How to Speed Up Indexing in Yandex (and Bing) with IndexNow

To speed up indexing in Yandex, tell it about new and changed pages directly: submit them with IndexNow, send key URLs to page recrawl in Yandex Webmaster, keep an accurate sitemap and link every new page from pages the robot already visits. IndexNow also notifies Bing and other participating engines in the same request. None of this guarantees indexing, but it removes the wait for the robot to stumble on your pages.

Published: 2026-10-16 · 6 min read · Satelo

How Yandex finds your pages

Yandex discovers URLs in three main ways: by following links from pages it already knows, by reading your sitemap, and by direct notifications from you (page recrawl requests and IndexNow). In its IndexNow help page, Yandex also names crawling based on the Yandex Metrica counter as an option for full-site coverage.

Speeding up indexing means shortening the discovery step. If a page is found quickly but still doesn't get indexed, the problem is usually quality or technical, not speed. For that case, see our guide to "crawled, currently not indexed".

Step 1: Page recrawl in Yandex Webmaster

For a handful of important URLs, the fastest manual option is Yandex Webmaster. Go to Indexing → Page recrawl and paste the addresses. According to Yandex's help, the robot will visit them with priority the next time it accesses your site. The same screen shows the status of each submitted URL.

There is a daily limit on how many URLs you can submit; check the current number in the interface, since it is shown there and can change. Use it for new key pages and pages with significant updates, not for your whole site.

Step 2: Set up IndexNow

IndexNow is an open protocol for telling search engines that a URL was added, changed or deleted. According to indexnow.org, it is supported by Microsoft Bing, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yandex and Yep. Google is not on that list. The protocol documentation says participating engines share submitted URLs with each other, so one request is enough.

Setup in three parts:

1. Create a key. The documentation requires 8 to 128 characters (letters, digits and dashes).
2. Host the key file. Put a UTF-8 text file named {your-key}.txt, containing the key, at the root of your site. A key file in a subfolder only validates URLs inside that folder.
3. Send requests. One URL: a GET request to https://yandex.com/indexnow?url=...&key=.... Many URLs: a POST with JSON containing host, key, optional keyLocation and urlList, up to 10,000 URLs per request.

Response codes tell you what happened: 200 means accepted, 202 means received with key validation pending, 403 means the key was not found or doesn't match, 422 means the URLs don't belong to the host, and 429 means too many requests.

Two limits to keep in mind. Yandex states plainly that the method does not guarantee that submitted pages will be indexed. And it asks you to send only new, changed or deleted pages; for full-site crawling it recommends a sitemap or Metrica-based crawling instead.

IndexNow on WordPress

The simplest route is the official IndexNow plugin from the Bing Webmaster team. It detects when posts and pages are created, updated or deleted and submits those URLs in the background. It skips pages marked noindex and lets you exclude paths. Many SEO plugins also include IndexNow; enable it in only one place so you don't send duplicate requests.

For a broader WordPress checklist, see how to promote a WordPress blog.

IndexNow on a static site: how we do it

satelo.io is a static site built by Python scripts. Our deploy script does this after each build:

1. Reads every URL from sitemap.xml.
2. Hashes each built HTML page and compares it with the hashes saved at the previous deploy.
3. Sends only the changed URLs in a single POST to https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow with our key and keyLocation.
4. Saves the new hashes for next time.

Comparing page content, not file dates, matters: a full rebuild touches every file, and pinging all of them each time would go against the "only changed pages" rule. The same approach works for Hugo, Jekyll, Eleventy or Astro in a CI step.

Step 3: A sitemap the robot can trust

• Accurate lastmod. Google says it uses lastmod only if it is consistently and verifiably accurate, and ignores priority and changefreq. Update lastmod only on significant changes, not on every rebuild.
• Split large sitemaps. Both Yandex and Google limit one file to 50,000 URLs or 50 MB uncompressed. Use a sitemap index and mark frequently updated files with lastmod, as Yandex recommends.
• Only indexable URLs. No redirects, 404s, noindex or duplicate pages in the sitemap.
• Tell the engines where it is. Add a Sitemap: line in robots.txt and submit the file in Yandex Webmaster and Search Console.

