IndexNow is an open protocol that allows website owners to inform participating search engines directly whenever website content is ready for indexing.

Before IndexNow, every search engine used a pull-based discovery model. Bots crawled your site on their own schedule, and you had no control over when they would pick up a change.

IndexNow flips that around. It's a push-based protocol, co-developed by Microsoft Bing and Yandex and launched in October 2021, that lets you notify participating search engines the moment a URL is created, updated, or deleted. Instead of waiting to be discovered, you send a ping, and the engine queues that URL for a prioritized crawl.

Which Search Engines Support IndexNow?

As of mid-2026, the confirmed participants are Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam, and Yep (Ahrefs' own search engine). Because DuckDuckGo relies heavily on Bing's index, content submitted via IndexNow tends to surface there as well, giving you indirect reach into another slice of search traffic.

Google is the notable holdout. Despite having tested the protocol since October 2021, Google continues to rely on its own crawling infrastructure. For Google, you're still depending on XML sitemaps, Search Console's URL inspection tool, and crawl budget.

Is IndexNow Actually Useful? When Should You Use It?

Short answer: yes, but it's not magic.

IndexNow does not guarantee indexing. What it does is signal to participating engines that a URL is crawl-worthy right now. The engine still applies its own quality filters before deciding to index the page. Thin content, pages blocked by robots.txt, or URLs with existing crawl errors may still get skipped.

Where IndexNow genuinely shines is time-sensitive publishing. If you run a news site, a product catalog that changes frequently, or any site where freshness matters, the difference between discovery in minutes vs. days is real. Bing reports that a significant and growing share of all clicked URLs in its results now originate from IndexNow submissions - that number has been climbing year over year.

A few practical rules for when to submit:

• A new blog post or page goes live
• You update a page with substantive content changes
• A page is removed or redirected
• You've done a significant crawl or URL restructure

What not to submit: minor CSS tweaks, layout-only changes, or pages you don't want indexed in the first place. Every submission counts against your crawl budget, so send quality signals, not noise.

For Google, keep doing what you're already doing - sitemaps and Search Console. Think of IndexNow as a complementary layer for the rest of the web, not a replacement for your Google SEO workflow.

How to Submit a Single URL - The IndexNow Key and API Endpoint

To use the IndexNow API, you first need to prove domain ownership. The mechanism is straightforward: generate a key (a random string between 8 and 128 characters, alphanumeric and hyphens only), then host a plain text file at the root of your domain named after that key.

For example, if your key is abc123xyz, you'd host a file at:

https://example.com/abc123xyz.txt

The contents of that file should just be the key itself! Search engines fetch this file to verify that you control the domain before accepting your submissions.

Once that's in place, a single-URL submission is a simple GET request:

A successful submission returns an HTTP 200. If you get something else, the most common culprits are a missing key file, an invalid key format, or submitting too frequently. The API is the same regardless of which participating engine's endpoint you hit.

Bulk Submission: Parsing a Sitemap and Submitting All URLs

Single-URL pings are fine for real-time hooks in your publishing workflow. But what if you're setting up IndexNow on an existing site, or you want a script that periodically syncs your sitemap with all participating engines? That's where the bulk submission endpoint comes in.

The bulk API accepts a JSON POST body with a list of up to 10,000 URLs in a single request.

Below is the script I wrote that fetches your sitemap, parses every URL out of it, and fires them off to the IndexNow bulk endpoint in batches:

The keyLocation field is optional if your key file lives at the domain root, but it's good practice to include it explicitly. You can also host key files in subdirectories if you only want to authorize submissions for a specific path - a key file at /blog/abc123.txt can only authorize URLs under /blog/.

A few things worth noting about the implementation above:

• Batching: The IndexNow bulk endpoint accepts up to 10,000 URLs per request.
• Error handling: A 200 response means the engine received your URLs - not that they're indexed. Log the response codes and watch for 4xx errors, which usually point to key or host configuration problems.
• Rate limiting: Don't hammer the endpoint. The recommended pattern is to submit URLs as content changes, not to run this script on a tight loop.

