        "https://example.com/article3.php"
    ]
}

POST this to:

https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow

The protocol supports batches containing up to 10,000 URLs per request.

STEP 13 – Submit URLs Using cURL

A useful command is:

curl -X POST "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=utf-8" \
-d '{
  "host": "example.com",
  "key": "YOUR_INDEXNOW_KEY",
  "urlList": [
    "https://example.com/article1.php",
    "https://example.com/article2.php"
  ]
}'

This method is particularly useful for:

• server scripts;
• cron jobs;
• deployment tools;
• custom CMS software;
• PHP knowledgebases.

STEP 14 – Implement IndexNow in PHP

For a PHP website, IndexNow can be automated.

A simplified example is:

<?php

$key = "YOUR_INDEXNOW_KEY";

$url = "https://example.com/view_article.php?id=123";

$endpoint =
    "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=" .
    urlencode($url) .
    "&key=" .
    urlencode($key);

$response = file_get_contents($endpoint);

?>

A more reliable production implementation should use PHP cURL so HTTP response codes and errors can be logged.

Better PHP Implementation with cURL

<?php

$key = "YOUR_INDEXNOW_KEY";
$url = "https://example.com/view_article.php?id=123";

$endpoint = "https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow";
$requestUrl = $endpoint .
              "?url=" . urlencode($url) .
              "&key=" . urlencode($key);

$ch = curl_init();

curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $requestUrl);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 15);

$response = curl_exec($ch);

$httpCode = curl_getinfo($ch, CURLINFO_HTTP_CODE);

curl_close($ch);

echo "IndexNow HTTP Response: " . $httpCode;

?>

STEP 15 – Automatically Submit New Knowledgebase Articles

For a custom PHP knowledgebase, the best approach is not to submit the whole sitemap every time an article is created.

Instead:

Article Added
      ↓
Article saved to database
      ↓
Public URL generated
      ↓
IndexNow API called
      ↓
URL added to sitemap

For example:

$articleUrl =
"https://example.com/view_article.php?id=" . $articleId;

submitToIndexNow($articleUrl);

This provides near-real-time notification.

STEP 16 – Submit Updated Articles

When an existing article is substantially modified, submit it again.

Workflow:

Article 1175 edited
      ↓
Database update completed
      ↓
last_modified updated
      ↓
IndexNow notification sent
      ↓
Sitemap lastmod updated

This is an excellent combination for a knowledgebase containing large numbers of continuously improved technical articles.

STEP 17 – Notify IndexNow When a Page Is Deleted

IndexNow isn't only for new content.

It can also be used when a URL is:

• deleted;
• redirected;
• removed;
• changed;
• permanently discontinued.

For example, if:

https://example.com/article-old.php

now returns:

410 Gone

send that URL through IndexNow.

Microsoft specifically recommends IndexNow to help Bing detect deleted, moved, or updated URLs more quickly.

Should Deleted URLs Remain in the Sitemap?

Normally, no.

If a URL is permanently deleted:

1. Remove it from the XML sitemap.
2. Return the appropriate HTTP status such as 404 or 410.
3. Notify IndexNow about the deleted URL.
4. Update internal links pointing to the deleted page.

This provides consistent signals.

STEP 18 – Do Not Submit Your Entire Sitemap Every Day Through IndexNow

This is another important distinction.

IndexNow is primarily designed for changed URLs.

Normal daily operation should resemble:

New URL → Submit
Updated URL → Submit
Deleted URL → Submit
Unchanged URL → Do nothing

The IndexNow FAQ advises using the sitemap for comprehensive URL discovery and IndexNow for recent or high-priority changes.

What About Existing Thousands of Articles?

Suppose your website already contains:

1,900 articles

Do not repeatedly send all 1,900 URLs every day.