Step 4: Link new pages from pages the robot already visits

A notification says a page exists; links say it matters. When you publish, add links to the new page from your homepage or blog index, from two or three related older posts, and from category pages. Mentions on other relevant sites help discovery too. Our guide to link building for new websites covers safe ways to get them.

Common IndexNow mistakes and how to spot them

• Key file not reachable. The file must open at https://yoursite.com/{key}.txt and contain exactly the key. Redirects to a login page, a cached 404 or a security plugin blocking .txt files all lead to 403 responses.
• Wrong host or protocol. URLs in urlList must belong to the host you send; a mismatch returns 422. Watch www vs non-www and http vs https.
• Submitting URLs that shouldn't be indexed. Redirects, noindex pages, filters and tag archives waste requests and send mixed signals. Submit only canonical, indexable URLs.
• Two plugins sending the same URLs. An SEO plugin and the IndexNow plugin both enabled means duplicate submissions on every save.
• Ignoring the response. Log the status code of each request. A silent 403 can go unnoticed for months.

How to tell whether it worked

Check three places a few days after publishing:

1. Page recrawl status in Yandex Webmaster for the URLs you sent manually.
2. Pages in search in Yandex Webmaster: is the new page included, or excluded with a stated reason?
3. Server logs. Look for visits from YandexBot and Bingbot to the new URL. If the robot visited but the page is not in search, the problem is no longer discovery.

If you also care about visibility in Microsoft's AI answers, IndexNow is only one piece; see how to rank in Copilot for the rest.

What doesn't speed up indexing

• Old "ping services". Neither Yandex's IndexNow help nor Google's sitemap guide lists them as a way to submit pages. Google's listed methods are Search Console, its API, a robots.txt line and WebSub for feeds.
• Buying links to "push" pages into the index. It is a ranking-manipulation tactic that both engines' rules target, and it does not fix the real reason a page is skipped.
• Resubmitting the same URLs every day. IndexNow can answer 429 for too many requests, and nothing changes for pages that didn't change.
• Mass-submitting thin pages. Faster discovery of low-value pages just gets them excluded faster.

Checklist: speed up indexing today

What to do next

Fast indexing helps only if there is something worth indexing and something pointing to it. If you run WordPress, the Satelo plugin publishes partner articles automatically, and articles about your site on similar sites give the robot more paths to your new pages (Satelo is a public beta with a small network). To see how your site looks from the outside first, check your Quality Score: you get a 0–100 score with the open data behind each part in about 30 seconds.

FAQ

How do I speed up indexing in Yandex?

Submit new and changed URLs via IndexNow, send key pages to page recrawl in Yandex Webmaster, keep an accurate sitemap, and link new pages from pages the robot already visits.

Does IndexNow guarantee indexing?

No. Yandex states that the method does not guarantee that submitted pages will be indexed. It only tells the engine that a URL is new, changed or deleted.

Does Google support IndexNow?

Google is not listed among IndexNow participants on indexnow.org. For Google, use a sitemap, Search Console and good internal linking.

Do I need to submit to Yandex and Bing separately?

No. The IndexNow documentation says participating engines share submitted URLs with each other, so one request is enough.

How many URLs can I send with IndexNow?

The protocol documentation allows up to 10,000 URLs in one POST request. Send only pages that were added, changed or deleted.

Is there a WordPress plugin for IndexNow?

Yes. The official IndexNow plugin from the Bing Webmaster team submits URLs automatically when posts are created, updated or deleted. Many SEO plugins include IndexNow too.

Read next

"Crawled – Currently Not Indexed": What It Means and What We Did on a New SiteWhat "Crawled – currently not indexed" means in Google Search Console, how to diagnose it step by step, and the real indexing timeline of our new site.

"Discovered – Currently Not Indexed": Why Google Hasn't Crawled Your Pages YetWhat "Discovered – currently not indexed" means in Search Console, why it is usually about priority on small sites, and what to fix first, step by step.

How Long Does It Take a New Website to Rank? Sandbox, Data and a Real TimelineHow long a new website takes to rank on Google: what Ahrefs data shows, what Google says about the sandbox, a realistic timeline and what to do while you wait.

Anchor text for SEO: types, official rules, and how to pick itAnchor text SEO without myths: anchor types, what Google and Yandex actually say, why exact-match anchors look like link schemes, and how to check your own.