Tools That Keep Submissions Running Automatically

Manually running a script every time you publish isn't sustainable. The good news is that most modern CMS platforms and hosting providers have IndexNow baked in already - Wix, Shopify, Cloudflare (via Crawler Hints), and the WordPress ecosystem through plugins like Yoast and Rank Math all handle submissions automatically once configured.

For a more structured SEO workflow, the tool I come back to most often is Ahrefs. I use Ahrefs heavily across my SEO work, and their IndexNow integration inside Site Audit is genuinely one of the more useful implementations I've come across. Once you add your IndexNow API key in the Site Audit crawl settings, it can automatically detect content changes during each crawl and submit the relevant URLs to participating search engines on your behalf - no manual trigger needed.

Ahrefs also surfaces a "Pages to submit to IndexNow" pre-configured issue that flags pages with meaningful content changes, newly added redirects, or removed pages, so you can review the queue before it goes out if you prefer manual control. For sites where I want full automation, I enable auto-submission and let it run alongside their Always-on audit, which crawls continuously rather than on a fixed schedule.

For purely custom or headless setups where you're managing everything in code, the script above paired with a deployment hook or a cron job is the most direct approach. But if you're already invested in a tool like Ahrefs, it makes sense to let it handle the submission layer rather than maintaining a separate script.

WorldSkills is the world's biggest international skills competition - often called the "Olympics of skills" - where young professionals compete across dozens of trades every two years. EuroSkills is the European edition, running on a different cycle. I wrote a full breakdown of how both competitions work, the IT skills represented, and what you actually learn from competing. Read that post first if you're new to WorldSkills.

How it started

I was 17 when my highschool teacher first introduced me to this competition. I didn't know much about it at the time, but I signed up for the first national selection round - and I didn't win. That could have been the end of it.

It wasn't. Something about that competition felt right. I felt like this could be my thing. So I kept going!

A year later, I took part in the national selection competition organised by SkillsIT and Szakma Sztár Fesztivál again. The winner of this competition would qualify for WorldSkills Lyon 2024. Two full days of competing. I had studied harder than I ever had before, and I won - meaning I'd represent Hungary on the world stage. The part I still think about: I was barely 18, hadn't even graduated high school yet, and I had just beaten every Hungarian university student who entered.

Training for WorldSkills Lyon 2024

After qualifying, I entered a preparation period that lasted about a year and a half. During this time I was sponsored by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) and WorldSkills Hungary, which allowed me to train full-time.

The training involved solving real-world tasks and working through problems from previous WorldSkills competitions with the help of experts and coaches. At first, it was genuinely hard. The level was much higher than anything I had done before. But over time, the tasks that once felt impossible became routine. That shift in what feels "hard" is one of the most valuable things the process gave me.

The training competitions

Before Lyon, I got the chance to compete in three international training events. Each one was a lesson in more than just web development.

Finland was first. It was also my first time ever on a plane. I won the competition, which gave me a real taste of what an international competitive environment feels like. Amazing experience, very different from practicing alone in a training room.

South Korea was next. My first time in Asia. I arrived with six hours of jetlag and a culture shock I hadn't fully prepared for. Korea is also known for producing some of the strongest competitors in Web Technologies globally, so the pressure was real. I still managed to win. That result mattered a lot to me.

Taiwan was the third stop, and the most memorable. It was a massive competition - a huge venue, many countries, hundreds of competitors. By then I was getting more used to the jetlag and the rhythm of traveling to compete. I met a lot of great people, discovered a country I genuinely loved, and realized somewhere along the way that traveling had become a hobby I didn't know I had.

Taiwan changed something in me. I arrived as a competitor and left as someone who wanted to see every country on the map. That shift happened quietly, between competition days and late-night conversations with people from six different countries.

WorldSkills Lyon 2024

September 2024. Lyon, France. The 47th WorldSkills Competition. This was it.

