The Google Indexing API is an innovative tool that allows site owners to notify Google directly when pages are added or removed from their websites. The immediate notification prompts Google to schedule a fresh crawl, potentially leading to increased user traffic of high quality.
How Google’s Indexing API Outperforms Sitemaps
Traditionally, webmasters have relied on sitemaps to notify Google about updates to their websites. However, using the Indexing API can prompt Googlebot to crawl your pages sooner than updating the sitemap and pinging Google, offering an edge over the traditional method.
The Process of Using Google’s Indexing API
To utilize the Indexing API, one needs to follow a sequence of steps. These include enabling the Indexing API, creating a new service account, verifying ownership in Search Console, getting an access token to authenticate your API call, and finally, sending requests to notify Google of new, updated, or deleted web pages1.
Empirical Evidence: Our Case Studies
We recently conducted two case studies to explore the effectiveness of the Google Indexing API.
Case Study 1: From 41 to 116 Indexed Pages
In the first case, a blog had just over 40 pages indexed for a long time. After implementing the Google Indexing API, the blog managed to get an additional 70 pages indexed in just a single day.
Case Study 2: Local Business Expansion
In the second case, a local business website had around 15 pages indexed for a significant period of time. After using the Indexing API, they succeeded in getting an extra 15 pages indexed in a day.
Competitive Advantage through Instant Indexing
One significant advantage of using the Google Indexing API is the potential to get your content crawled and ranked faster than your competition. This speed is especially crucial for time-sensitive and competitive content, where you want your site to have the opportunity to rank before others do.
User Experience with the Indexing API
Users have reported positive experiences using the Indexing API, with noticeable changes in Google’s response to their content updates. For instance, after publishing an article and implementing the Indexing API, a site received a featured snippet from Google in just a few hours..
How to Set Up the Indexing API: A Step-by-Step Guide
Getting started with the Indexing API requires careful steps, but with a well-guided process, it’s achievable. The setup involves creating an Indexing API project on the Google Cloud Platform, creating and managing keys for a service account, delegating the Service Account ID as owner, and configuring the settings in the Instant Indexing Plugin.
Conclusion: Harness the Google Indexing API for Your Website
In conclusion, the Google Indexing API is a powerful tool for any webmaster seeking to improve their website’s indexing speed. With the ability to have your pages crawled and indexed rapidly, you can stay ahead of the competition and increase the visibility of your content in Google’s search results.