How to configure the Bing IndexNow API in detail?

As a deep user of AnQiCMS (AnQiCMS) as a website operator, I know the importance of efficient content management and search engine optimization for the success of the website.In daily work, we not only need to create and publish high-quality content, but also ensure that this content can be quickly found and indexed by search engines, so as to reach the target users.Bing's IndexNow API is one of the key tools to achieve this goal.It allows us to notify Bing search engine in the first time after the content is updated, greatly shortening the time for content to be discovered and indexed, which is crucial for enhancing the visibility and traffic of the website.

Next, I will introduce how to configure the Bing IndexNow API in Anqi CMS to help your website content achieve faster indexing.

Enabling IndexNow API pre-preparation

Before configuring the IndexNow API in Anqi CMS, you need to complete some necessary preparations, which mainly involve operations in the Bing Webmaster Tools.

First, please visitBing Webmaster Tools official websiteAnd log in to your account.If you do not have an account, please register one according to the prompts.After logging in, you need to add your website to the Bing Webmaster Tools.There are two commonly used methods: you can choose to import your website from Google Search Console, or manually add and verify your website ownership.Manual verification can usually be completed by uploading an HTML file to the root directory of the website or configuring DNS records in two ways.Ensure your website has successfully passed validation, which is the prerequisite for obtaining the IndexNow API Key.

Get your IndexNow API Key and verify website ownership

After the website verification is successful, we can proceed to obtain the IndexNow API Key. Please visitBing IndexNow pageOn this page, Bing will generate a unique API Key for you.This Key is a long string, it is not only your credential for communicating with the IndexNow service, but also an important part of verifying the ownership of your website.

After obtaining the API Key, the next step is to create a validation file. You need to create a text filepublicin the directory of your website and name it{您的API Key}.txtFor example, if your API Key isd2f0d24fc01e46c9be89c0d9b282227athen the filename you need to create isd2f0d24fc01e46c9be89c0d9b282227a.txtThis file must also be your API Key string itself, i.e.d2f0d24fc01e46c9be89c0d9b282227aAfter completing the file creation and content filling, please take this.txtThe file is uploaded to your AnQi CMS websitepublicIn the directory. This step is crucial for IndexNow service to verify ownership of your website, make sure the file path and content are accurate and correct.

Configure IndexNow API in AnQi CMS backend

Now, we have prepared the IndexNow API Key and the verification file, and we can go back to the Anqi CMS backend for configuration.

Please log in to your AnQi CMS backend management interface.In the left navigation bar, find and click on "Function Management", then select "Link Push".Here is gathered various active push configuration options of search engines.

On the link push page, you will see the configuration items for the Bing search engine's proactive push interface.Choose to submit using the IndexNow API.You need to concatenate the API Key obtained previously with the fixed IndexNow interface address to form a complete URL.https://www.bing.com/indexnow?key={您的API Key}This is an example of the complete URL using the above Keyhttps://www.bing.com/indexnow?key=d2f0d24fc01e46c9be89c0d9b282227a.

Please paste the exact IndexNow API address into the Bing search push interface address input box on the Anqi CMS backend.Make sure to check carefully, ensure there are no extra spaces or characters.After configuration is complete, save your settings. By now, your AnQi CMS has already integrated the Bing IndexNow API's proactive push capability.

Verify if the IndexNow API configuration is successful

After the configuration is completed, we cannot rely solely on theory, but must also verify its effectiveness in practice.

Verify if the IndexNow API configuration is successful by publishing a new document.On the Anqi CMS backend, go to content management to publish a new article or product information.After the release is completed, go back to the "Link Push" page under "Function Management".On this page, there is usually an option to 'View recent posts'.Click it to check the push results.

If the Bing push record shows similar content{"d":null}The information (although it looks like an error, it is a normal success prompt in the context of Bing's IndexNow push), then congratulations, your configuration is likely to have been successful.However, the most authoritative verification method is to log in to your Bing Webmaster Tools.In the tool, look for a report called "URL submission" or something similar to check if there are any link records submitted through the IndexNow API.Bing's IndexNow submission data is typically real-time feedback, you should be able to see the status of new content submission quickly.If everything goes well, your Anqicms has now been able to efficiently push new content to Bing, accelerating the process of your website content indexing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

IndexNow Q1: IndexNow API verification file upload topublicCan it be deleted after the directory?

Answer: It cannot be deleted. The verification file of the IndexNow API Key ({API Key}.txt) needs to be permanently stored on your website.publicin the directory.Bing regularly checks this file to confirm your ownership of the website and ensure the validity of the IndexNow requests.If the file is deleted, the IndexNow push feature may fail.

IndexNow Q2: After configuring the IndexNow API, will my content be immediately indexed by Bing?

Answer: The IndexNow API is used to timely 'notify' that your content has been updated or released, prompting Bing's spider to come and crawl it as soon as possible, thereby accelerating the indexing process.This is slightly different from 'immediate inclusion' because inclusion also involves factors such as content quality, website authority, server response speed, and more.But IndexNow can indeed significantly shorten the time from publication to being discovered by search engines, which is an effective means to improve indexing efficiency.

IndexNow Q3: Can I use the IndexNow API for other search engines?

Answer: IndexNow is a protocol initiated and supported by Microsoft Bing, designed to provide search engines with more immediate notifications of new content.Currently, in addition to Bing, search engines such as Yandex also support the IndexNow protocol.For search engines like Google that do not directly support IndexNow, you still need to actively submit through their respective webmaster tools (such as Google Search Console) or submit a sitemap.The link push function of Anqi CMS usually provides support for multiple search engines, and you can configure them separately as needed.