IndexNow vs Google's Request Indexing: What Each One Does

By the Pick Ads team · Published · Updated

Answer: IndexNow tells participating search engines, including Bing, Yandex, Seznam, Naver and Yep, that a URL changed. As of October 20, 2026, Google isn't an IndexNow participant. For Google, use its own tools: sitemaps, Request indexing in URL Inspection, and the Indexing API, which only accepts job posting and livestream pages.

Support by search engine

Search engine	IndexNow	Google tools
Bing	Participant	–
Yandex	Participant	–
Seznam.cz	Participant	–
Naver	Participant	–
Yep	Participant	–
Internet Archive, Amazonbot	Listed as participants	–
Google	Not listed	Sitemaps, URL Inspection Request indexing, Indexing API (eligible pages only)

Source: IndexNow's participant list (searchengines.json), checked 2026-10-20. Google's crawling documentation names its own methods and doesn't mention IndexNow (Ask Google to recrawl your URLs). The list can change, so check the live file.

What Google offers

Method	What it does	Limits
Sitemap	Lists the URLs you want crawled. Submit it in Search Console or with a `Sitemap:` line in robots.txt (Build and submit a sitemap).	50,000 URLs or 50 MB per file. It's a hint, not a guarantee.
Request indexing (URL Inspection)	Adds one URL to Google's crawl queue (URL Inspection tool)	Daily limit, number not published. Owner or full user only.
Indexing API	Notifies Google about new or removed pages that have `JobPosting`, or `BroadcastEvent` in a `VideoObject` (Indexing API quickstart)	200 publish requests per day per project by default (quota). Spam detection applies.

For more on the Indexing API, see GSC Index vs Indexing API. None of these methods guarantees indexing. For realistic waits, see how long Google takes to index a page.

Last verified: 2026-10-20

What IndexNow is good for

Notifying participating engines right away when you add, update, or delete a URL, including redirects and 404/410 pages (IndexNow FAQ).
One submission, many engines. IndexNow says a submission to any participating endpoint is shared with all participants.
Batches. Up to 10,000 URLs per POST request.

IndexNow also states its limits. A submission doesn't guarantee indexing, each engine decides on its own, and every submitted URL counts toward your crawl quota.

Practical setup per engine

For Google

Keep an accurate sitemap and submit it in Search Console.
Request indexing only for important pages you've changed.
Use the Indexing API only if your pages are job postings or livestreams.

For IndexNow engines

Check whether your CMS or CDN already supports it. IndexNow lists WordPress, Shopify, Wix and Cloudflare, among others.
If not, create a key of 8 to 128 characters and host it as https://yourdomain.com/{key}.txt.
Send changed URLs to one endpoint, for example https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow.
Look for 200 or 202 responses. If you get 429, slow down.
Track results in each engine's own webmaster tools.

Common mistakes

Expecting IndexNow to reach Google. Google isn't on the participant list.
Using the Indexing API for ordinary pages. Google limits it to job posting and livestream pages and can revoke access for abuse.
Resubmitting unchanged URLs. IndexNow warns this wastes crawl quota. Google says repeat requests don't speed crawling.
Key file problems: the wrong file name, the file in the wrong place, or the file behind a login.

FAQ

Does Google use IndexNow? Not as of October 20, 2026. Google isn't in IndexNow's participant list, and Google's crawling documentation names only its own methods: sitemaps, Request indexing in URL Inspection, and the Indexing API for eligible pages. Check IndexNow's live participant list, because it can change.

Do I need both? If you care about Bing and the other participating engines as well as Google, yes. They do different jobs. IndexNow notifies participating engines, while sitemaps and Request indexing tell Google. A sitemap is worth keeping anyway, since IndexNow also recommends using sitemaps alongside it.

Does IndexNow help Bing? Bing is a participant and says IndexNow helps content get discovered faster. IndexNow's own FAQ says a submission doesn't guarantee indexing, and that each engine decides what to crawl and index based on quota, scheduling, and quality.

Does it affect rankings? We found no independent evidence that either method changes rankings. Bing's IndexNow page says it can help, which is Bing's own claim. Google says it doesn't accept payment to rank pages and doesn't guarantee indexing. Both methods are about discovery, not ranking.

GSC Index vs Indexing API: what each Google channel can do.
How long does Google take to index a page?: realistic waits.
Bulk actions in Google Search Console: everything Search Console can do in bulk.

Add GSC Index to Chrome - Free

Sources

IndexNow participant list: https://www.indexnow.org/searchengines.json
IndexNow FAQ: https://www.indexnow.org/faq
Why IndexNow – Bing Webmaster Tools: https://www.bing.com/indexnow
Ask Google to recrawl your URLs: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/ask-google-to-recrawl
URL Inspection tool – Search Console Help: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289?hl=en
Build and submit a sitemap: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/build-sitemap
Indexing API quickstart and quota: https://developers.google.com/search/apis/indexing-api/v3/quickstart · https://developers.google.com/search/apis/indexing-api/v3/quota-pricing