What to run
Open IndexNow Submitter and paste your XML sitemap URL or primary domain into the Website or Sitemap field. If you provide a bare domain, the tool checks standard locations such as /sitemap.xml and /sitemap_index.xml.
Select Fetch Sitemap to initiate the crawl. The parser inspects the XML root element: standard urlset documents are processed immediately, while sitemapindex documents trigger recursive discovery across all referenced child sitemaps.
Inspect the parsed URL count. If your sitemap exceeds 10,000 URLs, the tool alerts you so you can submit in compliant protocol batches.
How to read the result
Review the extracted URL list in the input box. Ensure that staging URLs, non-canonical variations, or external domains are not present. Every URL submitted to IndexNow must match the host name declared in the request.
If you recently migrated domains or removed obsolete URLs, compare your current sitemap against historical baselines in Sitemap Comparison before submitting to ensure you are not requesting crawls on deprecated endpoints.
Once verified, execute the key pre-check and select Bulk Submit to notify IndexNow. The interface displays HTTP 200 or 202 receipt confirmations.
What to open next
To review key requirements and host authentication, read How to Verify an IndexNow API Key.
If some sitemap URLs return 301 redirects or 404 missing codes when crawled, test redirect chains in Redirect Checker to update your sitemap before re-submitting.
Stop when
Stop when the sitemap has been parsed without XML errors, the extracted URLs are confirmed canonical, and IndexNow returns a successful 200 or 202 response code.
Do not repeatedly submit unchanged sitemaps on the same day. IndexNow is designed to notify search engines of newly published or modified content; routine re-crawling of stable pages is handled automatically by search engines.
References
Related tools
Frequently asked questions
Does IndexNow accept sitemap XML files directly in API requests?
No. The IndexNow API requires a JSON or POST payload containing a clean array of page URLs, not raw XML or compressed gzip files.
Can the tool parse compressed sitemap.xml.gz files?
Yes. The backend sitemap parser automatically handles gzip decompression and extracts all loc elements seamlessly.
How often should I submit my sitemap to IndexNow?
Submit only when you publish new articles, change product details, delete obsolete pages, or complete a major website redesign.