Instead:

Existing older URLs
        ↓
XML Sitemap
        ↓
Search engines crawl progressively

Then:

Article 450 updated today
        ↓
Submit Article 450 via IndexNow

and:

New Article 1901 published
        ↓
Submit Article 1901 via IndexNow

What If the Entire Website Has Recently Been Redesigned?

This is an exception.

If a large portion of the website was genuinely changed because of:

• website migration;
• redesign;
• URL restructuring;
• HTTPS migration;
• CMS migration;
• major content overhaul;

then submitting the affected URLs through IndexNow can be reasonable.

The official FAQ specifically notes that when an entire site has recently been updated, such as after a migration or redesign, submitting the affected URLs through IndexNow is acceptable.

STEP 19 – Monitor IndexNow Through Bing Webmaster Tools

If your website is connected with Bing Webmaster Tools, check approximately:

Bing Webmaster Tools
       ↓
Select Website
       ↓
IndexNow

Bing states that IndexNow submission activity can be monitored from the IndexNow area of Bing Webmaster Tools.

Depending on the interface version, you may see information relating to:

• submitted URLs;
• discovered URLs;
• crawl activity;
• submission errors;
• IndexNow status.

STEP 20 – Keep Your Sitemap Submitted to Bing

Even after implementing IndexNow, do not remove your sitemap from Bing Webmaster Tools.

You want:

Sitemap
+
IndexNow

not:

Sitemap OR IndexNow

The sitemap remains important for:

• older articles;
• deeply nested URLs;
• infrequently updated pages;
• comprehensive site discovery.

IndexNow specializes in change notification.

STEP 21 – Keep Your Sitemap in Google Search Console

IndexNow does not replace Google Search Console.

Continue submitting your sitemap to:

Google Search Console

For example:

https://example.com/sitemap.xml

Your overall architecture should therefore look like:

                      WEBSITE
                         │
          ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
          │              │              │
     Google GSC     Bing Webmaster   IndexNow
          │              │              │
       Sitemap         Sitemap      Changed URLs

STEP 22 – Add the Sitemap to robots.txt

You can also reference your sitemap in:

https://example.com/robots.txt

Example:

User-agent: *
Allow: /

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

This provides another discovery path for crawlers.

Recommended Setup for a PHP Knowledgebase

For a database-driven PHP knowledgebase, a strong architecture is:

DATABASE
   │
   ├── Article ID
   ├── Article Title
   ├── Article URL
   ├── Created Date
   ├── Modified Date
   └── Status
          │
          ↓
       PHP CMS
          │
    ┌─────┴──────┐
    ↓            ↓
Sitemap.xml   IndexNow
    │            │
    ↓            ↓
Search Engines / Crawlers

Ideal Automated Workflow

When a new article is published:

INSERT ARTICLE
      ↓
Generate article URL
      ↓
Save modified timestamp
      ↓
Update sitemap
      ↓
Submit URL through IndexNow
      ↓
Log IndexNow response

When an article is updated:

UPDATE ARTICLE
      ↓
Update modified timestamp
      ↓
Update sitemap lastmod
      ↓
Submit URL to IndexNow

When an article is deleted:

DELETE / DISABLE ARTICLE
      ↓
Remove from sitemap
      ↓
Return 404/410 or redirect
      ↓
Submit old URL to IndexNow

Create an IndexNow Log Table

For a custom PHP website, it is useful to maintain a log.

Example database structure:

CREATE TABLE indexnow_log (
    id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
    url TEXT NOT NULL,
    action VARCHAR(20),
    http_code INT,
    submitted_at DATETIME,
    response TEXT
);

Possible actions:

NEW
UPDATED
DELETED

This lets you diagnose problems later.

Example IndexNow Dashboard

A custom admin dashboard could display:

URL	Action	Submitted	HTTP
article?id=1175	Updated	18-Aug-2026 11:30	200
article?id=1176	New	18-Aug-2026 11:45	200
article?id=802	Deleted	18-Aug-2026 12:00	200

This is especially useful for large content websites.

Should IndexNow Be Called Every Time Someone Opens an Article?

