In this post, we’re going to take a look at how you can use Google’s new indexing API to get your website’s pages and content crawled immediately rather than having to wait!

Note: The process has slightly changed since the above video was recorded – so feel free to refer to the up-to-date written tutorial below in the meantime.

Here’s why this is worth the extra effort. 

1. Rank faster (especially important for time-sensitive content)
2. Increase your chances of ranking above your competition
3. Keep search results up-to-date for higher-quality user traffic

Thanks to Google’s Indexing API, Rank Math SEO for WordPress, and this guide we’ve put together for you, it’s now possible for you to get your website to rank faster.

Using this method, you can stay one step ahead of your competition by making sure that your site is crawled and has the opportunity to rank before their site does, which is extremely important when it comes to time-sensitive, competitive content.

The process of setting this up isn’t typically very easy, but if you follow this step-by-step guide, you’ll be up and running (or, I guess, you could say up and ranking) in no time! So, without further ado – let’s jump right in and take a look at how to set this up.

Note: Google recommends using the Indexing API ONLY for JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in VideoObject websites. During our tests, we found that it worked on any type of website with great results and created this plugin for testing.

If you are not sure whether you want to be using this or not, please stop reading and don’t proceed further. You should not use this indexing API on money websites, as Google recommends. Please proceed at your own risk.

We understand this is not for everyone

PROOF: Here’s How Google Responded to Our Request

In the 1st hour after publishing this article:

After a couple of hours, Google gave us a featured snippet for the search term

2 Steps to Create an Indexing API Project

2.1 Go to Google Cloud Platform

Start by heading over to the Google Cloud Platform directly from here.

2.2 Create a New Project

Ensure that you’re creating a new Indexing API project by clicking the Create Project option.

Alternatively, you can click the Select a project drop-down and choose New Project from the popup that appears on the screen.

In the next screen, enter a project name that you can recognize later. And then click Create.

2.3 Enable Access to API

Once you create the project, you’d need to enable the project to access the API. In the next step, you’d see a screen as shown below. Confirm if the selected project is the one that we’ve created for Instant Indexing API, else, select the drop-down at the top to change the project. Once you’ve selected the project, click Next.

In the next step, click the Enable option to enable the project to access the Instant Indexing API.

Once you’ve enabled it, you can close this tab.

3 Steps to Create Service Account

Next, you need to create a service Account by opening the service accounts page.

3.1 Select the Project

You will first be prompted to select the API project you wish to create this service account (the one created in the previous step).

3.2 Create Service Account

After selecting the project you wish to create a service account for, you’ll be taken to the following page, where you simply need to click the Create Service Account button highlighted below:

On the Create service account screen, enter a name and description for the newly created service account.

Select and copy the whole Service Account ID (the one that looks like an email address) because you will need it later. Then, click on the Done button at the bottom:

3.3 Manage Keys for Service Account

You will then be able to download the file that contains your API key. To do so, simply click the three vertical dots in the Actions column and then select the Manage keys as shown below:

3.4 Create New JSON Key for Service Account

You will then be taken to the following page where you can click Add Key and then select the Create new key option, as shown below:

Choose the default JSON format when prompted in the overlay, and click Create:

Upon clicking Create, the .json file will be automatically downloaded in your browser, meaning you’ve successfully created the API key & can proceed to the next step…

4 Add the Service Account as an Owner of Your Google Search Console Property

To do this, you’ll need to register and verify your website with the Google Search Console (if you haven’t done so already), which is super easy: just follow the recommended steps to verify ownership of your property.

4.1 Navigate to Users and Permissions in Google Search Console Settings

After verifying your property, open the Google Search Console, select your property on the left (if prompted), and then click on Settings near the bottom:

Note: If you’re configuring for a subdomain WordPress Multisite, then ensure that you’ve chosen the domain level property in Google Search Console, else you’d have to add the service account as owner separately for each subdomain property.

Click on Users and Permissions:

4.2 Add User to Your Search Console Property

Click on the three dots next to your account, and then click on Add User.

4.3 Delegate Service Account ID as Owner

A popup will now appear. Enter the Service account ID (the one you copied out earlier) in the Email address field. Ensure that you’ve provided Owner level Permission, and then click Add.

Now in a few moments, you should see the Service account listed as a new Owner.

You can use a single Project, Service Account, and JSON API Key across multiple sites; just make sure that the Service Account is added as Owner for all the sites in the Search Console.

5 Configure the Plugin

Now that you’ve created the API key and added the service account to your search console property, you’re only left with configuring the Instant Indexing Plugin on your WordPress site.

5.1 Install Instant Indexing Plugin

You can get the Instant Indexing plugin installed by uploading the plugin (you’ve downloaded in step 1) through the WordPress dashboard.

Alternatively, you can install it through the WordPress Admin panel by navigating to Plugins > Add New. Search and install the Instant Indexing plugin, as shown below.

5.2 Insert Your API Key in the Plugin Settings

After installing and activating the plugin, just navigate to Rank Math > Instant Indexing Settings in your WordPress admin area, and under the Google API Settings tab, paste in the contents of your JSON file or just upload the file.

Select the Post Types where you want the Indexing API to ping Google to crawl your website as soon as a post is published, updated, or deleted, and click on Save Changes.