IndexNow on WordPress: every way to send it, compared

IndexNow is an open "this page changed" notice that Bing and other participating engines accept; Google doesn't use it. A prompt notice helps Bing find updated pages without waiting for its next crawl. This guide compares every option we could verify as of October 2026, explains why two senders is one too many, and shows how to test that your pings are received.

What does IndexNow do for a WordPress site?

IndexNow lets your WordPress site tell Bing and other participating engines that a URL was added, updated or deleted, so they don't have to wait for a recrawl. One submission is shared: Microsoft's plugin sends to "a generic end point https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow and these URLs are shared to all participating search engines" (IndexNow plugin on wordpress.org). Our IndexNow guide explains the protocol itself.

Bing now steers sites toward it. Its URL submission help says "Bing recommends using IndexNow for faster, automated URL submission across participating search engines," and that the older URL and Content Submission APIs "may be deprecated in the future as IndexNow adoption expands" (Bing Webmaster Tools help).

A received ping isn't indexing. The IndexNow documentation says "The HTTP 200 response code only indicates that the search engine has received your URL" (IndexNow documentation).

Which WordPress plugins and services send IndexNow?

Five plugins and one CDN feature send IndexNow from a WordPress site. Each row below comes from the vendor's own page or wordpress.org listing, as of October 17, 2026:

"Not published" means we couldn't find it on the vendor's own pages; it doesn't mean the feature is missing.

Microsoft IndexNow plugin

The IndexNow Plugin by Microsoft's Bing Webmaster team needs no Bing account: it "will automatically generate and host the API key on your site" and submits URLs "without the need to register and verify your site" (wordpress.org). As of October 17, 2026, the wordpress.org API lists version 1.0.4, 100,000+ active installs, tested up to WordPress 7.0.7. After activating it, open its admin page (version 1.0.1 moved the menu under Settings) and click "Let's Get Started!".

We downloaded version 1.0.4 from wordpress.org on October 17, 2026 and read its source. It hooks WordPress's transition_post_status event and treats a first publish as "add", saving an already published post as "update", and moving one to the trash as "delete". It skips private posts, URLs it already submitted within the last minute, excluded paths, and pages whose rendered HTML or X-Robots-Tag header says noindex. It serves the key at https://example.com/<key>.txt with an X-Robots-Tag: noindex header and posts to https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow/. One consequence: every click on Update for a published post sends a ping, even for a typo fix. We compare it with FreshlyCited's approach in FreshlyCited vs the IndexNow plugin.

Rank Math SEO

Rank Math says "The IndexNow API submission is available in Rank Math Free out of the box" (Rank Math). Turn on the Instant Indexing module under Rank Math SEO, then choose post types at Rank Math SEO → Instant Indexing → Settings. It "will not automatically submit URLs that are set to NoIndex," submits deleted posts automatically, and adds a Submit URLs tab, a row action and a bulk action for manual sends. The History tab lists each response code.

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO's IndexNow integration is a paid feature. Yoast's wordpress.org listing includes "IndexNow integration" under its Premium highlights as of October 2026 (wordpress.org). When it launched in Yoast SEO Premium 18.8, Yoast wrote that it was "activated by default" with "a setting to switch the integration on or off" (Yoast, June 28, 2022). Yoast's product page listed Premium at "$118.80 / year (ex VAT)" on October 17, 2026 (Yoast).

All in One SEO

All in One SEO says "The IndexNow feature is available to all customers with a Basic plan or higher". You switch it on by activating "the IndexNow addon in AIOSEO's Feature Manager" (AIOSEO). To confirm it works, AIOSEO says to open https://yourdomain.com/[your-api-key].txt and check the key appears. Its pricing page showed Basic at "normally $99.00" a year, discounted to $49.50 a year, on October 17, 2026.

SEOPress

SEOPress includes IndexNow in SEOPress Free. Its guide's steps: open SEO → Instant Indexing, select Bing / Yandex in General, check that Settings holds a generated key, then enable automatic URL submission and save. For a deleted URL, the guide says to "use manual submission to notify IndexNow." The manual form "processes up to 100 URLs per submission," and "SEOPress serves the public verification URL through WordPress; it does not create a physical file on disk" (SEOPress). The same screen can call Google's Indexing API, which the guide limits to job posting and livestream pages.

Cloudflare Crawler Hints

Crawler Hints works at Cloudflare's edge, so it needs no WordPress plugin at all. Cloudflare says it "uses cache-status MISS to determine when content has likely been updated and sends it to IndexNow's crawler," and that it is "a global setting for your entire website" (Cloudflare docs, dated August 14, 2026). It's available on Free, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans. Turn it on under Caching → Configuration in the Cloudflare dashboard.

