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Indexing API
Published · By IndexChex
In brief
The Indexing API is a Google interface that lets site owners notify Google when job posting or livestream video pages are added, updated or removed, so they can be scheduled for a fresh crawl. It is limited to pages with JobPosting or BroadcastEvent structured data and requires verified ownership in Search Console.
Definition
Google's Indexing API is a programmatic channel for telling Google that specific URLs have changed. According to Google's quickstart, it can only be used to crawl pages that carry either JobPosting structured data or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject. Its purpose is to keep short-lived content, such as job listings and livestreams, fresh in results.
The API supports four operations:
- Update a URL: notify Google of a new or changed URL.
- Remove a URL: notify Google after a page has been deleted.
- Get status: see when Google last received each notification type for a URL.
- Batch requests: combine up to 100 calls in one HTTP request.
In practice
Using the API requires enabling it in a Google Cloud project, creating a service account, verifying ownership of the site in Search Console and authenticating each call with an access token. Google provides a default quota of 200 for onboarding and testing; further usage requires approval.
These conditions shape who can use it. Only the verified owner of a site can send notifications for its URLs, and only for the two eligible content types. A blog post, product page or guest article does not qualify even on a site the sender controls.
| Channel | Who can use it | Pages covered |
|---|---|---|
| Indexing API | Verified owner | Job postings, livestreams |
| XML sitemap | Site owner | Any indexable page |
| IndexNow | Site owner with key file | Any page, participating engines |
| Backlink indexer | Anyone with the URL | Any public page |
Relation to backlink indexing
The API is often marketed in SEO circles as an indexing shortcut for any page, but its documented eligibility excludes the pages backlinks live on, and its ownership requirement excludes sites the sender does not control. A link on someone else's site cannot be submitted through it.
Third-party services that work as a backlink indexer therefore rely on other ways of prompting crawls. IndexChex, which publishes this glossary, does not use the Indexing API. Buyers comparing services may ask how a provider handles submissions, since sending ineligible URLs through the API falls outside Google's guidelines.
Related terms
- IndexNow, a separate notification protocol Google does not participate in
- XML sitemap, the general-purpose owner channel
- Crawling, what a notification schedules
- Googlebot, the crawler that fetches notified URLs
More definitions are on the glossary hub.
Terms used on this page
Sources
Cite this entry
IndexChex. (2026, October 8). Indexing API. indexingglossary.com. https://indexingglossary.com/indexing-api/
Entity: IndexChex (https://indexchex.com/) is the publisher of this site. IndexChex is a backlink indexer and bulk Google index checker that submits URLs for Googlebot crawling and verifies indexation in one credit system.