No.

Never implement:

Visitor opens page
      ↓
IndexNow submitted

That could generate thousands of unnecessary notifications.

IndexNow should normally trigger when content changes:

CREATE
UPDATE
DELETE

not:

PAGE VIEW

Avoid Duplicate IndexNow Requests

Suppose you modify an article 20 times within five minutes while editing it.

There is little benefit in firing 20 submissions.

Better workflow:

Editing
Editing
Editing
Editing
Publish / Save Final Version
            ↓
      IndexNow Submit

Should Draft Articles Be Submitted?

No.

Only submit publicly accessible URLs.

Avoid sending URLs that are:

• draft;
• private;
• password protected;
• staging pages;
• admin pages;
• temporary URLs;
• session URLs.

Do Not Submit noindex Pages

If a page contains:

<meta name="robots" content="noindex">

there is generally little SEO benefit in submitting it through IndexNow unless you are specifically notifying the engine that indexing instructions changed.

Check indexing directives before submission.

Canonical URLs Matter

Suppose your page is accessible at:

https://example.com/article.php?id=100

and:

https://example.com/view_article.php?id=100

but the canonical URL is:

<link rel="canonical"
href="https://example.com/view_article.php?id=100">

Prefer submitting the canonical version:

https://example.com/view_article.php?id=100

Consistent URLs reduce duplicate-content signals.

Avoid Tracking Parameters

Do not unnecessarily submit:

https://example.com/article.php?id=100&utm_source=facebook

Prefer:

https://example.com/article.php?id=100

Otherwise search engines may discover unnecessary URL variants.

Important: IndexNow Does Not Improve Content Quality

IndexNow improves discovery speed.

It does not improve:

• grammar;
• technical accuracy;
• authority;
• backlinks;
• page experience;
• originality;
• search intent;
• internal linking;
• content depth.

Therefore:

IndexNow
+
Quality Content
+
Technical SEO
+
Internal Linking
+
XML Sitemap
+
Structured Data

is much more valuable than IndexNow alone.

IndexNow and Search Ranking

Think of IndexNow as ringing a doorbell.

Without IndexNow:

Search crawler eventually visits your website.

With IndexNow:

Your website tells the search engine:
"Something changed here."

The search engine still decides what to do next.

Common IndexNow Mistakes

1. Key file not accessible

Wrong:

https://example.com/key.txt
→ 404

Correct:

https://example.com/YOURKEY.txt
→ key displayed

2. Key does not match filename

Filename:

ABC123456789.txt

File contents:

XYZ987654321

This will fail validation.

3. Key placed in the wrong folder

For example:

/private/indexnowkey.txt

when your website expects it in the public root.

4. Sending another domain's URL

Host:

example.com

URL submitted:

https://anotherdomain.com/article1

This can result in validation errors such as HTTP 422.

5. Submitting thousands of unchanged URLs repeatedly

This creates unnecessary traffic and may trigger rate limiting.

6. Assuming HTTP 200 Means Indexed

It does not.

HTTP 200 means the IndexNow request was successfully received.

Indexing remains a search-engine decision.

7. Removing the sitemap after implementing IndexNow

Do not do this.

Keep both.

8. Submitting broken URLs

Always confirm that important new and updated URLs return the expected HTTP response.

Troubleshooting HTTP 403

If you receive:

403 Forbidden

check your key URL:

https://example.com/YOURKEY.txt

Verify:

Filename = key + .txt

and:

File contents = exactly the same key

Also check firewall/CDN/security rules.

Troubleshooting HTTP 422

If you receive:

422 Unprocessable Entity

verify:

• host matches URL hostname;
• HTTP/HTTPS version is correct;
• URLs belong to the verified host;
• keyLocation is valid if used;
• URL syntax is correct.

Troubleshooting HTTP 429

If you receive:

429 Too Many Requests

reduce submission frequency.

Do not repeatedly submit the same unchanged URL.

