Set up Bing Webmaster Tools and IndexNow

Bing Webmaster Tools covers Bing and Copilot surfaces that Search Console reports do not. Verify the site, submit the sitemap and enable IndexNow so new URLs are pushed instead of waiting for a crawl. Keep the IndexNow key file at the site root, ping each changed URL after deploy and review crawl errors monthly.

highOff-siteimpact effort

Why this matters

Reach Bing and Copilot users and cut discovery lag for new URLs.

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Before you start

  • Site access to place a key file at the web root
  • A generated XML sitemap

How to apply it

  1. Verify the site in Bing Webmaster Tools

    Add the site in Bing Webmaster Tools and verify with the Search Console import, a DNS record, an XML file or a meta tag. Use the host that serves canonical URLs.

    Check: The dashboard shows the site as verified.

  2. Submit the sitemap

    Open Sitemaps in Bing Webmaster Tools and submit the full HTTPS URL of the sitemap or sitemap index. Confirm the host matches the verified site.

    Check: The sitemap appears with a success status and a discovered URL count.

  3. Host the IndexNow key file

    Generate a key, save it as <key>.txt containing only the key, and upload it to the site root so it resolves at https://host/<key>.txt.

    Check: Fetching the key URL returns 200 with the exact key text.

  4. Ping changed URLs

    Send https://api.indexnow.org/indexnow?url=<encoded-url>&key=<key>&keyLocation=<encoded-key-url> for each new or updated canonical URL, or POST a JSON batch of up to 10,000 URLs.

    Check: The endpoint returns 200 or 202 and the IndexNow report lists the submitted URL.

This happens outside your codebase

Work through the steps above on the named site or dashboard, then record the result in your agent session. There is no repository edit for this tip.

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A ready-to-paste prompt that walks your agent through this work and records the result.

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Source: seo-mcp playbook · curated entry · report an error

Framework notes

nextjs-app

`public/<key>.txt` is served at the site root by Next.js; ping from a post-deploy script after the build is live.

static-html

Upload `<key>.txt` next to `index.html` at the document root and confirm the host serves it as text/plain.

wordpress

Upload the key file to the web root over SFTP or use an IndexNow plugin that stores it at the root; fetch `/<key>.txt` before pinging.

Official references

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