Google Indexing API
The Google Indexing API is an official Google API that notifies Google when a URL is added, updated, or deleted, prompting a fast crawl. Google restricts eligible content to job postings and broadcast-event livestream pages.
The Indexing API exists for content that expires quickly. A job listing that closed or a livestream that ended is worthless in search results, so Google offers publishers of JobPosting and BroadcastEvent structured data a push channel that bypasses normal discovery. A publish call typically triggers a Googlebot fetch within minutes to hours — dramatically faster than waiting for scheduled crawling.
Because the API is the fastest sanctioned path into Google's crawl queue, many SEO tools and indexing services have used it for content types outside the official scope. Google's documentation is explicit that other content types are ineligible, and since 2023 Google has applied spam detection to API submissions and revoked quota from abusive projects. Serious URL indexing services therefore treat the API as one channel among several rather than the whole method.
Access runs through a Google Cloud project with a service account that must be added as an Owner in Search Console for each property it submits.
Quick facts
What are the Indexing API's quota limits?
The default quota is 200 publish requests per day per Google Cloud project, with a 600-requests-per-minute burst limit. Batch endpoints let you group up to 100 notifications per HTTP request, but each notification still counts against the daily quota. Higher quotas require a request through the Cloud console and a use case Google accepts.
Which content is officially eligible?
Two types only:
- Pages with
JobPostingstructured data (job boards, career pages) - Pages with
BroadcastEventembedded in aVideoObject(livestream pages)
For everything else, Google's documented channels are XML sitemaps and the URL Inspection tool's Request Indexing button — both slower and, for sitemaps, discovery-only.
Indexing API vs sitemap vs URL Inspection: which is faster?
The API is the fastest (minutes to hours to a crawl), URL Inspection's Request Indexing is next (hours to days, one URL at a time, with a daily cap of around 10–12 manual requests), and sitemap pings are the slowest because they only inform discovery — Google still schedules the crawl on its own timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Indexing API work for normal pages?+
Submitting normal pages often triggers a crawl, but it violates the API's documented scope. Google applies spam detection to submissions and can revoke a project's quota, and a crawl still does not guarantee indexing.
Can you index backlinks with the Indexing API?+
No — the API only accepts URLs from Search Console properties the service account owns. You cannot submit pages on domains you do not control, which is why backlink indexing requires a different mechanism.
Is the Indexing API free?+
Yes. The API itself costs nothing; the constraint is the 200-requests-per-day default quota per Cloud project, not price.