IndexNow Key Generator

IndexNow is an open protocol that lets a website tell participating search engines the moment a page is added, changed or deleted, instead of waiting for a crawler to find the change. The free IndexNow Key Generator creates the key, the key file and the ready-to-send submission requests for your domain. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded or stored.

Last updated: 28 October 2026. Written by Saad Raza.

Key takeaways

• An IndexNow key is a string of 8 to 128 letters, numbers and dashes, proved by a text file of the same name on your site.
• One submission to a participating search engine is shared with the others, so you do not need to notify each one.
• Submit URLs only when they are new, changed or removed. Repeated submissions of unchanged pages add nothing.
• IndexNow speeds up discovery. It does not guarantee indexing, and it does not replace your XML sitemap.

The official IndexNow documentation describes the process: generate a key, host it as a text file on your site, then submit changed URLs with a simple request, either one at a time or in a batch of up to 10,000.

What the IndexNow Key Generator does

To use IndexNow you need three things: a key, a key file that proves you own the site, and a correctly formed request. Each step is simple, but small mistakes, such as a key with a forbidden character or a URL on the wrong host, cause the request to be rejected.

The generator removes those mistakes. It creates a random 32-character key, names the key file for you, builds the single-URL and bulk requests from the addresses you paste, and checks that every URL belongs to your domain. It is aimed at site owners and developers who want faster discovery of new and updated pages and who are not using a plugin that already does this.

How to use the IndexNow Key Generator

1. Enter your domain, such as example.com, without https://.
2. Keep the random key that is filled in, or press Generate a new key for another one.
3. Copy the key file contents or download the file. It is a plain text file named after the key, for example your-key.txt, and it contains only the key.
4. Upload that file to the root of your site so it loads at https://yourdomain.com/your-key.txt.
5. Paste the URLs you want to submit, one per line. Every URL must be on your domain.
6. Copy the single-URL request or the bulk JSON body, and send it. The tool shows an example with curl.

Open the key file address in a browser before you submit anything. It should show the key and nothing else. If it returns a not found page, the submission will be rejected.

How to read the results

The Checks panel confirms the key is valid, the domain is well formed and how many URLs are ready. It also tells you when lines were skipped because they were not full web addresses or were on another host. When you send a request, the search engine answers with a status code.

Common problems this prevents

• Invalid keys: keys with spaces, underscores or fewer than 8 characters are refused. The generator only creates valid ones and checks any key you type.
• The key file in the wrong place: the file must sit at the root of the host, not in a subfolder, unless you pass a keyLocation in the request.
• URLs from another domain: a request covers one host. Mixing www and non-www addresses, or another site, causes errors.
• Relative links: every URL must be a full address starting with https://.
• Oversized batches: a single request may carry up to 10,000 URLs, and the tool warns when you go over.

Worked example (illustrative)

Imagine a Karachi dental clinic that publishes a new page about braces for adults and updates its pricing page on the same afternoon. The owner enters the clinic’s domain, keeps the generated key and downloads the key file. They upload it to the site root and confirm it loads in a browser.

They then paste the two page addresses into the tool, copy the bulk JSON body and send it with curl. A 200 response comes back. The submission is recorded, and participating search engines can choose to crawl the two pages sooner than they might have otherwise.

This is a made-up example to show the process. How quickly any search engine acts on a submission is up to that engine.

Best practices for using IndexNow

1. Submit when something real has changed: a new page, a meaningful update or a deleted page. Do not resubmit unchanged URLs on a schedule.
2. Keep your XML sitemap up to date as well. The sitemap remains the full list of your pages, while IndexNow announces individual changes.
3. Submit removed pages too. Telling search engines that a URL is gone, with a 404 or 410 response, helps keep results clean.
4. Do not share the key publicly beyond the key file, and generate a new one if you think it has been misused.
5. If your SEO plugin or hosting platform already offers IndexNow, use that instead and let it manage the key.

Why IndexNow matters for SEO and AI search

Normally a search engine finds a change when its crawler next visits. For a busy site that can be quick, and for a small one it can take days. IndexNow shortens that gap for the engines that take part, which include Bing and Yandex. Google does not take part at the time of writing, so Google still relies on its own crawling and your sitemap.

It is worth being clear about AI search. OpenAI documents its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, for ChatGPT search, and has not described IndexNow as a way to reach ChatGPT. Some AI tools draw on web indexes kept by search engines, and which index a given product uses can change. Treat IndexNow as faster discovery in participating search engines, not as a switch for any AI tool.

When to use IndexNow and when not to

IndexNow is most useful for sites that change often: news and blog publishers, stores that add and remove products, event listings and job boards. It is also handy after a large clean-up, such as removing old pages or fixing redirects, because you can tell participating search engines about all the changes at once.

For a small brochure site that changes a few times a year, the benefit is modest, and your sitemap and normal crawling may be enough. Whatever your size, IndexNow is a supplement. Fix crawl blocks, broken links and thin pages first, because speeding up the discovery of a weak page does not make it a better one.

Limits to know about

The generator builds the key and the requests but does not send them, so it cannot tell you whether a submission was accepted. It also cannot check that your key file is live. To confirm what a search system sees, use the HTTP Header Checker on the key file address, and to confirm your pages can be read by AI crawlers, use the AI Search Readiness Checker.

Questions about the IndexNow Key Generator

If you would like help setting up faster indexing and a cleaner technical foundation across your whole site, my technical SEO services cover that work, and you can ask for a free audit through the contact page. You can also browse the rest of the free technical SEO tools.