Two different systems, two different sets of search engines. A plain comparison of supported pages, setup, quotas and what each can and cannot promise.
By the GrowLytics team · Updated October 2026
People often say "submit to Google and Bing" as if one tool did both. In fact there are two unrelated systems. Google offers an Indexing API. Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam.cz and Yep support an open protocol called IndexNow. They solve a similar problem, notifying a search engine that a URL changed, but they differ in who supports them, what content they cover, and what you must set up.
| Google Indexing API | IndexNow | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | An open protocol. Participating engines share submissions | |
| Engines reached | Google only | Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam.cz, Yep (Amazon is also listed as a participant). Google does not take part |
| Page types supported | Officially JobPosting and livestream (BroadcastEvent in VideoObject) pages | Any URL |
| Setup | Google Cloud project, service account, and that account added as an owner in Search Console | A key file (a text file named after your key) hosted on your domain |
| Quota | 200 publish requests per day by default; more can be requested | Up to 10,000 URLs per request. Each engine applies its own limits |
| Feedback | HTTP status only: it tells you the request was accepted, not that the page was indexed | HTTP status only, same limitation |
The API lets a site owner tell Google that a URL was added, updated or removed. Google's documentation limits it to pages with JobPosting structured data and to livestream pages, because those are short-lived and benefit from fast re-crawling. Many people send other kinds of URLs through it anyway. Google has not promised that those requests are acted on, so treat any speed-up on ordinary pages as a bonus, not something to plan around.
Two practical points trip people up. First, the service account must be an owner of the Search Console property. Adding it as a restricted user produces a 403 response. Second, the default quota is 200 publish requests per day for the whole Google Cloud project, so large sites need to batch and prioritise.
With IndexNow you generate a key, host it at a URL on your domain, and then send changed URLs to an IndexNow endpoint. The engines that support the protocol share what they receive, so one submission is enough. Rules to know: submit only URLs that actually changed, do not resend the same URL within about ten minutes, and keep batches to 10,000 URLs or fewer.
Google, DuckDuckGo and Brave do not take part. DuckDuckGo's results draw partly on Bing, so Bing indexing can reach it indirectly, but that is not the same as DuckDuckGo receiving IndexNow pings. Check the IndexNow FAQ for the current participant list, because it changes.
Neither system tells you whether a page got indexed. The only authoritative source for Google is Search Console, either by hand in the URL Inspection tool or through the URL Inspection API, which allows 2,000 queries per day per property. GrowLytics' URL Indexer automates that loop: it sends the notifications, then queries the URL Inspection API at 1, 6, 24, 48 and 72 hours and shows the status.
References: Google Indexing API quickstart, using the Indexing API, IndexNow documentation.
No. Google is not a participant. To notify Google you use its Indexing API (limited to job and livestream pages) or Search Console features and a sitemap.
Technically requests are accepted, but Google documents the API only for JobPosting and livestream pages and does not promise action on other content. Expect no guaranteed effect.
Yes. Engines use it to confirm that you control the domain. The file is a text file on your site whose name and contents are your key.
It costs little and helps Bing and others discover changes quickly, but it will not change how Google treats your pages.
The URL Indexer submits your pages and re-checks their status for 72 hours.
See the URL Indexer