---
title: How to use the IndexNow API to instantly index a URL in Bing and Yandex
url: "https://www.seopress.org/support/guides/how-to-use-the-indexnow-api-to-instantly-index-a-url-in-bing-and-yandex/"
lang: en-US
updated: 2026-10-09
---

# How to use the IndexNow API to instantly index a URL in Bing and Yandex

Use IndexNow in SEOPress Free to notify participating search engines when a URL changes. A successful submission is a notification, not a guarantee of crawling, indexing or ranking.

## What IndexNow does

[IndexNow](https://www.indexnow.org/documentation) accepts notifications for new, updated and deleted URLs. It is separate from the Google Indexing API: Google’s restrictions to `JobPosting` and `BroadcastEvent` within `VideoObject` do not define IndexNow’s scope. Selecting Google requires separate credentials and an eligible use case.

## Enable automatic submission

1. Install and activate SEOPress Free. Open **SEO, Instant Indexing** and enable the feature.
2. In General, select Bing / Yandex for IndexNow.
3. Open Settings. Check that the Bing key field contains an automatically generated key; generate one if it is empty. This key is separate from Google’s JSON credentials.
4. Enable automatic URL submission for IndexNow and save.
5. Publish or update a supported public post or page and inspect the latest submission result. Drafts and private content are not suitable for this test.

For a deleted URL, use manual submission to notify IndexNow and check the original URL’s HTTP response. Notification does not itself delete a page or force its removal from search results.

## Submit URLs manually

1. In General, select Bing / Yandex and enter full URLs from this site, one per line.
2. Use at most 100 URLs per SEOPress submission. Send the batch and inspect the displayed result before continuing.
3. Google’s update/remove action applies to Google. IndexNow receives a URL list and the search engine checks the current state of each page.

## Limits and responses

The protocol allows up to 10,000 URLs per POST request, not a universal daily quota. SEOPress’s manual form processes up to 100 URLs per submission. Split larger lists into batches; engines may impose additional rate limits.

| Code | Next step |
| --- | --- |
| 200 | Received; verify indexing separately. |
| 202 | Received; key validation is pending. |
| 400 | Check the request and URL format. |
| 403 | Check the key and its public verification URL. |
| 422 | Check the URLs match the host and key scope. |
| 429 | Wait before retrying; avoid repeated unchanged submissions. |

## Troubleshooting

If there is no submission, check the feature, automatic submission, selected engine and saved key. For manual submission, check the URL list is not empty. Inspect the displayed error and ask your host to check outbound HTTPS access if requests fail.

A received notification does not resolve noindex directives, crawling restrictions, canonical conflicts or content-quality issues. Check the page’s HTTP response and SEO settings, then investigate indexing in the engine’s webmaster tools.

## Check the saved key file

SEOPress serves the public verification URL through WordPress; it does not create a physical file on disk. Save your key first, then use **Check saved key file** in Settings. The test uses the saved value, not unsaved edits. Open the URL displayed in the result.

| Result | Action |
| --- | --- |
| Missing key | Generate a valid key, save and retry. |
| Feature disabled | Enable Instant Indexing so WordPress can serve the URL. |
| HTTP response other than 200 | Check .txt rules, CDN/cache and access restrictions. The request must reach WordPress. |
| HTTP 200, wrong content | Clear stale caches and check for a physical file or server rule overriding the URL. |
| Cannot fetch URL | Test in a browser and ask your host to check loopback requests, firewall and TLS. Browser access alone does not prove server-to-server access. |
| Too many checks | Wait at least five seconds before retrying. |

Success means the URL returned HTTP 200 and its text matched the saved key. It confirms this key-file check only, not indexing of submitted pages.