# What is IndexNow? A notice that a URL changed

IndexNow is a protocol that notifies participating endpoints when a URL is added, changed or deleted.

A publisher or its software submits changed URLs to an IndexNow endpoint. Participating search engines can use those notifications to learn about changes; the protocol does not compel them to index a page.

## Separating a receipt from indexing

After correcting a URL, the publisher submits it to an IndexNow endpoint and saves an accepted response from a participating IndexNow endpoint. It later checks the participating search engine’s crawl or index report separately; the notice receipt does not show that the engine acted on it.

## What to check after submission

Keep the submission receipt separate from evidence that the page was crawled or indexed. If a URL remains absent, inspect the delivered page, access rules and the engine’s own indexing report. Repeatedly submitting the URL does not resolve a problem in the page itself.

## What to do with an accepted notice

Keep the URL you submitted and the timestamp of the response. Check the public page independently, including any redirect. If the submission points to an old address, fixing the notifier’s choice of URL is a different task from asking why a valid page has not appeared in search.

## Related terms

[robots.txt](https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/robots-txt/)

## Continue reading

## Sources

https://www.indexnow.org/documentation

https://www.indexnow.org/documentation

Editorial method: https://digitalpublishingnews.com/how-we-use-ai/

Canonical: https://digitalpublishingnews.com/dictionary/indexnow/