> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://promptwatch.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# IndexNow

> Set up IndexNow, submit new and changed pages to search engines, and track each submission in Promptwatch.

IndexNow lets you notify participating search engines when you publish or update a page. Submit pages from **Site → IndexNow** or a document's publication card, then track their submission status.

Submissions are manual: publishing an article or syncing your sitemap does not send it to IndexNow automatically. A Google Search Console or Bing Webmaster connection is not required.

### Set up your key

The key proves that you control the project's website. Ask whoever manages the site to help upload its text file if needed.

1. Open **Settings** at the bottom of the left rail, then **IndexNow** under **Project settings**.
2. Click **Generate key**.
3. Upload a plain text file containing only that key to the exact address shown under **The file must be reachable at**, for example `https://example.com/your-key.txt`.
4. Click **Verify key file**. Once the badge reads **Verified**, you can submit pages.

![The IndexNow project settings where you generate or reuse a key and verify its file on your website.](https://mintcdn.com/promptwatch/8Oaja0KWZBNyI5__/academy/images/indexnow-setup.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=8Oaja0KWZBNyI5__\&q=85\&s=a343a77a583ac3b797baaf0bb0f80139)

If your SEO plugin or host already provides a key, paste it under **Already have a key?** and click **Use this key** instead. Its file is checked immediately; if it is not available yet, upload it and verify afterwards.

If verification fails, check that the displayed address serves the text file publicly, with the same key inside. It should return the file directly rather than redirecting or showing an HTML page.

Project viewers can read submission statuses but cannot change the setup or submit pages.

### Submit new or changed pages

1. Open **Site → IndexNow** in the left navigation.
2. Choose **Never submitted** for new pages, or **Changed since submission** for pages worth sending again. You can also search for a URL.
3. Select the pages you want to submit. The checkbox in the table header selects the rows on the current page.
4. Click **Submit**.

![IndexNow configured with pages selected and the Submit button enabled.](https://mintcdn.com/promptwatch/8Oaja0KWZBNyI5__/academy/images/indexnow-pages.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=8Oaja0KWZBNyI5__\&q=85\&s=f9552ef67995592c2a71e9985bcb7511)

Pages appear after your [sitemap has synced](https://promptwatch.com/docs/academy/sitemap-or-gsc-connection.md) or you publish an article on the project's website. Other subdomains, such as `blog.example.com`, are not covered by the same setup.

For a single article, use **Submit** in the publication card's **IndexNow** row once it has a [live URL](https://promptwatch.com/docs/academy/publishing-and-tracking.md). The button becomes **Resubmit** after an attempt. The same action is available beside the IndexNow status in a page's detail view.

### Read the status

The **All** tab shows the full list. Other tabs filter by status:

| Status | What it means |
| - | - |
| **Never submitted** | No IndexNow submission has been recorded for this page. |
| **Submitted** | IndexNow accepted the notification. |
| **Changed since submission** | Our crawler recorded newer content after the last successful submission. Select the page and submit it again. |
| **Failed** | The latest attempt failed. Hover the badge to see the reason. |

**Content changed** is when our crawler last detected a content change. **Last submitted** is the most recent successful submission; a later failed attempt does not clear that date.

For a failed attempt, fix the issue shown in the tooltip, then select the page and click **Submit** again. If IndexNow is throttling requests, wait before retrying.

### What happens after submission

**Submitted** confirms that the notification was accepted. Search engines decide when to crawl the page and whether to index it. Submission also does not guarantee a citation in an AI answer.

Keep your sitemap up to date and use the [Page Tracker](https://promptwatch.com/docs/academy/page-tracker.md) to follow citations, crawler visits and clicks after publishing.


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