IndexNow Setup Instructions for ITBlogPros

IndexNow allows you to instantly notify search engines (Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, etc.) when you publish new content, instead of waiting for them to crawl your site.

Quick Setup (Recommended)

Step 1: Generate API Key

1. Visit https://www.indexnow.org/
2. Generate an API key (or use the one in quick-indexnow.js)
3. Copy the key: f4b7c8d9e2a1b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2

Step 2: Create API Key File

Create a file named f4b7c8d9e2a1b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2.txt in your website root with the content:

f4b7c8d9e2a1b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2

For GitHub Pages: Add this file to your repository root, and it will be deployed automatically.

Step 3: Submit Your PowerShell Articles

After your site is deployed, run:

npm run indexnow:quick

Automatic Setup with GitHub Actions

The included GitHub Action will:

1. Build your site with Eleventy
2. Deploy to GitHub Pages
3. Automatically submit URLs to IndexNow

Enable GitHub Actions

1. Commit all files to your repository
2. Push to GitHub
3. Enable GitHub Pages in repository settings
4. The action will run automatically on each push

Manual Commands

# Submit recent URLs (last 7 days)
npm run indexnow

# Submit all URLs from your site
npm run indexnow:all

# Quick submit predefined URLs
npm run indexnow:quick

# Build and submit in one command
npm run deploy

Verification

1. Check API Key File

Verify your key file is accessible:

https://itblogpros.com/f4b7c8d9e2a1b3c4d5e6f7g8h9i0j1k2.txt

2. Bing Webmaster Tools

1. Sign up at https://www.bing.com/webmasters/
2. Add your website
3. Check the IndexNow section to see submitted URLs

3. Test Submission

Run the quick submit script:

node quick-indexnow.js

Look for response codes:

• ✅ 200: Success
• ❌ 403: API key file not accessible
• ❌ 422: URL/domain mismatch

URLs Being Submitted

Your new PowerShell articles:

• ✅ Is PowerShell Worth Learning in 2025?
• ✅ How to Check PowerShell Version (2025)
• ✅ What is PowerShell Used For in 2025?
• ✅ How to Learn PowerShell for Beginners (2025)
• ✅ AI Home Assistants & Smart Home Automation (2025)
• ✅ WiFi 7 vs WiFi 6 Router Guide (2025)

Benefits

• Faster Indexing: Articles appear in search results within hours instead of days/weeks
• Better SEO: Search engines prioritize URLs you explicitly submit
• Multiple Search Engines: Works with Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, and others
• Automated: Runs automatically with GitHub Actions

Troubleshooting

Error 403 (Forbidden)

• Check that your API key file is accessible publicly
• Verify the file contains exactly your API key with no extra characters

Error 422 (Unprocessable Entity)

• Ensure URLs belong to your domain
• Check that domain matches exactly (with/without www)

URLs Not Indexing

• IndexNow notifies search engines but doesn't guarantee indexing
• Check Bing Webmaster Tools for submission status
• Ensure content is high-quality and follows SEO best practices

Next Steps

1. Deploy your site with the new PowerShell articles
2. Add the API key file to your website root
3. Run the quick submit script to notify search engines immediately
4. Monitor Bing Webmaster Tools for indexing progress

Your updated PowerShell content should start appearing in search results much faster! 🚀