Easy-to-use PHP library implementing the IndexNow protocol that allows websites to notify search engines whenever content on any URL is updated or created, enabling instant crawling and discovery.

• Instant indexing - Notify search engines immediately when your content changes
• Multi-engine support - Built-in support for Bing and Yandex, with ability to add custom endpoints
• Simple API - Single method call to ping search engines about URL changes
• Lightweight - Zero external dependencies, uses native PHP cURL
• PHP 8.0+ - Modern PHP with strict typing and clean architecture

The IndexNow protocol is a simple ping mechanism that informs search engines about recent changes to your website content:

1. Generate API Key - Create a unique API key and host it as a text file at your domain root
2. Initialize Service - Create an IndexNow instance with your API key and target search engine
3. Send Notifications - Call sendChangedUrl() whenever you update or create content
4. Search Engine Crawls - The search engine receives the ping and prioritizes crawling your URL

┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│   Your Website  │     │    IndexNow     │     │  Search Engine  │
│                 │     │     Library     │     │   (Bing/Yandex) │
└────────┬────────┘     └────────┬────────┘     └────────┬────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         │  Content Updated      │                       │
         │──────────────────────>│                       │
         │                       │                       │
         │                       │  HTTP GET with URL    │
         │                       │──────────────────────>│
         │                       │                       │
         │                       │     200 OK            │
         │                       │<──────────────────────│
         │                       │                       │
         │                       │                       │ Crawler visits
         │<─────────────────────────────────────────────│ your URL
         │                       │                       │

The library consists of a single IndexNow class with a straightforward design:

It's best to use Composer for installation, and you can also find the package on Packagist and GitHub.

To install, simply use the command:

$ composer require baraja-core/index-now

You can use the package manually by creating an instance of the internal classes.

• PHP 8.0 or higher
• cURL extension enabled

use Baraja\IndexNow\IndexNow;

// Create service instance for Bing
$indexNow = new IndexNow(
    apiKey: 'your-api-key-here',
    searchEngine: IndexNow::ENGINE_BING
);

// Notify search engine about changed URL
$indexNow->sendChangedUrl('https://example.com/updated-page');

use Baraja\IndexNow\IndexNow;

// Create service instance for Yandex
$indexNow = new IndexNow(
    apiKey: 'your-api-key-here',
    searchEngine: IndexNow::ENGINE_YAHOO
);

// Send notification
$indexNow->sendChangedUrl('https://example.com/new-article');

You can notify multiple search engines by adding additional endpoints:

use Baraja\IndexNow\IndexNow;

// Start with Bing
$indexNow = new IndexNow(
    apiKey: 'your-api-key-here',
    searchEngine: IndexNow::ENGINE_BING
);

// Add Yandex endpoint
$indexNow->addEndpointUrl(
    engine: IndexNow::ENGINE_YAHOO,
    endpointUrl: IndexNow::ENGINE_ENDPOINT[IndexNow::ENGINE_YAHOO]
);

// This will now notify both Bing and Yandex
$indexNow->sendChangedUrl('https://example.com/updated-content');

You can add custom endpoints for other search engines that support the IndexNow protocol:

use Baraja\IndexNow\IndexNow;

$indexNow = new IndexNow(
    apiKey: 'your-api-key-here',
    searchEngine: IndexNow::ENGINE_BING
);

// Add a custom endpoint (use {key} and {url} placeholders)
$indexNow->addEndpointUrl(
    engine: 'custom-engine',
    endpointUrl: 'https://custom-search.com/indexnow?key={key}&url={url}'
);

$indexNow->sendChangedUrl('https://example.com/page');

Before using IndexNow, you need to set up your API key:

1. Generate a key - Create a unique alphanumeric string (e.g., ecc3bf28ed494de4b01e754cf6dff0d5)
2. Create a key file - Place a text file named {your-key}.txt at your website root containing the key itself
3. Verify accessibility - Ensure https://yourdomain.com/{your-key}.txt returns your key

Example key file location:

https://example.com/ecc3bf28ed494de4b01e754cf6dff0d5.txt

The content of this file should be:

ecc3bf28ed494de4b01e754cf6dff0d5

public function __construct(
    string $apikey,
    string $searchEngine = self::ENGINE_BING
)

Sends a notification to all configured search engine endpoints about a changed or new URL.

$indexNow->sendChangedUrl('https://example.com/updated-page');

Adds a new search engine endpoint. The {key} placeholder in the URL will be automatically replaced with your API key.

$indexNow->addEndpointUrl('custom', 'https://search.com/indexnow?key={key}&url={url}');

1. Call on actual changes - Only ping when content genuinely changes to maintain trust with search engines
2. Batch wisely - For bulk updates, consider spacing out notifications
3. Verify key setup - Ensure your API key file is publicly accessible before making calls
4. Monitor responses - While the library doesn't return responses, monitor your search console for indexing status
5. Use in production - IndexNow is designed for production environments; avoid excessive testing calls

• IndexNow Official Website
• Bing IndexNow Documentation
• Yandex IndexNow Documentation

Jan Barasek - https://baraja.cz

baraja-core/index-now is licensed under the MIT license. See the LICENSE file for more details.