Google's Indexing API is one of the most underused tools in SEO. It lets you tell Google directly: "this URL is new" or "this URL is gone." No waiting for Googlebot to come back on its own schedule.

What the API actually does

The Indexing API has exactly two operations: URL_UPDATED (this URL is new or has changed) and URL_REMOVED (this URL no longer exists). That's it. Google takes your notification and prioritises a fresh crawl.

Who can use it

Officially, Google says the Indexing API is for JobPosting and BroadcastEvent schema pages. In practice, the API accepts URLs from any verified site in Search Console, and many SEOs use it broadly for new content. Use it at your own discretion — Google has not deprecated this behaviour.

The hard limits

  • 200 URL notifications per day per project by default.
  • 600 requests per minute burst limit.
  • You must be an owner of the property in Search Console (not just a "Full User"). This trips up most first-timers.

How a typical SEO uses it

  1. You publish or update a page.
  2. A background job sends the URL to indexing.googleapis.com/v3/urlNotifications:publish.
  3. Google's crawler is signalled within minutes.
  4. The page typically appears in the index within hours, sometimes faster.

The catch

The API tells Google to come look — it doesn't guarantee indexing. If your page has thin content, duplicate canonical issues, or blocking signals, no API call will save it. Use the Indexing API on quality pages, then verify with the URL Inspection API.

Don't want to write code?

The API is OAuth-based and the request format is simple, but at scale you need batching, retries, quota management, and verification. That's the gap GIndex fills — connect your Google account, and we handle the API plumbing for you.