The best practices for automating IndexNow URL submissions include integrating IndexNow into your content management system (CMS) to automatically submit URLs whenever content is added, updated, or deleted, using either HTTP GET requests for single URLs or JSON POST requests for bulk submissions (up to 10,000 URLs per request). Automation ensures faster indexing by notifying search engines immediately about content changes, reducing the delay caused by traditional crawling.
Key details and best practices are:
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Automate submissions: Integrate IndexNow API calls directly into your CMS or deployment pipeline to submit URLs instantly when content changes occur. This can be done via HTTP GET for individual URLs or JSON POST for bulk submissions.
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Use bulk submissions for efficiency: Submit up to 10,000 URLs in a single JSON POST request to handle large sites or multiple updates efficiently.
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Avoid duplicate submissions to multiple endpoints: Submit URLs to one IndexNow endpoint only, as the protocol propagates the URLs to other participating search engines automatically.
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Monitor submission responses: Check for HTTP 200 response codes to confirm successful receipt by the search engine. If errors occur, verify and retry submissions.
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Leverage existing tools and plugins: For example, WordPress users can enable automatic URL submission via plugins like Squirrly SEO, which supports auto-indexing and provides submission logs and status codes for tracking.
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Automate via CI/CD or workflow tools: Use GitHub Actions or similar automation workflows to submit sitemaps or URLs automatically on deployment or at scheduled intervals, ensuring continuous indexing updates.
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Keep API keys secure and consistent: Use your unique API key in all requests and keep it confidential to maintain submission integrity.
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Submit URLs promptly after content changes: The recommended practice is to submit URLs as soon as content is added, updated, or deleted to maximize indexing speed and SEO benefits.
These practices help ensure your website content is indexed quickly and efficiently by search engines supporting IndexNow, such as Bing, Yandex, and DuckDuckGo (via Bing’s index), improving your site's visibility and SEO performance. Note that Google does not currently support IndexNow but may do so in the future.