I felt fully prepared going in. Nothing was gonna stop me - except the French food, which I struggled with more than I expected. Luckily there was a Five Guys nearby that saved the trip more than once! :)

The competition days

The event started with a familiarization day - getting to know the workspace, the equipment, and the other competitors. Then four competition days followed.

What most people don't realize is that the real pressure isn't just the competition hours. It's the time in between. Me, my expert, and previous competitors trained nonstop between sessions. Sleep was not a priority. Lunch and showers were finished in three or four minutes. Everything else was preparation.

WorldSkills provides the tasks three days in advance so competitors can read and familiarize themselves with them. Without that, it would be impossible to complete them without internet access. Even with that, the pace during the modules is relentless.

The competition itself went smoothly for me. No major technical issues. I finished each module satisfied with what I had produced.

The closing ceremony

The closing ceremony was held in the Lyon soccer stadium. About 50 skills were being awarded that day, and Web Technologies was announced last. I sat in a suit through the entire ceremony waiting.

About ten to fifteen minutes before the public announcement, they quietly told the top three finishers to come to the podium. When I was called, I knew I was in the top three - but not yet which place.

Then it went live. Third place: Singapore. Then they announced there was no second place. That was the moment I knew. A moment later, it was official: Hungary and Korea had both won gold medals in Web Technologies. A shared first place, and completely fair - the Korean competitor and I had been neck and neck throughout the entire competition.

Coming home

Back in Budapest, Ministers and a crowd of people were waiting at the airport. In the weeks that followed, TV channels, organizations, and journalists wanted interviews. I'm not someone who particularly enjoys being in front of a camera, but I understood why it mattered - and I did it.

EuroSkills Herning 2025

A year later, I was back on the competition circuit for EuroSkills Herning 2025 in Denmark. Having already competed at WorldSkills, my preparation was lighter this time. I didn't need to rebuild everything from scratch - I just needed to stay sharp and not let what I knew get rusty.

Before Denmark, I had one training trip, to Guangzhou, China - though that competition was in software testing, unrelated to my skill. Still, China was a fascinating place to visit.

Denmark and the Skills Village

Arriving in Denmark, we had time before the competition to visit Legoland and explore some of the beautiful spots around Herning. The accommodation was different from Lyon too - instead of hotel rooms, competitors stayed in small cozy houses called the Skills Village. It gave the whole event a warmer, more community feel.

The competition

EuroSkills felt more manageable after Lyon. I won with 93%, while second place finished at 70%. The gap was significant. It wasn't complacency - it was the difference that a full WorldSkills preparation cycle makes when you bring it into a European-level competition.

Two competitions. Two gold medals. What's next?

I competed twice. I won both. And now I'm done - the age limits and the once-per-competition rule mean my chapter as a competitor is closed.

But the story doesn't end here. It shifts. The next step is helping train the competitors who come after me. Passing on what I learned in training halls in Finland, on competition floors in Korea, and in a stadium in Lyon waiting to hear my country's name called.

If you're just starting out and wondering whether this competition is worth the effort - it is. Not just for the medals. For everything else that comes with it.

WorldSkills is a global organization and competition that brings together young skilled professionals from over 80 countries. The competition is held every two years, rotating across different countries and cities - there's no permanent home, which means every edition feels like a new chapter. The most recent competition was WorldSkills Lyon 2024 in France, and the next is WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.

People often call it the Olympics of skills, and that comparison holds up well. Like the Olympics, it's a massive, globally watched event where the best in each trade compete for gold. But there's one key difference: in WorldSkills, you can only compete once. No returning champions. No second shots. You get your window, and then you pass the torch.

The age limit for WorldSkills is 23 years. If you're older than that, your eligibility window has closed. This creates an intense, youth-driven energy at the event - everyone competing knows this is their one shot.

EuroSkills: the European counterpart

EuroSkills is the European edition of the same concept, organized by WorldSkills Europe and held every two years as well - but on a different cycle from the global competition, so together they fill the calendar nicely. EuroSkills gathers competitors from around 36 European countries, and the age limit is slightly higher at 26 years old, allowing for a wider talent pool.

