What is Instant indexing (IndexNow) and how do I set it up?

Instant indexing tells Bing, Yandex, Seznam and Naver the moment a page on your site changes, using a free system called IndexNow, so they can read it within seconds rather than days. Google does not take part, so it changes nothing about your Google rankings. It is worth having because Bing is what ChatGPT searches with. Set it up in Project settings, Connections, under Instant indexing.

#Set it up

It takes three steps, and the middle one is done on your website, because IndexNow proves you own the site by having you put a small file on it.

1. Open Project settings (the cog on the project card), go to the Connections tab and find Instant indexing. Press Get started.
2. Step 1 · Create this file on your site: UtilitySEO shows a file name. Create a plain text file with that exact name at the top level of your website, so it opens at your address followed by / and the file name.
3. Step 2 · Put exactly this inside it, and nothing else: copy the key shown (press Copy) and paste it as the only content of the file.
4. Step 3 · Check the file: press Check again. When we can read the file and it matches, it says Verified. Nothing else to do. and the status shows Active.

Until the check passes, the status says Not set up, and nothing is sent. A submission without the file would be refused by the search engines while looking as if it worked, so we never send one.

#Where to put the file

• WordPress: upload it to the top folder of your site with your host's file manager or by FTP, or ask your host.
• Shopify, Wix, Webflow and other hosted builders may not let you place a file at the top level of your site. Check their help pages; if it is not possible, instant indexing cannot be set up there.
• A developer-built site: ask your developer to serve the file from the site root.

#What happens once it is on

Anything you publish through UtilitySEO is submitted automatically. One submission reaches every engine that takes part, because they share submissions with each other.

#Questions people ask

#Does this get my pages into Google faster?

No. Google does not take part in IndexNow. For Google, keep your sitemap up to date and use Search Console.

#Does it cost anything?

No. IndexNow is free and has no account to sign up for.

#The check keeps failing. Why?

Open the file's address in a private browser window. It must open as plain text, show only the key, and not redirect to another page. Some sites send unknown addresses to the home page; then the file is not really there.