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.
Why this matters
Reach Bing and Copilot users and cut discovery lag for new URLs.
Before you start
- Site access to place a key file at the web root
- A generated XML sitemap
How to apply it
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.
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.
Host the IndexNow key file
Generate a key, save it as
<key>.txtcontaining only the key, and upload it to the site root so it resolves athttps://host/<key>.txt.Check: Fetching the key URL returns 200 with the exact key text.
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.
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.