Like the global competition, EuroSkills rotates between cities - recent editions have been held in Graz, Budapest, Gdańsk, and Herning.

How is IT represented?

IT has a strong presence at both WorldSkills and EuroSkills. The main technology skills include:

• Web Technologies - the skill I competed in. Covers frontend and backend development, UI design, databases, and full-stack problem solving.
• IT Network Systems Administration - infrastructure, networking, server configuration, and system troubleshooting.
• IT Software Solutions for Business (Software Development) - software development tailored to business automation and custom solutions.
• Cybersecurity - a newer skill covering threat protection, network defense, and secure system design.
• And more - including Cloud Computing, Data Science, and others. You can browse the full list on worldskills.org/skills.

One important detail: WorldSkills competitions run in strictly controlled environments. No internet access, no AI tools. Everything you produce comes from memory and practice. Competitors work in isolation, often for three to four hours per module, solving tasks that would typically take software teams weeks.

Whether that changes in the future remains to be seen - the world of AI is moving fast, and competition formats may eventually reflect that. But for now, it's pure skill under pressure.

What it actually teaches you

Competing in WorldSkills changed how I work. Not in an abstract motivational-poster way - in very concrete ways.

Discipline and speed. You learn to write clean, functional code faster than you ever thought possible.

Three hours to build something that takes a normal team two weeks forces you to develop instincts you just can't get in a classroom.

Problem solving under pressure. Not just in IT - in life. When you've debugged a complex issue in front of 400,000 people while your adrenaline is maxed out, other stressful situations feel manageable by comparison.

Time management. You have a fixed window. You can't negotiate scope. You learn to prioritize ruthlessly and ship, even when it's not perfect.

Soft skills. Competitions are social. Experts, judges, national coaches, officials - you navigate all of it. Communication matters. Asking the right question to a judge in the right way can save you ten minutes.

Handling adrenaline. This one sounds strange, but it's real. Competing with sleepless nights (four days of back-to-back competition days) while running on adrenaline teaches you to perform when everything in your body is telling you to slow down. That carries over.

Is it realistic? Not really - and that's the point

Let me be honest: WorldSkills is not what a real job looks like. In a real workplace you have AI (!), internet, documentation, Stack Overflow, Claude, and teammates to ask. You have deadlines measured in weeks or months, not hours.

WorldSkills deliberately strips all of that away. You compete on raw knowledge. A three-hour coding module where you're expected to produce a full working web application is not a realistic reflection of how software gets built. (At least before the AI era :D)

But that unreality is the challenge. The skills you build to survive those conditions - memory, speed, composure, pattern recognition - make you sharper in realistic environments too. It's like training at altitude. The race isn't run at altitude, but you're stronger for it.

Connections that last

If I had to name the single most valuable thing I got from WorldSkills, it wouldn't be the medals. It would be the people.

I made friends from countries across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and even from Africa - people I can message today, people I've collaborated with professionally, people I could call if I were traveling through their city and need dinner recommendations from a local. That network is real and it keeps giving.

Beyond fellow competitors, I've also met CEOs, company directors, and influential figures in the tech and vocational education space. These are people you wouldn't typically meet at a junior developer meetup. WorldSkills just puts you in the same room with them.

Seeing how other countries do IT

Traveling to competitions in different countries opened something I hadn't expected: a window into how different cultures approach technology. Watching competitors from China, South Korea, and other Asian countries work - their precision, their preparation methods, their weaknesses and strengths, the best practices they (usually don't) follow - gave me a perspective no textbook can offer.

You see what coding looks like internationally. You notice where your country's approach is ahead, and where it's behind. And beyond the IT side, you get to experience the culture, the food, the way of life. It matters.

In the next post, I'll go deeper into my personal WorldSkills and EuroSkills journey - where I competed, what happened, and what winning (or losing?) actually felt like.