Implement a queue or last-submission timestamp.

Example:

article_updated = 12:00
indexnow_submitted = 12:01

Do not resubmit at 12:02 unless the article changed again.

Can the IndexNow Key Be Changed?

Yes.

If necessary:

1. Generate a new key.
2. Create the corresponding new .txt file.
3. Upload it.
4. Update your application configuration.
5. Test the new key.
6. Remove the previous key when no longer required.

Can I Use One Key for a Subdomain?

Be careful with hostnames.

These can be treated as different hosts:

example.com

www.example.com

knowledgebase.example.com

Your key file and submitted URLs should match the host you are configuring.

Example for a Knowledgebase Subdomain

Suppose your knowledgebase is:

https://knowledgebase.example.com/

Use a key file such as:

https://knowledgebase.example.com/A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9.txt

Submit an article like:

https://knowledgebase.example.com/view_article.php?id=1175

with:

host = knowledgebase.example.com

Do not mistakenly configure the host as:

example.com

if the actual URLs are served from the knowledgebase subdomain.

Should the Homepage Be Submitted?

Yes, when it has meaningfully changed.

For example:

https://example.com/

may be submitted after:

• major redesign;
• important content update;
• site migration;
• major navigation change.

Do not submit it every day if nothing changed.

Should Category Pages Be Submitted?

Yes, when they change meaningfully.

For example:

https://example.com/category/windows

If adding an article changes the category listing, submitting the category page can sometimes be appropriate.

For a large knowledgebase, you might therefore submit:

New Article URL
+
Relevant Category URL

after publishing.

What URLs Should a Knowledgebase Submit?

Recommended:

New articles
Updated articles
Deleted article URLs
Updated category pages
Important landing pages
Major homepage changes

Usually unnecessary:

Login pages
Admin pages
Search-result pages
Session URLs
Tracking URLs
Duplicate URLs
Draft articles
Pagination variants without SEO value

Recommended Configuration for a Large Knowledgebase

For a site containing hundreds or thousands of articles, use:

1. Dynamic XML sitemap
2. Correct lastmod dates
3. Google Search Console
4. Bing Webmaster Tools
5. IndexNow
6. Automatic IndexNow submission after article publishing
7. Automatic IndexNow submission after article update
8. IndexNow deletion notification
9. Internal article linking
10. Canonical tags
11. Schema markup where appropriate
12. HTTP status monitoring

IndexNow vs Bing URL Submission

Bing supports several URL submission mechanisms, but Microsoft's current documentation describes IndexNow as strongly recommended.

For a website publishing articles continuously, IndexNow is therefore much more scalable than manually submitting each URL through a webmaster dashboard.

IndexNow vs Sitemap

Feature	IndexNow	Sitemap
Notify about new URL	Yes	Yes
Notify immediately	Yes	Not necessarily
Updated URL notification	Excellent	Yes
Deleted URL notification	Yes	Indirect
Complete website inventory	No	Yes
Long-term discovery	Supplementary	Excellent
Best for fresh content	Excellent	Good
Should you use it?	Yes	Yes

IndexNow vs Traditional Crawling

Traditional crawling:

Search Engine
     ↓
Visits Website
     ↓
Finds Link
     ↓
Discovers New Article

IndexNow:

Website
     ↓
Notifies Search Engine
     ↓
Search Engine knows URL changed
     ↓
Crawler can prioritize it

This reduces the dependency on waiting for the next routine crawl.

