Waiting for Google to Index Your Pages Is So Last Decade
You publish a new page. You submit it in Search Console. Then you wait. And wait. Days. Sometimes weeks. If you want to understand why Google is slow, read our post on how to increase Google crawl frequency.
The Indexing API changes that.
What It Is
Google's Indexing API lets you programmatically notify Google about new or updated URLs. Instead of waiting for Google to discover and crawl your page naturally, you tell it directly: "Hey, this page exists. Crawl it now."
And Google does. Often within minutes.
The Catch
Officially, the Indexing API is only for `JobPosting` and `BroadcastEvent` structured data types. Officially.
In practice, many SEOs have found it works for all content types. Google crawls and indexes the submitted URLs regardless. Whether Google will crack down on this in the future is anyone's guess.
Use at your own discretion. wink
How to Set It Up
It takes about 15 minutes to set up. And then you have near-instant indexing on demand.
When It Is Most Useful
New product launches. Time-sensitive content. Freshly updated pages you want re-crawled immediately. Large batches of new pages that would otherwise take weeks to discover.
Combine it with proper sitemaps and a solid technical foundation. Track everything at seocheckup.app. 113 tasks. Free. 30 seconds.