Using Google Instant Indexing API

Prerequisites:

You must first create a project in the Google Cloud Console before proceeding with this tutorial. Refer to the official Google documentation for detailed steps.

Step 1: Activate the Google Indexing API

1. Sign in to Google Cloud Console.

2. Navigate to APIs & Services:

Click on the hamburger menu to open the main navigation.

Go to Library.

Search for Web Search Indexing API (indexing.googleapis.com) and enable it.

Step 2: Create Credentials

1. In the left menu, click on Credentials.

2. Click on the Create credentials button and select Service account.

3. Service Account Creation:

Enter a name and description for the service account.

Click Create.

4. In the next step, select Owner from the dropdown list and click Continue.

5. Click Done to finish creating the service account.

Step 3: Generate a Key

1. From the Service accounts table, find and click on your newly created service account.

2. Go to the Keys tab.

3. Click on Add key and select Create a new key.

4. Choose JSON as the key type and click Create.

5. Your browser will download a JSON file containing your private key.

Step 4: Add the Service Account to Google Search Console

1. Open Google Search Console and select the desired website property.

2. Navigate to Settings from the left panel.

3. Under Property settings, click on Users and permissions.

4. Click the Add user button.

5. Enter the email address from the service account you created.

6. Select Owner from the permission dropdown to prevent 403 errors when submitting URLs.

7. Click Add.

Step 5: Configure Your Application to Use the Indexing API

1. Open your downloaded JSON file in a text editor.

2. Copy all its content.

3. In your application, locate the field for the Google Indexing API key and paste the copied JSON content.

4. Save the changes.

Step 6: Submit URLs for Indexing

1. Go to the section for URL submission.

2. Select the search engine and the action you want to perform.

3. Enter up to 100 URLs in the designated textarea.

4. Click Submit URLs to Google & Bing.

Step 7: Automate Indexing Requests

If your application supports it, enable the option to automatically notify search engines each time a post, page, or custom post type is published, updated, or deleted.

FAQ

Is there any quota?

Yes, Google allows 200 requests per day, while Bing allows 10,000.

Is this completely free?

Yes, both Google and Bing do not charge for this service.

Should I still use XML sitemaps?

Yes, these APIs are experimental and do not replace XML sitemaps.

How long before seeing URLs in search results?

Generally, it can take a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the search engines.

Why am I getting a 401 error?

This may indicate an incorrect Google JSON key in your settings. Delete and re-add it.

Why am I getting a 403 error?

Ensure the Google Cloud user added to Google Search Console has the correct permissions set as “Owner”.