The Bing URL Submissions plugin, also from Microsoft, is not an IndexNow sender: it uses Bing's own URL Submission API and needs a Bing Webmaster Tools API key. Our comparison of WordPress indexing plugins covers it alongside the options above.

Why shouldn't you run two IndexNow senders at once?

Two IndexNow senders on one WordPress site send the same URL twice for every save, because both listen for the same publish and update events. The protocol asks you not to: the IndexNow FAQ says "Avoid submitting the same URL many times a day unless there are meaningful content changes" and suggests waiting "at least 5 minutes" before resubmitting a URL (IndexNow FAQ). Rank Math gives the general version: "Using another SEO plugin alongside Rank Math can cause conflicts if they perform similar functions" (wordpress.org).

Common doubles to look for:

• Microsoft's IndexNow plugin installed on a site where Rank Math, SEOPress, Yoast SEO Premium or All in One SEO already has IndexNow on.
• Cloudflare Crawler Hints switched on as well as a WordPress plugin.
• An SEO plugin's IndexNow left on after you added a separate service that also sends IndexNow.

Bing's IndexNow report shows where submissions come from, listing sources "like self-submission, or through channels like WordPress plugin, Cloudflare" (Bing Webmaster Tools help). Two sources for one site usually means two senders. Keep the one you trust, and switch IndexNow off in the others.

How do you test that WordPress is sending IndexNow?

Test IndexNow on WordPress in three layers: the key file, the plugin's log, then Bing's report.

1. Check the key file. IndexNow requires "a UTF-8 encoded text key file {your-key}.txt listing the key" at your site's root (IndexNow documentation). Copy the key from your plugin's settings and fetch it:

   curl -s -i https://example.com/<your-key>.txt

You should get HTTP 200 and the key as the body. Rank Math's Check Key button and SEOPress's "Check saved key file" do the same.

2. Update a test post and read the log. Microsoft's plugin shows recent submissions in WordPress, limited to "20 successful and 20 failed." Rank Math's History shows each response code.
3. Read the response code. These meanings are from Rank Math's guide and the IndexNow documentation:

| Code | Meaning | What to do | |---|---|---| | 200 | Received | Nothing | | 202 | Received; key not yet validated | Normal at first; check the key file | | 400 | Bad request | Check the URL format | | 403 | Key not found or invalid | Fix the key file | | 422 | URL doesn't belong to the host, or the key doesn't match | Check the URLs use the same host as the key file | | 429 | Too many requests (IndexNow adds "potential Spam") | Wait; stop repeat submissions and remove any duplicate sender |

4. Open the IndexNow report in Bing Webmaster Tools. Bing shows a "near real-time sample of recently submitted URLs," each with crawl status, index status and first indexed time. It also flags "Late submission" when a URL was indexed through another source such as sitemaps, and lists "Important URLs Missed": URLs "indexed in the last 7 days but not through IndexNow."

If step 4 shows URLs arriving, the WordPress side works. IndexNow tells Bing, not Google, so check which of your WordPress posts Google has indexed as well.

What can't IndexNow do for WordPress?

IndexNow can't reach Google, can't make Bing index a page, and can't fix the page itself.

• Google doesn't take part. Our page on whether Google uses IndexNow covers this. Google's Indexing API, which some WordPress plugins also call, "can only be used to crawl pages with either JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in a VideoObject" (Google Search Central); see our Google Indexing API guide. For Google, use your WordPress sitemap and Search Console.
• Received isn't indexed. Bing still decides whether to crawl and keep each URL.
• It doesn't reach Perplexity, which isn't a participant. ChatGPT search uses OpenAI's own crawler (OAI-SearchBot) and search partners OpenAI doesn't name, so nobody can say an IndexNow ping reaches it.
• Noindex, thin or duplicate pages stay that way. Our WordPress indexing hub covers the settings that block pages.

FreshlyCited works on the Google side. It checks each URL against Google ("Seen by Google" or "Invisible"), pushes only the invisible ones, and re-checks on days 1, 3 and 7. For sites you verify with an IndexNow key, pushes also go through IndexNow ("Sent to Bing") at no extra cost, with a per-site off switch. If a WordPress plugin already sends IndexNow for that site, switch one of them off. Our IndexNow setup docs show how site verification works.

Sending IndexNow already? Check your WordPress pages free: 10 free links to try, then 100 free checks a month, no card needed.