Recommended Implementation Strategy

For most websites:

Phase 1

Configure:

robots.txt
sitemap.xml
Google Search Console
Bing Webmaster Tools

Phase 2

Install:

IndexNow Key

Phase 3

Test:

one article

Phase 4

Automate:

New Article
Updated Article
Deleted Article

Phase 5

Monitor:

Bing Webmaster Tools
PHP IndexNow logs
Server errors
HTTP response codes

Practical Example

Suppose an article is published:

https://example.com/view_article.php?id=2000

The workflow becomes:

Article Published
       ↓
URL available publicly
       ↓
Added to sitemap.xml
       ↓
lastmod added
       ↓
IndexNow API notification
       ↓
HTTP 200 received
       ↓
Bing / participating engine becomes aware
       ↓
Crawler may visit
       ↓
Engine evaluates article
       ↓
Possible indexing
       ↓
Possible search ranking

That is the correct way to understand IndexNow.

Recommended Final SEO Stack

For an article or knowledgebase website, a strong indexing setup is:

                    WEBSITE
                       │
        ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
        ↓              ↓              ↓
     Sitemap        IndexNow       robots.txt
        │              │              │
        └──────────────┼──────────────┘
                       ↓
             Search Engine Crawlers
                       │
        ┌──────────────┼──────────────┐
        ↓              ↓              ↓
      Crawl          Index         Rank

And independently:

Google Search Console
Bing Webmaster Tools
Analytics
Server Logs

should be used for monitoring.

IndexNow Best Practices

1. Keep your XML sitemap active.
2. Use accurate sitemap lastmod dates.
3. Submit only actual changed URLs.
4. Trigger IndexNow after publishing an article.
5. Trigger it after meaningful article updates.
6. Trigger it after deleting a previously public URL.
7. Keep the IndexNow key accessible.
8. Use canonical URLs.
9. Avoid submitting tracking parameters.
10. Avoid excessive repeated submissions.
11. Log API response codes.
12. Check Bing Webmaster Tools periodically.
13. Keep Google Search Console configured separately.
14. Make sure pages are fast and crawlable.
15. Fix 404, 5xx and redirect errors.
16. Maintain useful internal linking.
17. Avoid thin or duplicate content.
18. Use descriptive titles and meta descriptions.
19. Add structured data where appropriate.
20. Treat IndexNow as an indexing aid—not a ranking shortcut.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What is IndexNow?

IndexNow is an open protocol that allows websites to notify participating search engines when URLs are created, updated, or deleted.

2. Is IndexNow free?

Yes. IndexNow is a free protocol for website owners.

3. Does IndexNow replace an XML sitemap?

No.

Use both IndexNow and XML sitemaps. The official IndexNow FAQ recommends the combination for better freshness and comprehensive discovery.

4. Do I submit my sitemap directly through the IndexNow API?

Normally, no.

The IndexNow protocol is primarily designed for submitting changed URLs, while your XML sitemap provides the complete inventory of URLs.

Submit the XML sitemap to search-engine webmaster tools and use IndexNow to notify them about newly added, changed or deleted URLs.

5. Can IndexNow submit several URLs at once?

Yes.

The IndexNow protocol supports bulk JSON submissions containing up to 10,000 URLs per request.

6. What is the IndexNow API endpoint?

A commonly used general endpoint is:

https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow

For an individual URL:

https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=YOUR_URL&key=YOUR_KEY

The current IndexNow FAQ documents the general endpoint.

7. Where should the IndexNow key file be uploaded?

The recommended location is the root directory of the website host.

For example:

https://example.com/YOURKEY.txt

The official documentation recommends this root-directory method.

8. What should the IndexNow key file contain?

Only the API key.

For example:

Filename:

A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9.txt

Contents:

A91F63C52B7D48A184F8965B270D43C9

9. What does HTTP 200 mean?

It means the IndexNow submission was successfully received.

It does not guarantee that the URL has been indexed.

10. What does HTTP 202 mean?

The submission was accepted, but key validation may still be pending.

11. What does HTTP 403 mean?

Usually that the IndexNow key could not be validated.

Check your key file.

12. What does HTTP 422 mean?

Usually a host, URL, schema, or key-location mismatch.

13. What does HTTP 429 mean?

Too many requests were submitted.

Reduce submission frequency.

14. Should I submit every article every day?

No.

