IndexNow Protocol

Instant Bing and Yandex indexing notification

IndexNow is a protocol that allows websites to instantly notify search engines (Bing and Yandex) when content is added, updated, or deleted. SitemapHost automatically pings IndexNow when your sitemaps update.

IndexNow is supported by Bing, Yandex, and several other search engines. Google does not currently support IndexNow but is notified via the separate Google Search Console integration.

How IndexNow Works

When you update your sitemap, SitemapHost automatically:

  1. Generates or retrieves your domain's IndexNow API key
  2. Hosts the key file at /.well-known/indexnow-key.txt
  3. Sends a ping to the IndexNow API with your updated URLs
  4. Tracks the submission status in your dashboard

Automatic Key Management

SitemapHost handles IndexNow key generation and hosting automatically:

# Your IndexNow key is hosted at:
https://sitemap.yoursite.com/.well-known/indexnow-key.txt

# Contains your unique key:
abc123def456789

Each domain gets its own unique IndexNow key, stored securely and served from your custom domain for verification.

Enabling IndexNow

IndexNow is enabled by default for all domains. You can control it per-domain in your dashboard or via the API:

curl -X PATCH https://dash.sitemaphost.app/api/domains/domain_abc123 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "indexNowEnabled": true
  }'

IndexNow Status

Each sitemap shows its IndexNow ping status in the metadata:

{
  "sitemap": {
    "url": "https://sitemap.yoursite.com/sitemap.xml",
    "urlCount": 1500,
    "lastModified": "2024-01-18T10:30:00Z",
    "indexNow": {
      "enabled": true,
      "lastPinged": "2024-01-18T10:30:05Z",
      "status": "success",
      "urlsSubmitted": 1500
    }
  }
}
StatusMeaning
SuccessIndexNow ping accepted by search engines
PendingPing sent, awaiting confirmation
FailedPing failed -- will retry automatically
DisabledIndexNow is disabled for this domain

Search Engine Support

IndexNow pings are sent to the following search engines:

  • Bing - Microsoft's search engine (primary IndexNow adopter)
  • Yandex - Russian search engine
  • Seznam - Czech search engine
  • Naver - Korean search engine

Tip: IndexNow uses a shared notification system -- submitting to one participating search engine notifies all others. SitemapHost submits to Bing's endpoint.

Manual IndexNow Ping

You can manually trigger an IndexNow ping for specific URLs:

curl -X POST https://dash.sitemaphost.app/api/indexnow/ping \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "domain": "sitemap.yoursite.com",
    "urls": [
      "https://yoursite.com/new-page",
      "https://yoursite.com/updated-page"
    ]
  }'
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "urlsSubmitted": 2,
    "searchEngines": ["bing", "yandex"],
    "status": "accepted"
  }
}

Retrieving Your IndexNow Key

To get your domain's IndexNow key programmatically:

curl https://dash.sitemaphost.app/api/domains/domain_abc123/indexnow-key \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "key": "abc123def456789",
    "keyUrl": "https://sitemap.yoursite.com/.well-known/indexnow-key.txt"
  }
}

Next Steps