Submit URLs when they are:

Created
Updated
Deleted

Use the XML sitemap for the overall inventory.

15. Should I send old articles through IndexNow?

Generally, IndexNow is intended for recent changes. Older unchanged URLs should remain discoverable through your sitemap and normal crawling. The IndexNow FAQ specifically recommends using accurate sitemap lastmod information for changes predating IndexNow setup.

16. What if I improve an old article today?

Then it is now a changed URL.

Update:

lastmod

and notify IndexNow.

17. Can IndexNow help with deleted URLs?

Yes.

IndexNow can notify search engines that a URL changed or was removed, allowing them to discover the new 404, 410, redirect, or indexing directive sooner.

18. Should I submit a 404 URL?

If it is an old URL that previously existed and has now been intentionally removed, notifying IndexNow can help a search engine discover the removal.

Do not deliberately submit random nonexistent URLs.

19. Can I automate IndexNow with PHP?

Yes.

A PHP website can call the IndexNow API automatically after a successful create, update or delete operation.

20. Can WordPress use IndexNow?

Yes.

WordPress sites can implement IndexNow through compatible plugins or integrations. Microsoft also notes that many CMS platforms and integrations support IndexNow.

21. Will IndexNow increase traffic?

It may help new or updated content get discovered faster.

However, traffic depends on:

• indexing;
• search demand;
• content quality;
• ranking;
• competition;
• backlinks;
• topical authority;
• page experience.

IndexNow itself does not guarantee traffic.

22. Will IndexNow increase AdSense earnings?

Not directly.

The possible chain is:

Faster discovery
       ↓
Possible indexing
       ↓
Possible rankings
       ↓
Possible more organic visitors
       ↓
More ad impressions
       ↓
Potential AdSense revenue

Several other factors affect every stage of that process.

23. Does IndexNow guarantee indexing?

No.

It notifies a search engine of a change.

The search engine still determines whether the URL should be crawled and indexed.

24. Does IndexNow guarantee ranking?

No.

It is a discovery and crawling notification mechanism, not a ranking mechanism.

25. How do I check my IndexNow submissions?

Use Bing Webmaster Tools and review the IndexNow section. Bing says IndexNow activity can be monitored through the Webmaster Tools portal.

26. Should my sitemap remain in Bing Webmaster Tools?

Yes.

Keep it submitted even after implementing IndexNow.

27. Should my sitemap remain in Google Search Console?

Yes.

Do not remove it.

28. Should I place my sitemap in robots.txt?

It is generally useful to provide the sitemap location, such as:

Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml

29. What URLs should not be submitted?

Avoid unnecessarily submitting:

Admin pages
Private pages
Draft articles
Tracking URLs
Session URLs
Duplicate URLs
Internal search pages
Temporary URLs

30. What is the best IndexNow strategy for a knowledgebase?

Use:

Dynamic sitemap
+
Accurate lastmod
+
Automatic submission of new URLs
+
Automatic submission of updated URLs
+
Deletion notification
+
Bing Webmaster Tools monitoring
+
Google Search Console

This provides a practical and scalable indexing workflow.

Conclusion

IndexNow is one of the most useful tools for websites that publish or update content frequently.

Instead of waiting for a search engine crawler to eventually discover a change, your website can immediately tell participating search engines:

"This URL has changed."

For a technical knowledgebase, the ideal arrangement is not to choose between XML sitemaps and IndexNow.

Use both:

XML Sitemap
      ↓
Complete Website URL Inventory

IndexNow
      ↓
Immediate Notification of Changed URLs

Combined with:

Google Search Console
Bing Webmaster Tools
robots.txt
Canonical URLs
Internal Linking
Quality Content
Structured Data

this provides a much stronger technical foundation for fast discovery and long-term search-engine visibility.

IndexNow should therefore be considered an important component of modern technical SEO—especially for knowledgebases, news websites, blogs, e-commerce websites, support portals and other sites where pages are frequently created, modified or removed.

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